The Arsenal Without Artisans

How U.S. Power Risks Collapse Without a Skilled Workforce

America may be facing its gravest strategic risk since the Cold War — not from rival powers, but from the hollowing out of its own skilled workforce. The nation is attempting to reindustrialize under the pressure of rising geopolitical threats, exponential AI infrastructure demands, and fragile supply chains. But its ambitions are colliding with an aging labor force, broken production ecosystems, and deep inflation sensitivity. The nuclear arsenal is buying time, but that window is closing. Without an urgent, coordinated plan to rebuild the skilled labor base, America’s industrial renaissance will fail — and with it, the foundations of American power.

The U.S. is trying to reindustrialize in an era of geopolitical risk and AI acceleration, yet it lacks the workforce to execute. Nuclear deterrence is buying time while conventional strength is rebuilt, but that buffer is finite. Populist price controls and intimidation tactics may suppress inflation temporarily, but they deepen long-term supply constraints. Reindustrialization without a national workforce strategy will drive structural inflation, degrade readiness, and undermine global credibility. The only sustainable path forward is a targeted, state-guided industrial policy rooted in labor, capital coordination, and strategic patience.