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I hear where you’re coming from—and a lot of that frustration is understandable.
You’re right that 1971 was a real turning point. Ending gold convertibility closed a leak in the system, but it also removed a hard constraint on money and debt, which changed incentives fast. After that, it became easier to finance consumption than production, and policy gradually favored financialization and offshoring over making things here.
That said, I’d separate a few things:
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Manufacturing decline wasn’t just retaliation by Europe. It was driven by U.S. policy choices: strong dollar policy, trade deals, tax and regulatory incentives, Wall Street pressure for short-term profits, and later China’s entry into global trade.
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Living standards: median wages stagnated while productivity rose—so people felt poorer even as the economy “grew.” That’s real, not nostalgia.
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Bringing manufacturing back is hard but not impossible. Trump, Biden, and now others are all pulling on that lever—but rebuilding supply chains takes decades, not one presidency.
Your stance on buying American-made cars is internally consistent. Individual choices won’t fix the system alone, but they do signal values, and cultures change when enough people act that way.
Bottom line:
You’re right that we traded production for consumption, and that choice hollowed out the middle class. Reversing it is necessary—but it’ll take sustained policy, not just one leader, and definitely not just markets left to themselves.