What President Trump Can Do With The American System 2.0 - Flipbook - Page 20
gies that increase the productive powers of the
labor force. Making America, once again, the
leading manufacturing and technological superpower in the world will necessitate trillions
of dollars of investment in a broad range of very
challenging projects: nuclear power plants, water desalination, high-speed rail systems, the
space program, and countless other mediumand small-scale projects. This requires breakthroughs in technology, new machines, new
parts, and new components, many based on designs that have yet to be created. None of this
can be done without an advanced machine tool
sector and a highly skilled workforce, fostered
by American System measures, such as tari昀昀s.
The machine tool sector represents a unique
interface between the ultimate increase in the
productive powers of labor, which represent
negentropic growth (in e昀昀ects), and the uniquely human scienti昀椀c and technological discoveries, which are the ultimate source of wealth (the
cause). In the machine tool sector, engineers implement scienti昀椀c discoveries in new machine
designs, connecting the creativity of an individual mind to the physical economic capabilities of an entire society. This is an illustration
of the absolute distinction of mankind from the
animals (despite what corrupt academics and
radical environmentalists may argue) and the
universal importance of human progress.
The Urgent Requirement to Rebuild a Skilled Workforce
Extensive e昀昀orts are needed to retrain and rebuild a highly productive, technologically advanced labor force. Under 50 years of a policy of deindustrialization, our productive manufacturing economy has been replaced by a weak and vulnerable service economy. More recently,
the new gig economy has encompassed somewhere between 10 percent to 36 percent of the nation’s total workforce, complete with side hustles, temporary jobs, and a plethora of consultants.
The vast majority of these workers lack healthcare bene昀椀ts and savings, and they are unable
to form and support new families. More than two-thirds of our workforce are now employed
in the services economy, meaning our ratio of overhead households to productive households
is way out of whack: we no longer have the productive labor force needed to maintain our energy of the system requirements. Part of what is required is simply training the younger workforce. This can include a massive expansion and improvement of several approaches already in
existence, including STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), the
educational programs associated with the Army Corps of Engineers, and programs of a number of other institutions. This can involve partnerships between the private sector, state and
local government, the U.S. military, and federal agencies, such as the Department of Energy.
The Corps of Engineers, which employs 37,000 civilians and soldiers, is situated to play a vital
role in making America great again. Its public engineering program is premier in the world,
and its educational programs provide training in engineering and construction crucial to the
infrastructure projects our nation requires. An expansion of these e昀昀orts would produce great
bene昀椀ts in the recruitment and training of a new skilled workforce. Additionally, there is the
U.S. military itself. There are currently more than 1,300,000 active duty servicemen and women,
and another 800,000 in reserve forces. The various military branches already function, to one
extent or another, as advanced schools in multiple areas of machine technology, engineering,
and science. In addition to combat training and other military functions, young recruits are
also exposed to advanced military technology (from aircraft, to drones, to satellite surveillance),
requiring university-level training and skills. Military service is now dominated by three 昀椀elds:
mechanical and repair; engineering, science, and technical; and transportation and material
handling. Thus, we can take advantage of this great potential, integrating it into the rebuilding
of a productive workforce, as we act to shift our culture back to being a nation of producers.
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What President Trump Can Do With the American System 2.0
