Tom Bilyeu

But when you optimize for every nation goes and does what they do best, everybody gets to specialize.

Then that inevitably goes to some countries, but not others.

And so everybody basically outsource their manufacturing or huge swaths of it to China.

And that meant that we just couldn't make things here ourselves, which is already a problem from a supply chain perspective.

But it also meant that you had a huge base of workers that now couldn't find jobs full stop.

And then third, you're in a position where you weaken the negotiating power.

of everybody because you can just go oh cool you don't want to do that no worries we've got trade arrangements with so many countries we've got these people for labor these people for um you know think about how much white collar work was outsourced to the philippines as one example or to india and so that just weakened everybody's negotiating abilities and so wages stagnate but you're in an inflationary environment we can fractal they are very very hard

And so now you're in this position where as you re-industrialize, you're making the trade off in the opposite direction.

So things aren't going to be as cheap, but you're going to control your supply chains.

You're going to be able to put some power back in the hands of workers.

Now, AI and robotics complicate some of this.

But hopefully you can understand from a macro perspective that when you make the opposite trade, you still get something back, but you're giving something up.

So regardless of which direction we go there, it's not a utopia.

It's do you want everything to be cheap, but you're getting this increasingly K-shaped economy?

Or do you want to force the K-shape back towards the middle, but things are going to be harder, things are going to be more expensive, but you can really start building back your middle class.

So I think everybody knows my position.

Better to build back to middle class.

And right now, because you're in a Thucydides trap cold war with China, you've got to get your manufacturing base back up.

Just non-negotiable.

Quick break, but don't go anywhere.