An article in the Wall Street Journal (November 10, 2026) titled “An American Furniture Maker Tried to Bring Jobs Back Home. It Didn’t”, describes the decisions made by the owners of furniture retailer TOV. The company sells furniture priced between IKEA and Crate and Barrel, with sofas initially priced at $900 that are now $1500. The company used Chinese suppliers initially, then got a Chinese supplier to set up a plant in Vietnam to hedge against increasing US tariffs for China imports, then faced a higher US import tariff for Vietnam (46%), then opened a US plant that could not ramp up, then shut the US plant. At the end of this journey, the company continues to produce in Asia. The question remains why increased automation and lower travel costs still do not make the economics of US manufacturing feasible. Should states or the Federal government subsidize automation ? Should local wage supports reduce costs for US manufacturers to make them competitive ? Should vocational schools be set up to provide focused training synched up with manufacturer needs ? And will these consequent jobs created enable the local economy growth to compensate for these required supports ?