The Site > Old Forums > It Is The Economy, Stupid > ABC evening news: Made in America.

Ah, one of the greatest myths of the early 21st century -- that US manufacturing is dead.

It is not.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago--> »midwest.chicagofedblogs.org/arch···_mf.html ]
When discussing the health of the manufacturing sector, one major issue is whether we should assess the number of people employed in the sector or focus on the amount of output created in manufacturing. Interestingly, each leads to the opposite conclusion about the strength of manufacturing in the United States.

Manufacturing employment as a share of total employment in the United States has been declining over the past 60 years. In 1950, nearly 31% of nonfarm workers were employed in manufacturing. Since then, the share has been dropping three or four percentage points per decade, falling to 28.4% in 1960, 25.1% in 1970, 20.7% in 1980, 16.2% in 1990, 13.1% in 2000, and 9.1% in 2009. Even with this downward trend in manufacturing’s share of jobs, employment in manufacturing has on average been fairly stable over the past 60 years, averaging a decline of –0.1% per year. In contrast, the growth of nonfarm employment averaged 1.9% per year, and this led to the reduction in manufacturing’s share of jobs.

By 2006, the U.S. economy employed about as many workers in manufacturing as in 1950, just over 14 million. And so, looking at manufacturing employment alone leads one to believe that the sector is in decline or at best stagnant.

However, a very different conclusion emerges if you focus on the amount of goods being produced by the manufacturing sector. While employment has changed very little over the past 60 years, output in manufacturing has increased at an annual rate of 3.4%. Manufacturing output in 2007 (the recent peak in manufacturing output) was over 600% higher than in 1950.

I kind of like it I found a few gems like this on the site

"Staber gives alternative energy users the most efficient washer available for handling their laundry needs. The Staber washer runs very efficiently, operating on only 110–150 watt-hours of electricity per wash load. It uses about 5-6 amps during the wash cycle, and surges to about 11 amps when the motor starts. We recommend a minimum of a 1,500 watt inverter to be used with our Staber washer, with adequately charged batteries and an output of between 115-120VAC and 60Hz. to operate correctly. Unlike other washing machine manufacturers, the warranty is not voided when used on a solar power source. This, while using an average of only 15 gallons of water per load make the Staber the most energy efficient washer available and the best choice for consumers living "off-grid."

They also say it is user friendly for repairs.

For what it's worth, both of those machines look like they are archaic and primitive designs that AFAIK haven't been used in Europe for maybe 30 years. Top-loaders, fer chrissakes?