Wage stagnation is not accidental but a result of two concurrent policies. By sending manufacturing jobs overseas and simultaneously bringing in low-wage labor, corporations create a market where domestic workers lose nearly all leverage to demand higher pay for remaining jobs.

As an economy shifts from manufacturing to trading financial paper, wealth concentrates at the top. Those who own assets see their net worth multiply, while real wages for the majority stagnate or decline as jobs are globalized and labor is arbitraged for the lowest cost.

Dominant economies historically follow a four-stage pattern: protect industry, achieve dominance, switch to free trade, and finally, de-industrialize by shifting to a financialized economy. The US is currently in this final, vulnerable stage of trading paper wealth instead of producing goods.

China exports heavily subsidized goods like EVs and solar panels to countries like Canada and in Europe. This influx of cheap products masks the recipient nation's declining manufacturing base and falling wages, making them economically dependent on China while their own industries and culture erode.

Unlike its post-WWII industrial might, the U.S. can no longer rapidly scale munitions manufacturing in a crisis. Decades of offshoring its industrial base, primarily to its main geopolitical rival China, combined with massive debt, has created a critical strategic vulnerability that prevents a swift, decisive industrial response to war.

The global demand for US financial assets (the Eurodollar system) deindustrialized the US. This weakened the military and manufacturing base that originally underpinned America's global power and the 'rules-based order' the dollar system relies on, creating a self-destructive loop.

The US faces two existential threats: strategic vulnerability to China and the socio-economic collapse of its working class. This forces a difficult but necessary policy choice to bring manufacturing home, accepting higher costs to ensure national security and domestic stability.

The U.S. military's power is no longer backed by a robust domestic industrial base. Decades of offshoring have made it dependent on rivals like China for critical minerals and manufacturing. This means the country can no longer sustain a prolonged conflict, a reality its defense planners ignore.

The argument that developed nations can thrive by outsourcing manufacturing and focusing on services is a fallacy. True value is added in manufacturing. The only service sector that truly expanded was finance, which primarily fuels unproductive asset speculation, leading to inevitable booms and busts.