Re: Why It's Cheap To Manufacture In China...
Of course we have that option...if any American goods are offered.
Unfortunately, the people of developed nations have worked themselves into a bit of a pickle by continually demanding a better lifestyle. The demand exists for the goods in the developed countries, but manufacturing costs in developed countries have skyrocketed to provide the worker's lifestyle. Manufacturers have turned from manufacturing them here to manufacturing them there, often with initial compromises in quality and work skills. But, the developing countries have progressed quickly with China being the poster child of incredibly fast industrialization. Now that the box is open, we won't be going back without government intervention.
The only way to prevent loss of manufacturing jobs from happening in a developed, free society is trade barriers in the form of tariffs or punitive restrictions on imports. We've been there; isolationism leads to trade wars, and then to real wars. I was surprised to learn this week that China has just now overtaken little Germany (geographically small; industrially mighty) as the world's greatest exporter; I would have thought we bought four times as much from China as Germany, but not so.
But, they say every man has his price: Let's say you want to buy a certain tool reel bad...maybe it's a bead blast cabinet or maybe a small vertical milling machine. How much premium are you willing to pay to buy American, assuming import quality is acceptable for your purposes? We're not talking about a 20% premium here, although us real nickel pinchers will be eyeballing that level...It's more like 100%, 200%. Eventually, you have to make the decision to buy foreign, or just forego the purchase because you can't afford to buy American...it will keep keep gnawing at you.
Of course we have that option...if any American goods are offered.
Unfortunately, the people of developed nations have worked themselves into a bit of a pickle by continually demanding a better lifestyle. The demand exists for the goods in the developed countries, but manufacturing costs in developed countries have skyrocketed to provide the worker's lifestyle. Manufacturers have turned from manufacturing them here to manufacturing them there, often with initial compromises in quality and work skills. But, the developing countries have progressed quickly with China being the poster child of incredibly fast industrialization. Now that the box is open, we won't be going back without government intervention.
The only way to prevent loss of manufacturing jobs from happening in a developed, free society is trade barriers in the form of tariffs or punitive restrictions on imports. We've been there; isolationism leads to trade wars, and then to real wars. I was surprised to learn this week that China has just now overtaken little Germany (geographically small; industrially mighty) as the world's greatest exporter; I would have thought we bought four times as much from China as Germany, but not so.
But, they say every man has his price: Let's say you want to buy a certain tool reel bad...maybe it's a bead blast cabinet or maybe a small vertical milling machine. How much premium are you willing to pay to buy American, assuming import quality is acceptable for your purposes? We're not talking about a 20% premium here, although us real nickel pinchers will be eyeballing that level...It's more like 100%, 200%. Eventually, you have to make the decision to buy foreign, or just forego the purchase because you can't afford to buy American...it will keep keep gnawing at you.
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