Hot take: The 'fetish' for manufacturing stems from 'keeping white males with low education' in powerful positions

Brett T. | 6:06 PM on October 06, 2022

Here’s a hot take from the Cato Institute, and in particular, Adam Posen. Apparently, the desire to keep manufacturing in the United States is a “fetish” that is born from a desire to keep “white men with lower educations” in powerful positions. Posen says he’s going to tick off the Left and Right; we won’t speak for the Left, but yeah, we’re annoyed.

Another astonishing clip from the Cato Institute event today, this one from the influential Adam Posen, head of the Peterson Institute. He says a focus on domestic manufacturing is simply a “fetish for keeping white males with low education in the powerful positions they are in.” pic.twitter.com/ii4F0ssAjY

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) October 6, 2022

Aside from immensely offensive, it's not correct. Here's a fact-check from @DanielRangelJ. https://t.co/ycLhpQOFBW

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) October 6, 2022

I can't think of a better recipe for inducing racial tension than having D.C. elites financed by Wall Street pushing offshoring and then saying that anyone who opposes having their community and livelihood destroyed is racist. https://t.co/2TBdkEqnRn

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) October 6, 2022

It's stunning how out of touch most economists are with how business actually works. Or in this case, geopolitics. If you are a country today with no ability to make crucial goods or access them from allied nations, God help you.

— Rana Foroohar (@RanaForoohar) October 6, 2022

This is such an important point. Being able to make things is essential for a society to survive. Much of the political world has moved on from the contempt for manufacturing, which is why Posen attacked both Biden and Trump. But these ideas are so bad. https://t.co/4QoN9AsiSz

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) October 6, 2022