Go ahead and pick up any small item in your home. Chances are it was made in China. It's incredible. Can you just imagine the number of jobs, and the overall economic impact if even 10% of the products made in China were actually made in the US? It boggles the mind.

What really gets me though, are the marketing gurus who tout their products as something American... "Spirit of America" or "American Flava" and then you look closely at the tag and it's made in China.

So I picked up my watch and my coffee cup as a test. Watch band "Made in China". NFL Mug "Made in China". Funny. But no, doesn't bother me.

Nah it does not bother me, it is the concept of free markets working.

Having things like this made in China, makes them much cheaper for consumers. The manufacturing jobs the US has lost, have been made up in higher paying high tech jobs.

Economies continue to develop and change. We have been going through this a little. Change will always hurt some people, but if handled right by an educated, motivated country it can bring prosperity.

The overall economic impact would be terrible.

:okthumb: well said!

The problem in the US is that we have an over supply of low skilled workers who expect a high salaried job.

If the US does not turn around our education apparatus, we will be out done by the competition over time.

My girlfriend was made in china, and she works fine. :-)

Alex

Wig....if it were not for unions driving the price of american goods through the roof with "less work to do, more time to do it in,more money for not doing it".

slogan....it would not be a factor...

btw...anyone know who said that?

Jim, I agree to a certain extent.

Unions have surpassed their purpose, like many other well intentioned ideas.

But, I still think that the US will only remain the economic super power if we educate the generations that follow.

If we stay on the path we are now, teaching tolerance, political correctness, passiveness, etc., we will eventually pass the torch and be an economic relic like many of the European countries.

:D

Ah so many posts I agree with in one thread - unions, the importance of education, the place of cheap labor in the American economy, Alex's girlfriend (no first hand knowledge)


When I looked my Disney coffee cup was made in .......


..... Thailand

No Nixon ?

She have a sister?

Comparative Advantage: Learn it.

I second that.

My china was made in England! :rolleyes:

Turning to technology/education?

India and such already do it cheaper (do you know how many people graduate from their university?). The high-tech high-paying jobs are already being sent overseas.


What do you turn to than?

I know several former IT people who are retraining in the medical profession. :)

You turn to working smarter and harder, and with the mental skills to make it happen.

Failure as an end result is not an option. It is a mindset.

Seems to me the education system is moving away from the ideals of hard work and competition with all the PC crap going around.

It is not so much about teaching "math and science" as it is work ethic, common sense, responsibility and individuality.

work hard to be the guy who hires those cheap workers rather than be the guy who is replaced

work hard to be the guy who hires those cheap workers rather than be the guy who is replaced[/b][/quote]
Im not worried for myself. Its a general social wondering. What happens when unemployement goes over 10%? 20%? 50%?
Chaos? looting? or simply a bigger divide between classes?

recession, depression, revolution

Heh

A lot of seemingly misguided opinions in here.

Personally, I buy Canadian/American whenever I can for most things. Outsourcing of manufactured goods is only smart in the short term. Once your population (and then economy) starts to depend on it, then trouble comes.

The Italians buy Italian, the Germans buy German, the Brits British. It's one of the ways they stay unique unto themselves but united in the European Community.

Chris, made in China bothers me less than the wording on the banner in your sig.

Do you really think it's appropriate to be promoting anyone as a 'little girl'?

this past year i took a course on international business - we had some of the top international guys from some of the biggest companies around (i.e. Otis Elevator) -- pretty much it costs on average ~15/hr for labor in the USA, in Mexico it costs ~4/hr. In China, it costs under 1/hr.

Pretty much, companies are going to be laying off Mexican workers and moving everything over to China - its a must for companies to remain competitive.

this is going to be a big issue in the election, especially since bush is pro-free trade and kerry isn't (from what i understand).

see South Park episode - "They Took Yer Jobs"

Well Lisa, I'd answer you, but I'd be hijacking my own thread wouldn't I? :awinky:

Mike, nope, no sisters, just a brother (doctor)...

:-)

I have a few others also made in China, but none of them brave enough to put in a net appearance yet. ;-)

Alex

Heh[/b][/quote]
I was being somewhat sarcastic in response to the 10%, 20% 50% unemployment.

I forgot my :ph34r:

I was being somewhat sarcastic in response to the 10%, 20% 50% unemployment.

I forgot my :ph34r:[/b][/quote]
Those aren't the right answers? They look it to me.

Chris,

The fact is, capital will always find the easiest path. There is no stopping it in a free market.

Do you really think an isolationist stance will produce better results?

Those aren't the right answers? They look it to me.[/b][/quote]
probably real close. ;-)

i was being somewhat sarcastic given the ludicrous premise that was being floated.

even here in philippines...all items in bargain are made from china!

Chris, you should take some economics courses.

Chris,

The fact is, capital will always find the easiest path. There is no stopping it in a free market.

Do you really think an isolationist stance will produce better results?[/b][/quote]
No, wig.. that isn't what I'm saying really. I was putting the question out there to get views on the subject for the most part. Mainly I am amazed at how much merchandise is manufactured in China (my example).

Buff... see above.

I guess I was confused by this:

probably real close. ;-)

i was being somewhat sarcastic given the ludicrous premise that was being floated.[/b][/quote]
Guess I should have invited NinjaSmiley to my post too....

but its an interesting "problem"

Do you think people will start jumping the border to Mexico because the jobs are over there?



:ph34r:

You see absolutely no truth in that statement though?

Guess I should have invited NinjaSmiley to my post too....

but its an interesting "problem"

Do you think people will start jumping the border to Mexico because the jobs are over there?



:ph34r:[/b][/quote]
Dr. G,

I do not see global trade, outsourcing or competition as a problem at all.

From a macro level, it is a good thing.

Its a good (great) thing for corporations and people at the top. But is it really for Mr AverageJoe?



Last edited by DrGuile at May 19 2004, 10:00 AM

You see absolutely no truth in that statement though?[/b][/quote]
Not enough to create a philosophy of stopping it from happening.

Everything in life is a give and take. The benefits in this case far outway the costs.

Take oil for example...

Suppose we were worried about the "trouble" that might come from being dependent on receiving oil from abroad.

Would not receiving oil from abroad to avoid this trouble surpass the benefit?

Absolutely!

Or do you mean the average Joe who cannot get another job that he lost to free market economics?

And if so, who should be responsible for him? Should we stop progress to protect Joe?

That's a great example that shows goes well with Buff's post re: comparative advantage. More of a good produced world-wide lowers prices for that good.

Wig, your oil example is a good one and I'd agree with you.

But don't get me wrong, I don't take a hard line stand on the issue. American simply must import oil because it does not have enough of it's own to go around. It actively protects it's global oil interests as well (on so many levels).

But in terms of simple manufactured goods, (like your coffee cup, why not?) wouldn't you, if you had a clear choice, prefer to put down an extra 80 cents for a cup that was made in the USA and support those people that made it? I would.

If only it were that simple. :D

well, shit. They don't get it the dismal science for nothing.

well, shit. They don't get it the dismal science for nothing.[/b][/quote]
:okthumb:

No one ever said there would be no price paid for progress.

I buy all my stuff from China! :)



Last edited by Peaches at May 19 2004, 12:02 PM

:okthumb:

No one ever said there would be no price paid for progress.[/b][/quote]
If there were no price it would happen faster.

Yeah, the overall impact on having things made here in the States is higher prices --> Purchase less products --> Worse overall economy

Absolutely!

Or do you mean the average Joe who cannot get another job that he lost to free market economics?

And if so, who should be responsible for him? Should we stop progress to protect Joe?[/b][/quote]
Arguably, yes, we should.

My knowledge of business science is limited at best (non-existant would be closer to the truth), so Im not stating anything as fact, but I enjoy having ideas tossed around.

Lets say you work at a large, privately owned plant. You're 40, 45. Plant is moved to Pekin by the boss who obviously follows your ideology that its for progress and its natural. so why not do it?

What do you do than?

Of course finding another job is very hard because most of the town you are living in was built around that plant. Most connext(sp?) business are now closed. You also cant really sell your house and move because no-one is buying and you could not even cover your morgage.

So you have 5000 people that society will now have to care for. For the good of that one owner who acted in the name of progress.

Of course, the other side of the medal is that if he didnt do it, some chinese person would have started a similar company and driven that US based company out of business...



Last edited by DrGuile at May 19 2004, 11:38 AM