I strongly disagree with this comment. Yes, candidates should be talking about improving wages and employment in a number of industries. But the notion that the U.S. cannot have useful policies to improve competitiveness in manufacturing industries is mistaken. https://twitter.com/BCAppelbaum/status/1281409123540762624

As I've highlighted before, for example, manufacturing extension services can help make manufacturers in the U.S. more competitive, as can customized training services. Is @BCAppelbaum opposed to such policies? https://www.cbpp.org/research/full-employment/helping-manufacturing-intensive-communities-what-works

And with the right policy mix, manufacturing-intensive communities can in some cases generate considerable job growth, even in manufacturing. Look at Grand Rapids, MI. From 1990-2019, GR manuf jobs expanded by 16%, while national manuf jobs declined by 27%.

There is a lot of diversity in U.S. manufacturing, and the fact that we cannot bring back the past does not mean that with the right technologies and the right policies, we cannot at least preserve a significant number of competitive good jobs in this sector.