[thrmsforbfast]

Except by now, even Foxconn has openly admitted that there aren't going to be tens of thousands of $60k+ manufacturing jobs. WI spent 4B+ on the "deregulated manufacturing hub" idea and it's still going to fail to materialize well-paying jobs for non-college-educated folks. This by Foxconn's own public admission.

Furthermore, the attitude that "either you're a coastal elite or you believe in the future of well-paid manufacturing jobs" is extraordinarily presumptive.

Has it occurred to you that some of us want "middle America to let go of the dream of well-paid manufacturing jobs" precisely because we are from/currently live in middle America, desperately want what's best for it, and believe manufacturing isn't going to provide that?

By the way, why on earth do you believe the Midwest needs manufacturing for a robust economy? That assertion -- that the Midwest can't build a thriving information/services-based economy -- seems far more like "turning your nose up" at the Midwest than your parent's post!

Frankly, whenever I encounter this mentality, I read it as: "oh yes, those [small-town] midwesterners, what could they ever do for society if they don't have assembly lines to work on."