Writing in National Affairs, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently made the case for a more vigorous--some might even say intrusive--government role in encouraging the development of US manufacturing. Such an effort, Rubio claims, is necessary to ensure the United States is not beholden to foreign actors for critical goods. While the importance of manufacturing to national security shouldn't be discounted, realizing Rubio's vision would entail a vast expansion of government power in pursuit of addressing a problem that is, at best, greatly overstated. Perhaps more importantly, the essay suffers from errors of both fact and logic that call into question his premises and overall proposal. Here's a closer look at eight myths that undergird the Florida senator's call for robust industrial policy and the reality behind them.
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- United States of America
