• TOPICS
    • Design
    • Manufacturing
    • Inspection
    • Heat Treating
    • Lubrication
    • Materials
    • The Gear Industry
    • Gears by Type
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Departments
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe
  • VIDEO
    • Gear Technology TV
      • Ask the Expert Live
      • Revolutions
    • Industry Videos
  • BLOGS
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • NEWS and EVENTS
    • Product News
    • Industry News
    • Events
  • ADVERTISING
    • Brand Awareness
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
    • Response & Lead Generation
      • Online: Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • Online: Buyers Guide
    • Print Advertising
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • Print: Specifications
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
    • Online Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • Online: Buyers Guide
      • Online: Specifications
    • E-mail Advertising
      • E-mail: E-Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: AGMA Industry News
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Specifications
    • Special Promotions
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
  • CONTACT US
  • AGMA
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Education
    • Emerging Technology
    • AGMA Media
    • Standards
Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Blogs » Gear Talk With Chuck » Wither Manufacturing?

Gear Talk With Chuck
Gear Talk With Chuck RSS FeedRSS

The Gear Industry / Economy / Management / Jobs
Charles schultz
Chuck Schultz is a licensed engineer, Gear Technology Technical Editor, and Chief Engineer for Beyta Gear Service. He has written the "Gear Talk with Chuck" blog for Gear Technology since 2014.

Wither Manufacturing?

November 1, 2016
Charles D. Schultz
No Comments
  In a recent episode of my favorite zombie apocalypse show, SyFy’s Z Nation, a character celebrates the restarting of a hydroelectric power station — that had been clogged with dead zombies — by firing off flares and declaring that with the electricity back on, Industry could resume and with it, normal life would return. If only things were that simple! Millions of blue collar manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last 40 years and suddenly important people miss them. Those of us who devoted our lives to making things tried to raise the alarm as poor decision after poor decision flowed out of Washington and Wall Street. I lost confidence in our economic policy makers long ago and have no confidence they will do anything worthwhile with their newly found concern for manufacturing. When I took Econ 101 back at UW-Waukesha in 1970, I was taught that wealth is created when you grow something, raise something, dig something out of the ground, make something, or transport something to market. There was no real value placed on entertainment or intellectual property; and certainly none in pushing paper around or “managing things.” And yet within 10 years of that class, our decision makers set about basing our economy on entertainment, pushing paper, and managing things. This “service economy” was the wave of the future, they assured us. It would free us from the monotony of factory work, like the tractor freed the farmer from hours and hours of backbreaking toil. As long as the GDP continued to grow, everyone would be just fine. Fancy words spoken by people who never once pulled a chip from their designer shoes! Factory work isn’t everyone’s ideal job but it sure beats serving coffee. The satisfaction of making something useful is important to many of us. The opportunity to learn a skill, transform raw materials, and be a part of a team makes life worthwhile. So how exactly are we going to revitalize our manufacturing base so our children and grandchildren have the chance to build real wealth?

Recent Comments

Thank you for this - Happy Saint Patrick's...

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
FEATURED VIDEO
  • Wfl1
    WFL Operational Data Acquisition System
March 14, 2019
RECOMMENDED
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • State of the Powder Metal Industry

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_30_Image_0001.jpg
  • The Afterglow of Furnaces North America 2022

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • AGMA
Powered byAGMA
Copyright © 2023 Gear Technology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact