This is simply because the American elites have chosen a different way to prosper. They have chosen, to reach the top of the world, and then ripe the easier and larger pies. The might of the US military protects the interests of the financial institutions (and some other oligarchs), and this can go on as long as the US military is strong enough. It is thus NOT the interest of the American elites to promote manufacturing. Not only that, even the American people are getting used to it too, they too do not want to work in manufacturing, tiring and non-prestigious.<p>I don't really see a way to reverse everything. It is not about investing more in education or patching up policies. We are talking about a whole generation, maybe two, of elites and (some of the) people who profit from globalization. You simply cannot rely on the hands to chop themselves off. This is going to be a violent, bloody process because changing tides in politics is always bloody, literally. This is also going to touch the cake of numerous upper-middle class interest groups: landlords, bankers, you name it, anyone who prosper from the last 40 or so years, especially last 10 years since the first QE. Why? Because you are basically saying, OK I'm going to create a new group of middle class people but hey the cake is just that big so I need to cut someone else's piece.<p>Of course, everything has a cheat. The cheat, which I believe was already chosen by the American elites, is to instill conflicts globally and create mass exodus of highly skilled workers from other countries to the United of States.