Steven

White collar workers during that period didn't make that much money relative to what they did before or since. And that was important because the wages that the blue collar manufacturing workers were earning felt great by comparison.

White collar workers during that period didn't make that much money relative to what they did before or since. And that was important because the wages that the blue collar manufacturing workers were earning felt great by comparison.

So if you were an auto worker in Detroit and you compared your wage in 1955 to the local accountant or dentist or doctor, by comparison, relative to today, you're like, oh, it's pretty good. Yeah, the doctor makes more than me, but not that much more than me. I drive a Chevy, he drives a Cadillac, his is a little bit nicer, but we're living mostly the same lives.

So if you were an auto worker in Detroit and you compared your wage in 1955 to the local accountant or dentist or doctor, by comparison, relative to today, you're like, oh, it's pretty good. Yeah, the doctor makes more than me, but not that much more than me. I drive a Chevy, he drives a Cadillac, his is a little bit nicer, but we're living mostly the same lives.

And so I think that was a lot of the feeling of prosperity in the 50s and 60s was this very unique period of manufacturing monopoly as Europe and Japan were rebuilding. And by comparison to other workers, it felt amazing. And then at about the 1970s, Japan and Europe had gotten themselves back together from the ravages of World War II, and they became manufacturing dynamos in their own right.

And so I think that was a lot of the feeling of prosperity in the 50s and 60s was this very unique period of manufacturing monopoly as Europe and Japan were rebuilding. And by comparison to other workers, it felt amazing. And then at about the 1970s, Japan and Europe had gotten themselves back together from the ravages of World War II, and they became manufacturing dynamos in their own right.

And I don't think we really understood this in America until three companies came in, which were Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, and they started selling cars in America. And at first, it was very easy to be like, look at these little lawnmower toys that they're importing. Because you compared an early Honda Civic to a Chevy Camaro in the 70s. And it was like, you can't even compare them.

And I don't think we really understood this in America until three companies came in, which were Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, and they started selling cars in America. And at first, it was very easy to be like, look at these little lawnmower toys that they're importing. Because you compared an early Honda Civic to a Chevy Camaro in the 70s. And it was like, you can't even compare them.

So at first, the reaction of American car companies were like, these guys are a joke. No one's going to buy these little cars. But then gas prices surged in the 70s and 80s. And all of a sudden, the cars that Americans wanted

So at first, the reaction of American car companies were like, these guys are a joke. No one's going to buy these little cars. But then gas prices surged in the 70s and 80s. And all of a sudden, the cars that Americans wanted

was the tiny little honda civic that got really good gas mileage and then once they started buying them they're like hey this toyota this honda this nissan it's actually a pretty good car it's actually pretty well built and i think there was a lot of denial among that among american manufacturers that other these other nations that we that didn't exist for 20 years in terms of a global manufacturing source we're actually pretty damn good at it now and then one other thing happened to wrap to wrap this up then this might be the most important part of it

was the tiny little honda civic that got really good gas mileage and then once they started buying them they're like hey this toyota this honda this nissan it's actually a pretty good car it's actually pretty well built and i think there was a lot of denial among that among american manufacturers that other these other nations that we that didn't exist for 20 years in terms of a global manufacturing source we're actually pretty damn good at it now and then one other thing happened to wrap to wrap this up then this might be the most important part of it

The reason that you cannot reasonably expect the manufacturing powerhouse to come back as it was is, yes, we did ship jobs to China and Mexico and Canada and India that used to be in America. And that has contributed to the massive decline in manufacturing employment. But a bigger factor in there is automation. And if you look at a... I would challenge people to do this.

The reason that you cannot reasonably expect the manufacturing powerhouse to come back as it was is, yes, we did ship jobs to China and Mexico and Canada and India that used to be in America. And that has contributed to the massive decline in manufacturing employment. But a bigger factor in there is automation. And if you look at a... I would challenge people to do this.

Go on YouTube and look at a Tesla assembly line in the United States. I'll put it on the screen. It is... What you will see, it's amazing. It is a miracle of engineering. What you will see are armies and armies of robots and very few people. And if you compare that to the 1950s assembly line, what you see are biceps and backs and people hauling around material.

Go on YouTube and look at a Tesla assembly line in the United States. I'll put it on the screen. It is... What you will see, it's amazing. It is a miracle of engineering. What you will see are armies and armies of robots and very few people. And if you compare that to the 1950s assembly line, what you see are biceps and backs and people hauling around material.

So because we got so good at automation... Even if we bring manufacturing back to America and that we still do a lot of manufacturing in America, it doesn't require the amount of employment that it used to. It doesn't require the amount of manpower. And the people who do work on Tesla manufacturing lines, by and large, are working on computers overseeing the robots.

So because we got so good at automation... Even if we bring manufacturing back to America and that we still do a lot of manufacturing in America, it doesn't require the amount of employment that it used to. It doesn't require the amount of manpower. And the people who do work on Tesla manufacturing lines, by and large, are working on computers overseeing the robots.

I mean, here's one stat that I thought was always interesting to me. In 1950, there was a U.S. steel plant in Gary, Indiana. It produced 5 million tons of steel and had 30,000 workers. Today, it's still operating. It produces 8 million tons of steel and has 2,000 workers. So it's producing more steel today than it was in the 1950s. And it went from 30,000 workers to 2,000.

I mean, here's one stat that I thought was always interesting to me. In 1950, there was a U.S. steel plant in Gary, Indiana. It produced 5 million tons of steel and had 30,000 workers. Today, it's still operating. It produces 8 million tons of steel and has 2,000 workers. So it's producing more steel today than it was in the 1950s. And it went from 30,000 workers to 2,000.