Was "Has no manufacturing culture" already a thing in the late 80s? I know the car industry got hit pretty hard by the Japanese during the 80s, but was it already far ahead the US for electronics during the same era?
They invested in their electronics manufacturing (both public and private investment) and went from the laughing stock of quality to the premium quality choice.
This country could have done that, but even in the 1980s, we were on the path to no longer building things here.
It will happen soon. If you work with state innovation departments in small states, you can see them souring on SAAS. It’s going to swing to manufacturing.
More immigration. More free trade. More education.
Push US higher up the stack so that's its building on top of Chinese parts rather than trying to replicate them.
Silicon Valley still doesnt have any of those.