The Manufacturing Myth

http://seekingalpha.com/article/218615-the-manufacturing-myth?source=feed
They still don’t get it – or perhaps they do and just won’t admit it. Either way, it doesn’t matter much as the jesters, namely Msrs. Bernanke and Greenspan, continue to chirp their assigned lines, playing good cop/bad cop with the US economy. Right now, Bernanke is the good cop, pointing to increasing wages and the likelihood that the consumer will once again step up and rescue us from the grips of the double dip. On the other side of the room is Greenspan, talking about how that double-dip is still possible, although extremely unlikely. Today the mainstream press jumped on the bandwagon and trumpeted the smashing success of the ISM’s manufacturing index for June as an indicator that all is and will be well. Stocks soared, bonds shed a point, and oil jumped over $80/barrel for the first time since May.

So what gives with manufacturing anyway? For years now we’ve heard stories about the deindustrialization of America and have seen countless pictures of decaying factories and manufacturing infrastructure. Yet at the same time the economic masterminds of this nation are telling us that manufacturing is going to pull us out of this horrible recession, and in fact, prevent any and all future recessions. If ever there was a dichotomy in perception, it is now. It would appear as if suddenly everyone is realizing that we must produce in order to consume. While this is a notable departure from conventional Keynesian theory, are we seeing a true sea change or just lip service to the common sense of the matter?