DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Always count on you to show your disrespect for the forum.

cahale Loc: San Angelo, TX

You forgot to mention unions driving wages to unsustainable levels.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

That is a portion of the problem, but unfair trade deals are the main culprit.

After WWII we made trade deals to help the bombed out Euro and Asia nations compete with the world's only intact industrial power.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

Same problem in the UK. Ours was caused my the Tory Government under Margaret Thatcher who moved away from a manufacturing economy to a service led economy. Bad move - when the shit hits the fan the last thing people think of is services.

But I suppose we can always buy a new fan from China.

machia Loc: NJ

👍

Actually a complex mix got us here. Unions are a big culprit too.
Profit sharing is a great idea. Works well for a company like Toyota, while the Unions strangled American car manufacturers. So companies sought cheaper labor but Communist China is a geopolitical, military and economic predator.
MADE IN CHINA
What a terrible idea to do business with a closed society.
MADE IN USA
We must be self reliant again.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

It is ALL about the money. There is nothing political in this at all.
If company A sells it for a dollar and if company B needs to get it made overseas for a cheaper price so that they can then sell it for 97c then they will. And who is driving the $1 or 97c. YOU ARE by always chasing after the 'best deal' !!

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

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Red6

Dirty Harry is correct. It has little to do with politics, it is ALL about the money as it has been for decades when manufacturing goes overseas.

Let me give you an example. I worked for a small manufacturing firm here in the US. We manufactured a small electronic device with a parts cost of around $300 and a labor cost of around $95 giving us a total cost of around $395 each. The item then sold for around $700, giving the company a profit of $305.

The company had an agent representing a manufacturing firm in China to quote the device and they came back with a quote to build, test, pack and ship the items to our dock ready to sell for $120 each. At this cost the profit went to $508, giving the company a 66% increase in profit. since we sold several thousand of these each year, this was a substantial increase to the companies income and profit.

Before you say the overseas items will be cheaply made, it does not have to be. They will make them cheap if you desire. But the overseas contractors will also abide by whatever specifications you require. However, even when adhering to your quality standards and specifications, the items will still be considerably lower in cost.

This is why so many companies go overseas for manufacturing. While manufacturing wages do not seem that high here in the US, they are often often many times higher than China, India or other Asian countries. In addition there are higher costs in health insurance, environmental costs, unemployment insurance, workman's comp., taxes, etc.

Could all these items be made here in the USA? Yes, no doubt. Will Americans be willing to pay 2-3 times the cost of a USA made item compared to the overseas made item? I doubt it. It is the main reason that stores like Walmart and Harbor Freight are so successful, most of the items are made overseas and sell for cheap. Americans are addicted to cheap and will refuse to pay for the real costs if made in the USA.

bodiebill

"Just in time delivery" passion to minimize inventory investment, until the demand had an unprecedented spike.
Manufacturing had moved to lower cost countries, and US capacity reduced or eliminated.
Cheap labor in China was the magnet.
Even Japan who was once low cost producer moved manufacturing overseas.
It was basically an economic cycle and not political

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

PRECISELY. It's the manufacturers (conservatives) themselves who moved their production to China for GREED factor.

Collhar Loc: New York City.

Also protecting union members that do shoddy work. That opened the door for the foreign car manufactures.

whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

Check the labels and you will find most are made in southeast asia. Modern business practice is to practice "just in time" stocking. Internationalism. Most people don't carry much change or paper money. They just use their card.

Collhar Loc: New York City.

Are you so naive as to think there are no Liberals that don't do just as you say about Conservatives?

FiddleMaker Loc: Merrimac, MA

Spot on !!!!