Brewed Fresh Daily

A quarter-century ago, Bruce Springsteen wrote “My Hometown,” a melancholy song that captured the economic tensions caused by closures of a factory and textile mill in Freehold, New Jersey.

Ford's Rouge plant, by Charles Sheeler

It was written in 1985 at the outset of America’s industrial decline. In 1979, nearly 20 million people were employed in the manufacturing industry. Today, the manufacturing workforce employs 11.7 million, according to Forbes, a decline of 39 percent from its peak.

Springsteen wrote:

They’re closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain’t coming back

And that’s OK, argues Forbes.

“The reality of the situation is this: We should be glad those jobs are gone,” writes David M. Ewalt on the magazine’s website. “We don’t need them.”

He argues that American businesses should invest in jobs that give workers opportunity for advancement and pushing employment opportunities in more innovative fields. The diminished manufacturing workforce, he says, should be viewed as a triumph of increased efficiency. America, in terms of constant dollars, still reigns above China in output.

“It’s okay to leave those 20^th century jobs behind,” Ewalt writes. “In the 21^st century, we need less people cranking out widgets and more people inventing them. Leave the labor to the robots.”