Dylan Matthews

I think some people have some guilt about their jobs sitting behind a computer, making more money than their, say, father made in a factory when it seemed like he was doing much more exhausting physical labor. And there's some of this that speaks to insecurities people might have about sort of knowledge sector labor.

I also think we've touched a bit about some of the conservative mythologies here, that I think the idea of a family wage, that you can make enough money in a factory to pay for the full family, which implicitly means the wife, because they're always talking about straight families, the wife does not have to work. I think the nostalgia that you hear on the left about this is different.

I also think we've touched a bit about some of the conservative mythologies here, that I think the idea of a family wage, that you can make enough money in a factory to pay for the full family, which implicitly means the wife, because they're always talking about straight families, the wife does not have to work. I think the nostalgia that you hear on the left about this is different.

I also think we've touched a bit about some of the conservative mythologies here, that I think the idea of a family wage, that you can make enough money in a factory to pay for the full family, which implicitly means the wife, because they're always talking about straight families, the wife does not have to work. I think the nostalgia that you hear on the left about this is different.

If you look back at 50s and 60s, the heyday of American manufacturing was also the heyday of American unions, right? You had a quarter to a third of Americans covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The UAW was incredibly powerful.

If you look back at 50s and 60s, the heyday of American manufacturing was also the heyday of American unions, right? You had a quarter to a third of Americans covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The UAW was incredibly powerful.

If you look back at 50s and 60s, the heyday of American manufacturing was also the heyday of American unions, right? You had a quarter to a third of Americans covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The UAW was incredibly powerful.

Exactly. The UAW in turn supported a Democratic Party where labor was an incredibly important part of the coalition. Spending programs like Medicare might not have passed without strong union support. And so I think there's nostalgia for that. And I think it's not an accident that the manufacturing era and the union era were

Exactly. The UAW in turn supported a Democratic Party where labor was an incredibly important part of the coalition. Spending programs like Medicare might not have passed without strong union support. And so I think there's nostalgia for that. And I think it's not an accident that the manufacturing era and the union era were

Exactly. The UAW in turn supported a Democratic Party where labor was an incredibly important part of the coalition. Spending programs like Medicare might not have passed without strong union support. And so I think there's nostalgia for that. And I think it's not an accident that the manufacturing era and the union era were

coterminous, if you were wanting to invent a place that is useful to unionize, you would invent a factory. These steel mills have many thousands of workers working in the same place in close proximity, doing similar jobs, getting close to each other, and they're talking a lot. That's a very conducive organizing environment.

coterminous, if you were wanting to invent a place that is useful to unionize, you would invent a factory. These steel mills have many thousands of workers working in the same place in close proximity, doing similar jobs, getting close to each other, and they're talking a lot. That's a very conducive organizing environment.

coterminous, if you were wanting to invent a place that is useful to unionize, you would invent a factory. These steel mills have many thousands of workers working in the same place in close proximity, doing similar jobs, getting close to each other, and they're talking a lot. That's a very conducive organizing environment.

I also think I give a lot of credit to the legacy of World War II, that America's role in that war to a large degree was to build the planes and tanks and cars and trucks and munitions that helped our allies in the UK and in the Soviet Union grow. win that war. And we came out of it as the dominant manufacturing power in the world.

I also think I give a lot of credit to the legacy of World War II, that America's role in that war to a large degree was to build the planes and tanks and cars and trucks and munitions that helped our allies in the UK and in the Soviet Union grow. win that war. And we came out of it as the dominant manufacturing power in the world.

I also think I give a lot of credit to the legacy of World War II, that America's role in that war to a large degree was to build the planes and tanks and cars and trucks and munitions that helped our allies in the UK and in the Soviet Union grow. win that war. And we came out of it as the dominant manufacturing power in the world.

And yeah, I think that war is very important for how Americans think of ourselves. And manufacturing is a big part of that.

And yeah, I think that war is very important for how Americans think of ourselves. And manufacturing is a big part of that.

And yeah, I think that war is very important for how Americans think of ourselves. And manufacturing is a big part of that.

So I agree with a lot of that. I think if I were to make the national security case for manufacturing as sympathetically as I can, the U.S. has a lot of nuclear weapons, but we've been giving a lot of artillery shells to Ukraine in their battle with Russia. And our ability to produce those has been pretty limited. And we've run through a lot of existing stockpiles.