Will US research cutbacks "kill the goose that lays the golden egg"?
The current US Administration says it wants to boost U.S. manufacturing so we’re not so dependent on goods made overseas. Whether or not that’s the right goal is up for debate, but let’s say it is. Maybe just cutting down on the energy, time, and money it takes to ship things from China seems like a reasonable objective all by itself!
The idea of paying well-compensated American workers to build things here does sound good—assuming we can do it in a way that keeps prices competitive. Again, let’s go with the assumption that this is a worthwhile goal and that there’s still room in our economy to make it happen.
But here’s where I run into trouble: What kind of manufacturing are we even talking about? Are we imagining low-tech, labor-intensive assembly lines that don’t require much training? Or are we talking about advanced manufacturing that depends on cutting-edge technology, automation, software, and AI—along with a highly trained workforce to run it all?
I think the second option makes more sense. The first seems pretty unlikely in a modern economy like ours. If we’re serious about bringing manufacturing back, we should probably be aiming for advanced manufacturing—whatever that actually means in terms of specific products. The idea would be to make things we can both use here and sell globally.
But that only works if we have the necessary technology and talent in place. And that’s where I see a big disconnect.
At the same time we’re talking about rebuilding manufacturing, we’re also watching federal support for science and biomedical research take a hit, along with ongoing efforts to undermine our universities—places that, for decades, have produced both the innovation and the talent we rely on.
Without world-class research, how are we supposed to stay competitive when it comes to inventing and building the next generation of manufacturing tools and processes? And where will the trained, tech-savvy workforce come from to operate increasingly complex systems and machines? Are we going to end up relying on other countries—not just for raw materials, but for the ideas, technologies, and skilled people we need to power our own economy?
It feels like we’re trying to “bring back manufacturing” while simultaneously cutting the legs out from under the things that would actually make that possible.
Now, I’m no expert in manufacturing policy. But even I can’t imagine us going back to the old-school, smokestack industries that defined the Rust Belt. If the real goal is to go it alone and reduce our dependence on the rest of the world, we might be setting ourselves up for isolation—and falling behind in the global economy. Maybe that doesn’t worry the wealthiest 1%, but I’m thinking about my kids and grandkids. I’d like to see us make decisions that are actually thought through, not just sound good in a press release or social media post.
Copyright (c) 2025 by Dennis D. McDonald
