For the past few years I have been mulling a paradox: U.S. GDP keeps going up, yet it seems like we make less stuff and that most of the smart people I know work fake jobs. Growing up in the nineties, most of my toys and clothes had tags saying “Made in Hong Kong” or “Made in Vietnam.” But the high-skill, high-tech goods—the washing machine, the car, my computer—were often made in America. Now? From my e-bike to my laptop, from my refrigerator to my mattress, very few goods I own,...| Palladium Magazine
The state’s role in supporting economic growth is critical. Our wealth comes from industry, that is, from the ability to mass produce goods—more goods, better goods, cheaper goods, produced with fewer hours of labor. The biggest advances in industrial production have required massive investments and social transformations so large they can only succeed with the support of the state, including in countries where the state’s support comes largely via market mechanisms, like the United Sta...| Palladium Magazine