, Columnist
Industrial Policy for Workers Makes No Sense
The labor strife at Boeing is a reminder that what’s good for US manufacturing workers isn’t necessarily good for US manufacturing.
No longer earning a wage premium.
Photographer: Jennifer Buchanan/AFP
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The labor strife at Boeing, which despite its struggles remains America’s No. 1 exporter, is a reminder of a fundamental tension inherent in industrial policy, which despite its critics retains broad bipartisan support: What’s good for US manufacturing workers isn’t necessarily good for US manufacturing.
The notion that all good things can work together derives from two key pieces of economic history.