Bringing “manufacturing back to the US” is a fool’s errand. The future of manufacturing is automation, not jobs.
I am not sure why they think it left. The US manufactures far more today than it ever did in the past. The people were largely relieved by robots, granted.
> becoming a mostly service and consumer economy would be the final winning position.
Service isn't always fun. A lot of people don't like selling Big Macs. They are under the impression that if they could have a manufacturing job, they would enjoy work more. That is what drives it.
What they don't realize is that they could already have a manufacturing job. Manufacturers struggle to hire. But the problem there is that, per BLS, 70% of manufacturing happens in rural areas – whereas most people never look for work outside of the city they live in. Thus they conclude that manufacturing doesn't exist. Out of sight, out of mind.