Yes, we need a healthy industrial base, and the best way to do that is make the United States a more pro-business country where companies want to do business.
As an example, the U.S. pays the second highest corporate taxes in the world. If you were a company that could go anywhere in the world, how likely are you to go to a country with those sort of tax rates? Then take in consideration the litigious nature of our country. Manufacturers are constantly getting sued, both by workers and consumers. The list of negatives for doing business here goes on and on, it's not just because of "cheap labor". You really put a target on your back if you're a successful company in this country.
Contrast that to many developing countries, like China, where they roll out the red carpet for successful companies that open up factories and businesses over there.
At the end of the day, most American businesses would prefer to manufacture in the United States, but they also don't want to close their doors. You're not going to build the industrial base up by "forcing" companies to start manufacturing here. The company will just shut down the entire operation if it's no longer profitable.
You can't expect a company to manufacture goods in the U.S. simply because it's the right thing to do, or because it's patriotic. They're not opening up a charity. There has to be the incentive to make money and become profitable. I know that sounds greedy, but that's how our capitalist system works.
