<story><title>Why N95 masks are hard to make</title><url>https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/16/814929294/covid-19-has-caused-a-shortage-of-face-masks-but-theyre-surprisingly-hard-to-mak</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>creddit</author><text>I do believe these masks are also made in the US, but this situation highlights exactly why a country having its own major manufacturing base is not just an economic need but rather also a national security need. The US needs to invest in itself immediately to rebuild its lost manufacturing base.&lt;p&gt;In economic terms, under certain definitions and assumptions that are typical under modern economics, a trade war such as the current US-China trade war result in welfare losses. I believe, however, that when national security is taken into account (ie having the ability for the country to rapidly respond to productive capacity needs in a time of crisis), the trade war along with serious investment in expanding industrial capacity is likely net good.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ardy42</author><text>&amp;gt; I do believe these masks are also made in the US, but this situation highlights exactly why a country having its own major manufacturing base is not just an economic need but rather also a national security need. The US needs to invest in itself immediately to rebuild its lost manufacturing base.&lt;p&gt;3M and Prestige Ameritech are the &lt;i&gt;only&lt;/i&gt; companies with the ability to manufacturing N95 masks in the US from &lt;i&gt;US sourced&lt;/i&gt; materials.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.washingtonpost.com&amp;#x2F;health&amp;#x2F;shortages-confusion-and-poor-communication-complicate-coronavirus-preparations&amp;#x2F;2020&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;25&amp;#x2F;d9e56396-575d-11ea-9b35-def5a027d470_story.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.washingtonpost.com&amp;#x2F;health&amp;#x2F;shortages-confusion-an...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.washingtonpost.com&amp;#x2F;business&amp;#x2F;2020&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;15&amp;#x2F;coronavirus-mask-shortage-texas-manufacturing&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.washingtonpost.com&amp;#x2F;business&amp;#x2F;2020&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;15&amp;#x2F;coronavir...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Totally agree with you on manufacturing. It&amp;#x27;s super important to have this kind of domestic manufacturing capability, because trade links break down in a crisis like this.  The US is short on supply and can&amp;#x27;t &lt;i&gt;import&lt;/i&gt; more (other countries are banning exports to conserve supply for domestic needs). If all the manufacturing capability had been outsourced, US healthcare workers would be in even worse shape.</text></comment>
<story><title>Why N95 masks are hard to make</title><url>https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/16/814929294/covid-19-has-caused-a-shortage-of-face-masks-but-theyre-surprisingly-hard-to-mak</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>creddit</author><text>I do believe these masks are also made in the US, but this situation highlights exactly why a country having its own major manufacturing base is not just an economic need but rather also a national security need. The US needs to invest in itself immediately to rebuild its lost manufacturing base.&lt;p&gt;In economic terms, under certain definitions and assumptions that are typical under modern economics, a trade war such as the current US-China trade war result in welfare losses. I believe, however, that when national security is taken into account (ie having the ability for the country to rapidly respond to productive capacity needs in a time of crisis), the trade war along with serious investment in expanding industrial capacity is likely net good.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>JumpCrisscross</author><text>&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;a country having its own major manufacturing base&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;American manufacturing output has grown since 1990 [1]. What it’s been losing is manufacturing &lt;i&gt;employment&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;p&gt;Having more people making a similar number of things does nothing for national security.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;fred.stlouisfed.org&amp;#x2F;series&amp;#x2F;OUTMS&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;fred.stlouisfed.org&amp;#x2F;series&amp;#x2F;OUTMS&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>