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Bringing manufacturing back to the USA is a fine idea however the cost of buying something from a source that pays its workers $1 an hour with no benefits to the cost of buying the same product from an American source whos employees will expect a wage of $20-$30 an hour with all the benefits is going to equate to much higher prices, IMO Americans arent willing to pay $50 for a toaster made in America when they can get one made in China for $12.
For every job saved through increased tariffs, there's many more consumers saddled with higher prices for goods and services.
... It's cheaper and more economical for corporations to have a global footprint......
Indeed. They place plants in places where there are no environmental laws and they can exploit labor in close to slave like conditions. I've seen it first hand.
And you are absolutely right. It's all about cost. Make the cost of selling products manufactured like that too high with import taxes, and those manufacturers will be building plants in the USA instead of China & Mexico. Anyone who doesn't think this, isn't thinking.
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Originally Posted by KC_Sleuth
...and it makes it better for US consumers...
Not if they don't have a job.
One more time. It makes absolutely no sense for an economy to go into debt by paying people not to work.
America needs to become self sufficient. Catch up with the job market of the world. Needs to explore and grow not he surpressed. Need to grow sustainable agriculture in the US that is efficient, environmentally sound, and lower cost of goods. Need to fund research on new technologies, idea's, and so forth that will give efficient green energy to America and the world. Need to create new technological advances, equipment, and so forth. Need to encourage American companies to manufacture in America and protect the Environment.
Need to rebuild Americas infrastructure utilizing hard working Americans. Need to better pay our military service members so they can support their families.
Are Nabisco cookies and Carrier Air Conditioners going to be cheaper since made in Mexico? Stock prices, dividends, profits and bonuses will certainly be higher
Unions. But again, think of how many jobs there are in auto manufacturing vs. 40 years ago. Again, this is not coming back...as future rolls on, fewer of these jobs will be needed.
I am sorry but writing apps will keep only so many people employed. You also seem to confuse automation and jobs leaving the country. Why can't you have automation IN the country? I assure you aren't many robots building iPhones in China. They have built cities to house the workers. Robots don't need homes. Interestingly, you can find plenty of low tech products that are made in this country, like those orange Home Depot buckets. You'd think they would be the first to get shipped out to Mexico.
Countries with a higher automated manufacturing industry have normally more manufacturing jobs, not less. The best example for this is the UK and in a lesser extent the U.S.
Especially the UK has relatively low hourly labor costs in manufacturing and it's degree of automation is among the lowest in the developed world. It's better in the U.S. but only slightly. The UK runs an enormous trade deficit (as a percentage of GDP much larger than the U.S.), despite the fact that labor costs in British manufacturing are relatively low. Labor costs in Swiss or German manufacturing are much higher, but both countries have a much higher percentage of manufacturing and both countries have large export surplusses. Manufacturing there is much more automated and advanced.
You can't compete with China if you use similar outdated production methods. Manufacturers must heavily invest in automation and training the labor force. Paying good wages also helps by atracting smarter employees. That would help bringing manufacturing jobs back, and it will reduce the trade deficit.
Did bailing out GM and Chrysler save jobs? Yes, but when did it become the job of the Federal Government to protect private companies from their own created failures?
Looks like the auto manufacturers paid back the loans.
It can and should be brought back as much as we can. Not everything is automated and it would provide many jobs for people who can't do anything more than a burger flipping job.
Yes and we need to keep in mind that illegal aliens have moved into the manufacturing jobs that we have left. Yes, we still have some jobs in manufacturing which are in the State of Kansas where I live. We must e-verify all jobs.
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Originally Posted by KC_Sleuth
For how long? It's a band-aid solution at best - and probably not worth the cost.
Here's where we are trending in the next couple of decades: jobs for the high-skilled and semi-skilled and those who add some sort of artistic premium (think of a carpenter who does hand wood work that probably would command a high price and could not be replicated by machine). Automation will create new opportunities for those with skills (tech and hybrid-tech jobs). Low-skilled workers continue to be displaced. How long before we see automated order/check out machines at all McDonalds?
You need to get out more. Try coming to SE KS, help me remove these illegals that are milking the state dry and I'll show you job opening in more than low-skilled. KS has over 55,000 illegal workers.
I remember what it used to be like. Anyone with half-a-brain realizes that bad trade deals are destroying our country. So many are critical of Trump because he had clothing made outside the US but no one is willing to pay the price of US produced goods even though the quality is superior. The lesser quantity of something that you manufacture, the more cost because of necessary overhead in running a business.
The jobs can come back. Illegals can be sent home. All of this is within reach.
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Originally Posted by Emerald Forest
Thing is we need to consider U.S. workers first, and NAFTA support hurt us.
It has made it painfully clear that our govt. will put corporations' greed above what is ethical for us citizens.
How long it will take automation to replace workers and how many remains to be seen. But first and foremost, our workers' best interest need to be protected.
Exactly. I suspect this is more of a shot at Trump than anything else. It is simple economics.
Bingo! This is the benefit of trade. It's cheaper and more efficient to offshore these jobs. It makes for a better quality of life for most Americans. If you could somehow reverse it (which you can't), the number of jobs created would still not support the increased cost of things.
If you call having a cheap cell phone and flat panel TV "quality of life" you don't get what the term means.
If you have 2 $400 TVS and a $200 cell phone but make $7.25 at Walmart, that is not a better quality of life than making $20 an hour, having affordable health care, and being able to retire at 65 and lets' say the TV was $1,000 and the cell phone $500 and you buy one every 4 years instead of every year. Let's say all consumer goods go up 20%....I'll argue that the net benefit is worth it, because so many more people would have spending power.
Also, think about how many people would be off the food stamp and Medicaid rolls with said scenario. In addition to that, if all the construction and landscaping and restaurant jobs opened up because illegal immigrants were gone, think of the net benefit of that. So, you only go out to eat once a month instead of every Friday night. These are sacrifices that are worth making.
Are Nabisco cookies and Carrier Air Conditioners going to be cheaper since made in Mexico? Stock prices, dividends, profits and bonuses will certainly be higher
The cost to make them has to be taken into account.
The parts they buy have to be taken into account.
It's not only about cheaper labor which is not that much cheaper than the US.
It's the other labor related costs that make other countries more appealing.
The total labor cost is not only your paycheck.
You have Obamacare mandates, talk of IRA and 401K mandates, FMLA mandates, etc.
When companies see an unstable future with talk of them paying for everything they just might take that into consideration when deciding to relocate.
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