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There's a yo-yo effect for sure, and the side you pointed out is part of what delays the impact of the higher wages.
I'm not sure that a middle ground exists, however, without creating stagnation. Beyond that, the world doesn't stop growing, so the number of people involved never remains constant.
Wages low enough to promote growth restricts buying power. The American way of life has grown too accustomed to having its toys, and having them inexpensively. In order to afford those toys, they have to earn a certain amount per hour. That amount per hour is almost certainly going to be more than companies are willing to pay to manufacture things (simplified statements here, of course). Yin & Yang... with a delay in the middle as things swing from one side to another.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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I was listening to NPR this afternoon. In NYC, fastfood workers went on a 1 day strike...the sound bite was some guy saying, "Weez needs a livin wage man!"
They want $15 a hour.
I don't even know what to say to that. Let's face it, those are entry level type jobs. Some go to McDonalds, apply some effort, and then make a pretty nice wage if they go in to management, but the culture today is if you show up for a entry level job you should have a wage that pays all your bills.
I don't even...I...ahh....you know what I mean.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong ![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)
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The minimum wage in Ohio is tied to consumer pricing now ..... with some idiotic assumption that this will turn the minimum wage into a living wage. (which it should not be)
What is the result of this stupidity? A declining spending power for those on a fixed income. Prices increase to compensate for the higher required minimums. The number of workers per dollar of sales decreases. The $1 Whopper Jr now costs $1.49. The dollar menu is now a "value" menu. Shopping at a grocery store means longer lines and fewer employees on the floor.
Mandating ever increasing minimums actually works against the middle class too. The middle class, those on salary, have seen many years of "sorry, we can't afford raises this year", while minimum wage employees seemingly get a raise each and every year. Prices increase as a result, and the middle class gets squeezed at an ever increasing frequency.
If we had a real economic plan, and would encourage industry to invest in the US instead of trying to turn starter jobs into something to raise a family on, we'd be much further ahead.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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The Chinese can literally design, build, employ factories in weeks/months, where in the US we have so many hurdles to jump through and red tape, that sometimes retooling alone takes months.
It's not just the factories... back in the 60s old Ralph Nader drove a nail in the American auto industry by forcing a bunch of safety measures and at the same time the US government enacted a bunch of fuel economy standards (I'm not saying that safer more efficient cars are a bad idea, just that how we approached it was an abysmal failure).... the US auto industry was extremely slow and ineffective in responding to the new requirements and the foreign cars capitalized on that, at that time it was the Japanese. They responded faster with a much better and cheaper product.
However, what has not been brought up in this discussion is the number of foreign cars being made in the US... but they are being made in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Illinois, and Missouri... and not Michigan and Ohio. Some communities in America are doing quite well making Mazdas and Hondas and Toyotas. For decades the US fought the notion that we were moving to a more global economy rather than trying to figure out how to be a player in it and capitalize on it...
yebat' Putin
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Unbelievable timing. After dropping my latest post this afternoon,I hooked my dog up for a nice walk on the trails behind my house. I always take my pod- loaded with my latest podcast subscriptions. This was the first- the very first thing that came on, when I cued up the player. I believe this interview might shed a light from a different angle, regarding how turnarounds can be made. It deals with municipalities instead of governments, and puts local efforts where they make the most immediate difference in peoples' lives. The entire interview is 25 minutes, but if you can make it to the 5:40 point, you'll get why I dropped this post in this thread. It kind of dovetails with my earlier Tesla example, and has something of a local angle, as well. On the strength of this interview alone, I've made up my mind to read this guy's book. See what you think:
"too many notes, not enough music-"
#GMStong
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I was listening to NPR this afternoon. In NYC, fastfood workers went on a 1 day strike...the sound bite was some guy saying, "Weez needs a livin wage man!"
They want $15 a hour.
If they're full-time employees in New York City, they better damn well be making $15 an hour.
It's costs $5 an hour just to breathe in Manhattan.
I came up in NYC when I was younger, and made about $15/hour, and there is zero chance I could've survived there if it weren't for grants and loans I was lucky enough to qualify for. And I still looked up to church mice.
McDonald's in Times Square should start around $13-15/hour.
I know you live in Tennessee...not sure what a Big Mac value meal costs there ... I haven't lived in NYC for awhile ... any posters in the Apple want to tell me what a #1 costs there?
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I doubt the people working at the Wendys in Manhattan, live in manhattan. Maybe Newark.
In any event, jobs like that aren't meant to be living wages. They are meant to be supplemental wages.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong
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I doubt the people working at the Wendys in Manhattan, live in manhattan. Maybe Newark.
In any event, jobs like that aren't meant to be living wages. They are meant to be supplemental wages.
in general, I agree with you. however, even fast food restaurants in Times Square should be living wages for their employees. it's a brutal job with continuous lines and the elevated prices and revenue flow make it possible to easily pay those wages there (and yes, that does matter).
it's general principles of supply/demand. those places need the best employees to keep the lines moving fast to make the most money possible (people will go where the lines move quickly and the more people in less time equals more money for the employer). so, it makes economical sense there too.
#gmstrong
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Maybe it's just me, but wages should be set by market conditions. Not a swipe of the pen.
Lets just make minimum wage $35 a hour. Then those on the bottom step of the ladder can move ahead of the people in the middle of the ladder.
That would put those full time workers at what...$1400 a week...that is a bit over 70K a year.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong
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yes, that I agree. the wages should be set as market conditions as I demonstrated above.
now, if the workers do feel that their market wages are being unfairly held down, then they can take action. that does need to be included. but, they also have to be wary that it could cause their employers to seek help elsewhere.
#gmstrong
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Jobs should pay what the market demands.
If I have low end jobs open, and 100 applicants for every job, then why should I, as a businessman, have to pay an artificially inflated wage? My interest is not to pay people more than they are worth ..... my interest is to make my business successful. How do I do that? By delivering a great product, with great service, at a fair price. Artificially inflating wages causes cuts elsewhere, and/or price increases. It has to. Mandate an increase to the hourly wage paid to minimum level employees, and you cause businesses to cut back on the number of staff per dollar of income. It happens, because it has to. Businesses must profit in order to remain open.
If my business does $100 per hour in sales, and I can afford to spend 20% of my sales on labor costs (prior to payroll taxes, etc) then if I have employees making $5/hour, I can afford to have 4 people working in those $100 hours. If they make $10/hour, then I can only afford 2.
If I have to raise my prices to remain in business, then that could have an effect on the frequency of which people visit my establishment. If a person has enough disposable income to afford lunch 3 times/week at $5/meal, well, if the cost of that meal increases to $7.50 as the result of higher wage and labor costs, then that person can now only afford to come in twice/week. We gain additional ncome on each customer, but can have fewer customer visits as a result.
Business should have minimum standards that ensure that they are not abusive to their employees, and that they do not pay slave wages ..... however, let's not confuse flipping burgers with being a doctor. (and I have flipped burgers in my time) Certain jobs are lower paid jobs because they have a lower overall skills level, and because the pool of available labor is much larger. It is foolish to think that we can somehow turn entry level unskilled labor jobs into career positions. It is like saying that you should pay the kid that cuts your grass once a week $40K/year, because he has to live and support himself too. It's a false argument. The value of the work, and the ability of the employer to easily fill positions should dictate the wage paid, not some artificial and arbitrary governmental standard.
As an aside, I think that able bodied people, on the dole, should perform work for their benefits. They should go to work 3-4 times/week performing work for the community in which they live, and which provides for their support. The other 2-3 days should be job skills training and development, and the person actively looking for a job.
I bet that there would be more unemployed people out actually hitting the pavement if they had to work for their benefits. Even if they can't find a job, they will develop skills through the training process, and will develop a work ethic by the work they would be required to do. In an age where local and city governments are going belly up, it only makes sense to change the way the welfare system works (or doesn't work) to allow local governments to have a payoff for the money they hand out each and every month.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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I doubt the people working at the Wendys in Manhattan, live in manhattan. Maybe Newark.
In any event, jobs like that aren't meant to be living wages. They are meant to be supplemental wages.
I don't agree with that at all Peen. There are people, many of them, that make a career out of Wendy's or MickeyD's and do very very well as shift managers or store managers or regional managers/directors that work for franchisees (aren't you one, or were one, I don't remember if it was you)
In Manhattan, I'd guess the minimum wage may not be much different in Manhattan than it is here but to get decent employees, you got to pay competitive wages or you get the slugs..
if they are handling your money, you don't want slugs.. you want honest people. And you don't get them there for minimum wage. or at least rarely.
then of course there are HS kids or those attending college that need to make a few bucks for spending money or for books etc.
But there is a good career path if you find the right franchisee to work for. and yeah, you gotta start at the bottom usually.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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Maybe it's just me, but wages should be set by market conditions.
We went that route.
Guess what happened?
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Jobs should pay what the market demands.
I've asked this too many times to count on this board, and it always results in crickets...
You guys constantly talk about how for the most part, the market should be left to it's own devices, and dictate things.
Can you provide a single example in the history of civilization where this was effective? Or even sustainable?
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In Manhattan, I'd guess the minimum wage may not be much different in Manhattan than it is here but to get decent employees, you got to pay competitive wages or you get the slugs..
That says it all right there.
If the company wants to be successful with decent employees, they will voluntarily pay better. If not they get crap workers and business suffers.
As the employee they can refuse to work that job for that pay. Or they work there until they find something, basically the definition of supplemental, entry level and temporary work.
That said, I do think there should be an absolute minimum to avoid as stated above, "slave labor". But that should be pretty low.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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You guys constantly talk about how for the most part, the market should be left to it's own devices, and dictate things.
Can you provide a single example in the history of civilization where this was effective? Or even sustainable?
Can you provide a single example of where it was tried?
yebat' Putin
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Raising the minimum wage is nothing more than a fake, a deception, a lie. People who make minimum wage are paid that amount because they are not worth any more as workers.
It would be the same as just declaring that all $5 dollar bills are now worth $10. Prices simply go up to match.
A real effort to address the "problem" would focus on increasing the value of the worker. Part of that effort would be to educate young women that a burger-flipper is not going to be able to support a wife and child. The most critical thing needing done is to also educate them that the rest of us are not going to feed them, either.
The belief in the magic bucket in the sky must come to an end.
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You guys constantly talk about how for the most part, the market should be left to it's own devices, and dictate things.
Can you provide a single example in the history of civilization where this was effective? Or even sustainable?
Can you provide a single example of where it was tried?
There's a reason for that.
I'm always baffled by the whole 'let the market take care of it' line of thinking.
If we did that...well, first of all, we'd never have gotten off the ground as an economy. But if we pretended that somehow we had, we'd all be speaking Japanese right now.
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I'm always baffled by the whole 'let the market take care of it' line of thinking.
Why? Generally the market is self-correcting. The problem is, especially in this age, it's self-correcting on a global scale so its corrections might not be best for the United States.... and it definitely might not be best for various voting blocs that politicians rely on....
The other problem is that people (and by default the politicians) aren't willing to allow the market to self-correct for a couple of reasons, one is that it might take a while and second you will have winners and losers. So they jack with interest rates, currency, trade laws, tax rates, etc all in the name of correcting the economy when what they are really doing is creating instability.... which they can then go back and try to fix... It's great for politicians job security.
yebat' Putin
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While I believe in the open market taking care of itself, there should be some government safety nets in place. The market is brutal, and its corrections would do great harm in the short term.
It's a balancing act. Right now the government is controlling the market way too much. Those corrections are going to come (not if, when). Delaying the corrections until later only makes the problem worse.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
-PrplPplEater
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The problem is, especially in this age, it's self-correcting on a global scale so its corrections might not be best for the United States....
In any age, really.
The United States always has been and always will be a very big protectionist state.
We couldn't have had our industrial revolution without going that route, we couldn't have competed with the Japanese...we would've been squashed long before we even had a chance to grow.
If we let the market 'correct' itself, we'd go down the tubes so fast we'd look at today's economy as a Golden Age.
And usually the people who advocate the whole 'let the market do it's thing' argument are A) usually those who would get creamed by it and B) usually supportive of political figures who do the exact opposite. Ronald Reagan was one of the most protectionist presidents we've ever had. And that's not a bad thing - he had to be. Our economic success during that time was directly tied to it.
Simply put, the United States would get demolished in the system that so many advocate.
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jc We were discussing minimum wage and self market adjustments, how did we get to global economy? 
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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jc
We were discussing minimum wage and self market adjustments, how did we get to global economy?
Because in today's world, you can't separate the issues. It is all connected and inter-dependent.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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jc
We were discussing minimum wage and self market adjustments, how did we get to global economy?
Because in today's world, you can't separate the issues. It is all connected and inter-dependent.
Your right, because China does not have a minimum wage and therefore supplies us all our goods for the people who want to buy the cheapest but get paid top dollar.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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In any age, really.
The United States always has been and always will be a very big protectionist state.
We couldn't have had our industrial revolution without going that route, we couldn't have competed with the Japanese...we would've been squashed long before we even had a chance to grow.
I disagree to an extent because there was a time when the United States had far fewer people and seemingly unlimited natural resources. Small farms were everywhere, manufacturing wasn't particularly complex, shipping costs were high, and it was relatively simple for us to be self-sustaining...
Those things have changed, our approach needs to change.
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Simply put, the United States would get demolished in the system that so many advocate.
Of course we would because we have had one of the highest standards of living for a century... and if you left the global market to take care of itself, it would, by default, be self-leveling... which means those at the top would come back to the median...
Granted, that's theoretically how it would work but in a global economy, it probably wouldn't work that way, countries just like companies and individuals would have winners and losers... some countries would get/stay rich and others would get/stay poor.
yebat' Putin
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jc
We were discussing minimum wage and self market adjustments, how did we get to global economy?
Because in today's world, you can't separate the issues. It is all connected and inter-dependent.
Your right, because China does not have a minimum wage and therefore supplies us all our goods for the people who want to buy the cheapest but get paid top dollar.
China is changing.. the cost of producing goods there is rising. It may lead to bringing manufacturing back to the states. Maybe not in my lifetime, but I'm feel certain it's beginning to head in that direction.
JMO of course, but I've already seen signs with a few customers of mine.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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jc
We were discussing minimum wage and self market adjustments, how did we get to global economy?
Because in today's world, you can't separate the issues. It is all connected and inter-dependent.
Your right, because China does not have a minimum wage and therefore supplies us all our goods for the people who want to buy the cheapest but get paid top dollar.
China is changing.. the cost of producing goods there is rising. It may lead to bringing manufacturing back to the states. Maybe not in my lifetime, but I'm feel certain it's beginning to head in that direction.
JMO of course, but I've already seen signs with a few customers of mine.
At one point Taiwan was the hub for cheap manufacturing. Now it's China proper. Tomorrow it's likely to be India. The day after, probably somewhere in South America or Africa. As the overall standard of living in manufacturing countries improves, the rate of pay increases. As the rate of pay increases, the standard of living further increases. As this happens, then the desire to have products manufactured more inexpensively kicks in, as people desire ways to stretch their money even further. Manufacturing then moves to other less developed countries ...... and the cycle continues.
Right now we are developing the world's economies by pushing our manufacturing away from home. When we had, more or less, a manufacturing monopoly at home, (for our market) then we could manufacture at home, and pay very high wages for relatively simple manual labor. However, automation and cheaper labor elsewhere have combined to make shipping products back home cheaper than manufacturing here. That is unlikely to change. The only way I can see if by using tax policy to cut corporate taxes for US companies with a certain percentage of their manufacturing in the US ...... or by use of a VAT. (which is, essentially, a tariff) Even then, the days of $40-50/hour, simple manual labor are gone. Auto manufacturers, as an example, cannot pay those kind of wages and compete with foreign manufacturers. Same for any other product I can think of. However, maybe they might be able to bring some jobs home, and to afford modestly higher domestic wages, if they had to include a VAT on every product they import. (even if they themselves manufacture it elsewhere) Further, we could use tax policy to cut taxes for US companies who manufacture their products in the US, or who use other companies to manufacture domestically, as companies like Rubbermaid do, using companies like Dinesol to outsource their manufacturing domestically. (As a side note, I really, truly, and completely hated working with plastic, and at Dinesol.)
Anyway, there are some possible solutions to some of the issues we face, at least partial solutions, but the simple fact is that the desire for cheap products will drive labor costs down to their lowest level, especially if other incentives are not put in place to assist and support domestic manufacturing.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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thanks for that post, BTTB. By way of tie-in, I urge everyone to listen to the interview I linked earlier in this thread. It addresses, all at once, some of the very things now being discussed. It's 25 minutes well-spent, all you "short attention span" Dawgs.... 
"too many notes, not enough music-"
#GMStong
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with his portrait of cities saying, "screw you, Wash D.C.- we'll get ourselves out of this... we KNOW you won't do anything..."
I haven't listened to it but I like this guy already. 
yebat' Putin
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In any age, really.
The United States always has been and always will be a very big protectionist state.
We couldn't have had our industrial revolution without going that route, we couldn't have competed with the Japanese...we would've been squashed long before we even had a chance to grow.
I disagree to an extent because there was a time when the United States had far fewer people and seemingly unlimited natural resources. Small farms were everywhere, manufacturing wasn't particularly complex, shipping costs were high, and it was relatively simple for us to be self-sustaining...
Those things have changed, our approach needs to change.
And what happened when manufacturing did become complex? How did we keep up? Could we have kept up if we 'let the market take care of itself'?
You mentioned shipping costs were high. Why was that? Was it the market doing it's thing, or were some of those costs put in place to 'level the playing field' (i.e. manipulate the market)?
I could go on and on, but my point is that we've always been manipulating the market to protect ourselves economically and give ourselves a leg up against the competition, even back in the days of powdered wigs and three-corner hats. Which, of course, is the antithesis of the whole 'market will correct itself' line of thinking.
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Of course we would because we have had one of the highest standards of living for a century...
Again, I'm talking throughout our history. I'm including eras where we were the young pups, not just when we were top dog.
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You mentioned shipping costs were high. Why was that?
It was because super-freighters didn't exist, much less there being massive fleets of them that has a daily stream of products from around the globe arriving at a cost-per-pound that has never before existed.
It was also before the advent of regular air freight.
Technology advances in shipping eventually eroded the barriers to having things shipped in. The protectionist costs (tariffs) put in place would have come after that, to preserve the barriers artificially. The hope would have been that industry here would have evolved to deal without those tariffs.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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Dawg Talker
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Dawg Talker
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I listened to it or I should say some of it Clem, it pretty much is telling me a lot of what I already know to be honest.. I'm glad to know that some communities are leading the way when it comes to developing and enhancing the work force in their areas. It's and important 1st step.
That said there is a huge opportunity in manufacturing, but its vastly different then in by gone years, and we have some advantages but those advantages we have are a small window that we simply must step thru before its to late. I believe for our survival on some levels and for the future of manufacturing.
For instance: Most people have heard of 3d printing and steroelythography which is basically the same thing, But have you ever heard of DMLS or long form Direct Metal Laser Sintering, additive manufacturing.
Traditional manufacturing has always centered around take a raw piece of material and cutting away the outside of the material to form the part you want. In additive manufacturing you take raw material (usually a metal of plastic in powder form) and build the part, thus the term additive manufacturing.
What that technology is allowing engineers to do is design a product today and build it literally overnight. There are several advantages, time to market is measured in days rather then weeks and months being number one. Yet this technology isn't a replacement for more traditional manufacturing processes, its simply a tool that allows design engineers to bring new innovative ideas to market faster. This technology is also allowing design engineers to push the envelope so to speak on what we could and couldn't make in the past. Now we can make anything in any shape with any geometry we can possibly think of.
Imagine a hearing aid so small that you can hardly see it with all the wiring and amplification and hardware build into it all in one shot. No one has done it yet but sure _____ someone is going to build a machine that does both 3d printing and DMLS all in one machine that will be capable of doing exactly what I just said. Will be able to make the most complicated things you can imagine at a micro level. It's very exciting stuff and we need to get out front with the use of these technologies. They open the window to a world we don't know about YET. Much the same as computers have done over the past 35 years.
Lets put it this way if I had a couple of million and I wanted to get richer I would drop my doe into this technology I would dedicate half of my business to making money and the other half to developing new and innovative ways to link this technology. Some one will do it and they will get stupid rich, Steve Jobs rich..
I don't want to ramble I'll add more later if the mood hits me... But honest this is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak there are some really cool and innovative things that are coming down the pipe line and we need to make sure we don't get left behind and preferably we lead the way.
BTTB
AKA Upbeat Dawg
Can't believe I am in a group that is comprised of the best NOT just fans but people on the planet.
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
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love it!
stay upbeat, Dawg.
"too many notes, not enough music-"
#GMStong
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Hall of Famer
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3D Systems is one of my favorite companies right now. Their 3D printing is additive as far as the plastic/polymer aspect goes. They have just purchased Phenix Systems as well which specializes in making direct metal selective laser sintering 3D printers. I am heavily invested in many 3D technology companies with most of my holdings in 3D Systems and Stratasys. I also like Dassault Systems, a French company that specializes in 3D modeling software. I really do not see how this can be a miss as far as investing goes; it is amazing technology with a huge upside. I am not an engineer in the manufacturing realm (I am in software), so I can only imagine how exciting it would be to work in this field with the breakthroughs that are going to happen in the next 5-10 years.
#gmstrong
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 42,166 Likes: 135 |
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jc
We were discussing minimum wage and self market adjustments, how did we get to global economy?
Because in today's world, you can't separate the issues. It is all connected and inter-dependent.
Your right, because China does not have a minimum wage and therefore supplies us all our goods for the people who want to buy the cheapest but get paid top dollar.
China is changing.. the cost of producing goods there is rising. It may lead to bringing manufacturing back to the states. Maybe not in my lifetime, but I'm feel certain it's beginning to head in that direction.
JMO of course, but I've already seen signs with a few customers of mine.
At one point Taiwan was the hub for cheap manufacturing. Now it's China proper. Tomorrow it's likely to be India. The day after, probably somewhere in South America or Africa. As the overall standard of living in manufacturing countries improves, the rate of pay increases. As the rate of pay increases, the standard of living further increases. As this happens, then the desire to have products manufactured more inexpensively kicks in, as people desire ways to stretch their money even further. Manufacturing then moves to other less developed countries ...... and the cycle continues.
Right now we are developing the world's economies by pushing our manufacturing away from home. When we had, more or less, a manufacturing monopoly at home, (for our market) then we could manufacture at home, and pay very high wages for relatively simple manual labor. However, automation and cheaper labor elsewhere have combined to make shipping products back home cheaper than manufacturing here. That is unlikely to change. The only way I can see if by using tax policy to cut corporate taxes for US companies with a certain percentage of their manufacturing in the US ...... or by use of a VAT. (which is, essentially, a tariff) Even then, the days of $40-50/hour, simple manual labor are gone. Auto manufacturers, as an example, cannot pay those kind of wages and compete with foreign manufacturers. Same for any other product I can think of. However, maybe they might be able to bring some jobs home, and to afford modestly higher domestic wages, if they had to include a VAT on every product they import. (even if they themselves manufacture it elsewhere) Further, we could use tax policy to cut taxes for US companies who manufacture their products in the US, or who use other companies to manufacture domestically, as companies like Rubbermaid do, using companies like Dinesol to outsource their manufacturing domestically. (As a side note, I really, truly, and completely hated working with plastic, and at Dinesol.)
Anyway, there are some possible solutions to some of the issues we face, at least partial solutions, but the simple fact is that the desire for cheap products will drive labor costs down to their lowest level, especially if other incentives are not put in place to assist and support domestic manufacturing.
What we had in this country is short term thinking for short term gain. Move manufacturing off shore, save big bucks, make more profit.. make stockholders happy, make Wall Street Happy Happy and that's all good but in the process, we destroyed the working class so there are now less folks able to afford what they did in the past. A balance was never found between profit and keeping America a leader in manufacturing. And that's what's always been needed.
Thinking about it, would Mr. Firestone ever consider moving to china, How about Henry Ford or Mr. Sieberling or Thomas Edison? would any of them ever thought that it's a good think to ruin their customer base by moving manufacturing overseas? Not in a million years would they close factories here and move manufacturing anywhere.
Might they have done that to bring their products to China.. yeah, of course they would have done that. that wold have been a brilliant move. They'd have been the big players in China or Japan or other countries. (well, maybe not China) but you get my thinking here. Their presence there may have actually thwarted the growth of industry and we'd be the big players all over the world and STILL be the big player here at home.
That would have made perfect sense. Just like Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, BMW etc have brought manufacturing here. Its both a PR move AND a way to secure their customers ability to buy their products.
That's how the industrialist of Americas past would have done it. Not like the numbnuts that run American Manufacturing today.
Short term thinking for a quick buck is what happened and continues to happen and it has destroyed the bedrock of our country.
Like I said, I do believe it will come full circle, but probably not in my lifetime. Industry is slow to learn from their mistakes.
Too bad, I'd really like to see that.. but I won't get to.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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