Loss of competitiveness

It should not surprise anyone that the erosion of the manufacturing base in the US has been caused by all the reasons mentioned in this piece:  regulations, labor costs, taxation, to mention the most obvious.  For years, over 50, the two parties have been constructing the grand administrative state in which corporations, and the banking system have been subjected to a tsunami of regulations and controls in keeping with the liberal governing philosophy that seeks to put more and more control of society in the hands of the state.  The next election will determine if the erosion in manufacturing continues or if we begin to roll back the administrative state and see a competitive and vibrant U.S. once again.  This chart shows how weak and impotent this recovery has been.  Failure to snap out of this recession soon means a further loss of competitiveness.