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Holy crap, pardon my French... See now here's a direct issue that I can personally bring up to my local government! I agree with you 200% this is absurd. Kind of validates my starting the thread, by posting the question of if we should even up the playing field. If an American company were to buy goods from an American producer, manufacture such goods, it looks to me that the American manufacturing company would lose money to "buy local"...
Yeah, well, the only problem with your whole scheme is that free trade lets us get more for everything we produce and pay less for everything we consume. The US and the entire world are both richer for it, too. Every country ought to be doing what it does best. If you want to pay $500 for a $200 television, go ahead--but do not pretend that you'll be better off by wasting the money.
The US and the entire world are both richer for it, too.
True, the total wealth of our country is high because American companies can make a lot of money using low-paid, non-OSHA-protected workers working in non-EPA compliant factories. But tell the Americans who are unemployed due to the lack of manufacturing jobs that Free Trade is good for them.
That's what I say, go tell unemployed worker that's been laid off for two years if he'd want a low paying manufacturing job. I feel that in most circumstances he/she would be happy to have found employment.
Cheap electricity would be quicker and prevent a trade war. Certainly, we should force Chinese companies to have a USA partner if they expect to sell or manufacture goods in the USA (just like they require of our companies in China). A strong push for cheap, reliable electricity with coal, natural gas, nuke, water, wind, solar etc...would really make us a giant economic power house in manufacturing.
We can't build electrical factories cheaper than China for this reason: The US government forces American electric companies to comply with regulations, but we do not require countries who we import from to follow those regulations. And, of course, as the law now stands, we can't impose our laws on foreign countries.
However, we can imposed tariffs on products from countries that do not follow our regulations.
Some countries have natural advantages in making certain products: proximity to markets or materials, supplier networks, etc., etc. China's was, until recently, a large reservoir of willing, cheap labor. This is correcting itself, both through higher wages in China and lower wages here. Some manufacturing is returning here, or if not here, to Mexico.
But high wages for unskilled labor will never return. It existed for only a brief period, the 1950's and 60's. It didn't exist before then and won't exist again. I remember when I was in grade school, the teacher used to frighten kids that if they didn't do well in school, they would wind up working in a factory. Then, suddenly, factories became the places where everyone wanted to work because the pay was so high. Now, they're reverting to their historical status as places where the unskilled can be employed usefully.
A better solution is to lower the corporate tax so US companies can actually compete with foreigners. With 40% tax rate and another 10% on State local, that's 50% for income tax along. Then there is payroll tax, which is 7.65% for each employer and employee. Then addition unemployment tax anywhere from 2 to 6%.
So how can we company with other country which much lower tax rate?
High wages for unskilled labor existed well before 1950. That is why millions of poor people emigrated from Europe to America. Those wages came into existence because of the tariff. The high wages of the 50s and 60s were the compounded result of a legacy of manufacturing that was enabled by the tariff plus the contributions of unionization toward pay plus the time it took for Europe and Japan to recover from WWII.
As an example: My grandfather worked in an auto factory in the 20s to 40s and made a very comfortable living for his family.
True enough though, under the current policy, those wages will not return. We will see further loss of manufacturing jobs and any other job that can be exported.
High wages for unskilled labor existed well before 1950. That is why millions of poor people emigrated from Europe to America. Those wages came into existence because of the tariff. The high wages of the 50s and 60s were the compounded result of a legacy of manufacturing that was enabled by the tariff plus the contributions of unionization toward pay plus the time it took for Europe and Japan to recover from WWII.
As an example: My grandfather worked in an auto factory in the 20s to 40s and made a very comfortable living for his family.
True enough though, under the current policy, those wages will not return. We will see further loss of manufacturing jobs and any other job that can be exported.
Henry Ford instituted the $5/day wage in 2010, I think. Well before unions. Wages were comfortable. And, they were sustainable. I venture that even the money Toyota workers make today at Georgetown or Nissan employees make at Smyrna provide comfortable livings. It's when wages got excessive in the 1960's and 70's that manufacturing just fell apart. That, and restrictive work rules, run away health care costs and pension promises that couldn't be kept.
Most countries in Europe had tariffs also. England didn't but didn't all the rest have them? I don't know how many immigrants came here to work in factories. You could probably go better in the US shining shoes than you could in most of Europe. I think a lot came to farm, eventually start their own businesses.
Henry Ford instituted the $5/day wage in 2010, I think. Well before unions. Wages were comfortable. And, they were sustainable. I venture that even the money Toyota workers make today at Georgetown or Nissan employees make at Smyrna provide comfortable livings. It's when wages got excessive in the 1960's and 70's that manufacturing just fell apart. That, and restrictive work rules, run away health care costs and pension promises that couldn't be kept.
Most countries in Europe had tariffs also. England didn't but didn't all the rest have them? I don't know how many immigrants came here to work in factories. You could probably go better in the US shining shoes than you could in most of Europe. I think a lot came to farm, eventually start their own businesses.
Farming was to feed the textile factories over in Europe, at the same time, up north where there weren't the growing seasons that you have in the south, steel and other infrastructure constructions type businesses were growing to keep up with the population boom.
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