Manufacturing Job Losses and Causes

 Manufacturing Job Losses and Causes

Manufacturing jobs in the U.S. have generally declined over the decades, peaking at about 19.6 million in June 1979 and falling to approximately 12.8 million by June 2019. As of late 2025, there are nearly 13 million manufacturing workers, reflecting a slight recovery but still below historical highs.

There are multiple causes for this declining trend. Automation is a factor but failure to automate would raise costs and prices and therefore put us at a disadvantage to other nations who do automate while reducing our standard of living due to higher costs to purchase the things that we want.

Another major factor is tariffs. For decades, other nations have had much higher tariffs on us than we did on them. Those higher tariffs caused more products to be produced by other nations and less products to be produced here in America as our overseas export sales were reduced by these tariffs which made our products more expensive to purchase by foreign nations. The Trump targeted tariffs against those who have dealt unfairly with us is already starting to result in more fair trade.

Another major factor in the reduction in American manufacturing exports is unfair trading practices, particularly by China. Through slave labor and government subsidies, China has made many of their products cheaper than they would have been. Why would they do that? Doesn't that hurt them? China's goal is to put competitor foreign manufacturers out of business. Once they accomplish that, then they can raise prices while dominating the market. That is the same strategy that our domestic monopolists utilized in the 1800s when monopolies were still legal. They were big enough to absorb losses from selling under cost for a short period of time to put smaller companies of the same product out of business. Then they would raise prices very significantly after those competitors were out of business. That is why Trump putting some extreme tariffs on China to combat their very unfair trading practices. Initially, there would be some pricing pain for us on some products, but long term we will be much better off as China would be forced to abandon their unfair trading practices with America. However, you can bet that they will continue these unfair trading practices with other nations, especially developing nations.

Sole Owner 401K Contribution Limits 2026

A sole owner of a business can take out two kinds of 401Ks, each with very high maximum contribution limits:

1. As "sole owner" of the business - "Solo 401K" - Employer Non-Elective Compensation.

Maximum contribution to a "Solo 401K" in 2026 is up to 25% of compensation to a maximum of $72,000 each year, or if 50 or over, a maximum of $80,000 each year.

2. As an "employee" of the business - "401K" - Elective Deferrals

Maximum contribution to a "401K" in 2026 is $24,500, or $32,500 if 50 or over.

3. Total combined 401K maximums each year are $97,000, or $112,500 if over 50!!

Be smart and make sure both the solo 401K and the 401K are Roth 401Ks, not Traditional 401Ks. Otherwise you will pay a fortune in Federal income taxes and in some cases state income taxes when your Traditional 401Ks are withdrawn in retirement as these annual contributions, if invested in the stock market, are likely to average double in value every 7 years. With Roth 401Ks, you will not pay taxes on withdrawals in retirement.

4. Plus do not forget that you can still take out IRAs annually too, Again, always invest in Roth IRAs, not Traditional IRAs. Annual 2026 IRA contribution limits are $7,500, or if 50 or over 50, $8,600 a year.

How to Save Lots of Money on Mortgages

How to Save Lots of Money on Mortgages

Want to save a lot of money on a new mortgage? Get a 15 year home mortgage instead of a 25 or 30 year mortgage. As an example, Let's take each of those mortgages at a 5% interest rate for a $100,000 mortgage and compare:

1. Monthly mortgage payments (without property taxes included) would be $536.82 (30 year), $584.59 (25 year) and $790.79 (15 year). Therefore cutting your 30 year mortgage lifetime in half for a 15 year lifetime mortgage is much less than double the 30 year mortgage monthly payment.

2. Lifetime out of pocket mortgage money you pay is $193,255 (30 year), $175,377 (25 year) and $142,343 (15 year. Therefore a 15 year mortgage saves you almost $50,000 in out of pocket lifetime monthly payments versus a 30 year mortgage and over $33,000 versus a 25 year mortgage on a $100,000 mortgage.

3. If you sell your house before the mortgage is paid off, a 15 year mortgage will have paid off much more mortgage principal than a 25 or 30 year mortgage. Therefore, you will have much more money left over after you pay your mortgage balance with a 15 year mortgage than with a 25 or 30 year mortgage.

Here's a link to a free mortgage calculator to help you determine the costs and savings using mortgage loan balances and interest rates that apply to your circumstances.

https://www.mortgagecalculator.org/

Self Employed with High Earnings and a Non-Working Spouse

 

Self Employed with High Earnings and a Non-Working Spouse

Let's say you are self employed with a non-working spouse and making at least double the maximum taxed Social Security limit of $176,000 (in 2025; normally increases each year).

If you hire your spouse as a stay at home worker and give her/him little or nothing to do, but pay her at least $176,000, then:

1. The spouse would pay the SS tax on $176,000 and when you both retire, your SS income would be 33% greater that it would have been. Though it did cost you extra SS taxes of about $12,000 per year.

2. Your combined 401K contributions and therefore tax exemptions could be as much as $23,000 to $31,000 (age 50 and over), saving you substantial tax dollars.

3. Your combined IRA contributions would be double, saving you more tax dollars.

4. Though your self -employed income would now be less, your combined total income would be the same, costing you no extra taxes nor loss of total income.

5. Even if not making double the Social Security maximum but making more than the maximum, implementing this idea on a partial basis could still be beneficial.

Income Inequality In America Is Justified and Good

 Per news reports, income inequality is an important issue for many American voters. Just proves that You Can't Fix Stupid!! Here's why income inequality is fair and good:

1. People with higher education levels on average earn more money, For example, college graduates earn more on average than high school dropouts. That's fair.

2. Skilled workers earn more than unskilled workers. That's fair.

3. People who have been working for decades earn more than people who haven't been working very long. That's fair.

4. People who have been working for decades have had more time to save and invest thus building more total income, plus pay off house mortgages than people who haven't been working nearly as long. That's fair.

5. People who are frugal with their money normally have more income saved than people who spend most or all of their income or more than their income. That's fair.

6. People in the same jobs, whether they are men or women, earn the same amount of money. That's fair and also has been the law for over 50 years.

7. People who work harder, longer, and smarter than their peers generally earn more and get more job promotions. That's fair.

8. People who are willing to endure longer commutes to work, especially if they work in big cities, can find cheaper homes and rentals than those who choose to live in the city where available land and housing is more limited. Thus their residences are larger and nicer, plus they can save and invest more income. That's fair.

9. People who have less or no children, have lower expenses, more money saved and invested, and a higher standard of living than people who earn the same amount of money but have more children. That's a choice that is both understandable and fair.

10. 50% of single parent households live in poverty versus only 10% of married households with children living in poverty. Very understandable and fair. Two potential income earners and babysitters versus one. To deliberately become a single parent household instead of getting married first is the height of stupidity.

11. Divorced people have lower income standards and savings than their married peers. Understandable and fair. Two residences to support for divorced people versus one residence to support for their married peers.

Now there are Communist and heavily socialist nations where there is more income equality than America. However, they pay a very heavy price for it. They are much poorer and have much lower living standards than Capitalist nations. For example, the average European in a heavily socialist nation pay 40 to 60% income taxes, plus a hidden 25% national sales tax called a Value Added Tax so that their net income does not go very far. Consequently their average residence is 600 to 800 square feet with only one bathroom compared to the average American with 2,000 square foot residence with multiple bathrooms. Plus their medical services are "rationed" as they have far less doctors, hospitals, and medical equipment such as medical scanners and CRTs per equal population size than America. Why would you want that?

How to Reduce Welfare Fairly

Approximately 72.5 million Americans receive welfare benefits each month, with around 42.1 million using food stamps in 2025. The majority of welfare recipients are never married mothers. I should not have to pay for your stupidity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Young women - never have children until you are married!!!

Government - Do not give any welfare to never married mothers until you force them to name the fathers in order to collect welfare plus submit DNA for themselves and their children. Then go after the fathers for child support first so that they and not us pay for the welfare of their children. If DNA shows that they are not the father named by the never married mothers, then jail the lying mothers.

Schools - Educate your students on the Economic fact that 50% of single parent households live in poverty while only 10% of married households with children live in poverty so that they can make better decisions on how to live their lives in the future.

Artificial Intelligence Consequences

 Lots of understandable apprehension about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Every successful technical advancement historically has both created new jobs while also making some jobs obsolete. Bottom Line - the productivity of products and services was increased which resulted in the growth of overall wealth plus substantial standard of living increases. The invention of the automobile for instance resulted in the bankruptcy and disappearance of the largest industry in America back then - the manufacture and sales of horse drawn carriages and wagons. I think that all of us would agree that it was worth it.

The nations that advance the implementation of AI will become the wealthiest nations in the world and also the most military proficient. Those nations that do not advance AI will become poorer and military defense vulnerable.

The transition to AI, like most other past technical advances, will result in some pain for some workers.

Bottom Line - there really is no choice. We have to do it in order to avoid the unacceptable consequences of not doing it.

Home Ownership Trends in America

Home ownership has dropped to 65% of Americans today from its peak of 69% in 2004. The news articles on them blame high costs and interest rates for that trend. Certainly, that is a factor, but not the most important factor. Here are the real major main factors for shrinking home ownership:

1. People are marrying much later in life compared to previous decades. The average age for first marriages in the United States is around 30.2 years for men and 28.6 years for women as of 2024. In the 1950s, the average age for men was 22.5 years and women 20.1 years.

2. Normally people wait until they are married and especially when they have kids before looking for homes. The birth rate in the U.S. has recently dropped to an all-time low of about 1.6 children per woman, according to 2024 data.

I and my wife were 20 and 21 when we married in 1968, and 26 years old when we had our first child. We moved into our first house when we were 25. It would have been sooner than that if I had not been drafted into the US Army at age 22; released at age 24.

3. The percentage of adults 25 to 35 living with their parents has more than doubled from 7% in 1970 to 17% currently.

Yet nobody talks about those important key factors when discussing home ownership rates. They paint it as a problem, but the reality is that it is caused by free will, intentional, major lifestyle changes for today's younger generation.

Afro-American Is Not A Race

Afro-American Is Not A Race

Even in America, if you see a Black person, they are not necessarily an American. For example, we have Black people from other nations in America who are here as college students, tourists, workers of foreign companies, and workers of foreign government embassies located in America.

My own ethnicity is Italian American as my grandparents all emigrated from Italy. Italian American is not my Race. My Race is White. Many other Whites in America are a different ethnicity as they or their ancestors have emigrated from different nations be it Ireland, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, and dozens of other nations. So their ethnicities are Irish Americans, Polish Americans, etc.. Their common "Race" is White in most cases.

Elon Musk is a wealthy White person often in the news who is an American citizen who was born in South Africa and emigrated here. So technically his ethnicity is Afro-American, but his race is White.

Even the term "Afro" which is short for African , but meant to indicate a Black person is inaccurate. Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco are nations located in Africa. Their citizens are not Black. So if there citizens emigrate here, then technically, just like Elon Musk, they would also be Afro-Americans even though their skin color is not Black.

What should we do then? Let's get rid of the term "Race" and ignore skin color. No matter what your skin color, science has proven that all humans are one and the same species. That is why, we can medically exchange blood and body organs to save people who would otherwise die, no matter what our skin color. As an analogy, we don't use Race as a term for horses, though they come in many skin colors including White, Black, Brown, Blonde, and multi colors. Let's do the same for humans and ignore skin color.

Average Home Size by Nation

Think that the American middle class is hurting? Think again!!

The average size of an American home is roughly three to four times larger than European homes.

 https://homescopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/average-home-size-graph-874x1024.jpg

Since 1950, the average American home has nearly tripled in size.        

https://homescopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/average-home-size-graph-874x1024.jpg

Millionaire Households in America

 18% of American households are millionaires. 25% of retired households are millionaires.    

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2025/04/10/how-many-retire-1-million/82510481007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJqU1RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkPMrYe25shq9aMWWRVRrbCH_fz60lji4RKa47eatJmNwQEFqPTq1t6GkB9o_aem_nej_F_OYBi7VBipuYk2Pfg                                 

Crime Deterrence

 Crime exists because we tolerate it. Let's give criminals and potential criminals the fear of God not to commit crimes. The best way to do that is passing laws that mandate execution for the following crimes:

Murder

Attempted Murder

Kidnapping

Blackmail

Rape

Drug Dealing

Driving Drunk and killing someone

Texting while driving and killing someone

Bomb Threats

Deliberating starting wild fires or house fires or building fires

Using or threatening to use a weapon when committing a crime

Education Failure of Public Schools

 hrough 12 years of Grammar and High School, math courses are taught each and every year. Most people never utilize the High School "science directed" math courses they are taught such as Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, and Calculus.

Yet the math and Economics courses that they need to know in order to improve their own finances when they become adults, and also to knowledgably vote on what consistently is rated the number one issue in an election - Economics, is almost never taught.

Here are public school courses that need to be added to the curriculum:

1. How paying credit card interest only after a purchase can double the ultimate price you paid in just three years. An interest rate of 24% does that. If 18%, the cost doubles in 4 years. Take the number "72" and divide it by the interest rate to calculate how many years it takes to double.

2. Mortgages and how they work.

A. Calculating the lifetime costs of a home mortgage. Showing that a 15 year mortgage lifetime costs are significantly less than a 25 or 30 year mortgage lifetime costs. B. Showing that interest payments are front loaded into the early years of a mortgage so that very little principal is paid back.

B. Explaining that doubling your mortgage payments to pay your loan off early is both an interest free loan to the bank (do you really want to gift the bank that?) and potentially financially dangerous. Explain that such a move reduces your total savings so that if you lose your job or become too ill to work, you may lose your house to the bank before you can sell it and keep the equity you have in your house instead of losing all of it to the bank because banks keep the entire amount they get when they take over and sell your house, returning none of your equity to you. . Much better to invest that extra mortgage payment because you will likely have enough money to pay off your mortgage sooner, plus you will be in a better position to not lose your home and/or your equity in it in case of job loss or illness.

C. Explain the risks of variable rate mortgages. If interest rates rise, so will your mortgage payments.

3. What you need to know about investing:

A. The difference between stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, index funds, options and puts.

It is especially important to note that mutual funds have high annual fees compared to similar ETFs and that you can buy or sell an ETF when the stock market is open and instantly know the cost but a mutual fund's buy and costs are determined after the market closes. Also, that the S&P 500 mutual fund has historically done better than 70% of professionally managed stock market accounts.

B. The stock market historical growth rates. 100 years of history - Average doubling every 7 years when you put 4 to 5 consecutive 7 year periods together. Though that does not gaurantee future results, the probability is high.

C. The tremendous advantage of youth in investing.

For example, based on historical averages, a 23 year old who invests $1,000 every year until age 65 would collect $64,000 a year for 42 years starting at age 65 while starting investing as a 44 year old would amount to only $8,000 a year for 21 years. If you double the investment amount to $2,000 a year, then you double those returns amounts.

D. The huge lifetime advantages of Roth IRAs and 401Ks over Traditional IRAs and 401Ks.

Using 3C, would you rather pay taxes on $1,000 or taxes on $64,000? Then invest in Roth IRAs and 401Ks.

4. The National Economy:

A. Historically, how nations who went too far into debt had their Economies collapse, putting all their people in poverty and having extremely high inflation.

B. The history of Federal tax cut and tax increase impacts.

When you look at the 8 years following a tax cut, Federal tax revenues percentage growth increased substantially compared to the 8 years following a Federal tax increase. The reason is simple Economics.

1. A tax cut puts more take home pay into peoples pockets. Therefore, they spend more on goods and services which increases the number of workers needed to provide those goods and services. Therefore more people are working and paying taxes which ultimately increases Federal tax revenues collected substantially.

2. A tax increase reduces take home pay. With less money available to spend, the number of goods and services decreases. That reduces the need for workers to produce those goods and services, leading to layoffs and higher unemployment. With less people working and paying taxes, Federal revenue growth declines.