> There are no experienced manufacturing workers… This isn't a matter of the price of labor.

Nonetheless the shortage may be addressed by increasing the price. Witness the proliferation of software boot camps.

I find myself confused this fundamental mechanism of free markets seems stuck for this market in this nation. Which hidden incentive(s) do I not comprehend?

Is it simply that decades of business acumen and planning assume cheap labor, anchoring executives’ expectations well below what is now required?