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The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
51–60 of 61 posts
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#52Of course the circumvention of the "chicken tax" is probably the most well-known example of tariff engineering: > Ford imported all of its first-generation Ford Transit Connect models as "passenger vehicles" by including rear windows, rear seats, and rear seat belts. The vehicles are exported from Turkey on ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), arrive in Baltimore, and are converted back into light tru…
I'm going to start compiling a list of stories to reply with when people say "environmental activists are too preachy/emotional about their work" and the Ford motor company manufacturing seats, seat belts, and windows, shipping them in vans to get out of a few thousand dollars in taxes per vehicle, and then shredding those things without them seeing a single ass in their entire existence after removing them from the…
You're not mad at the person who wrote the tax code?
Taxes are pretty arbitrary. Unless you intend to enforce the spirit rather than the letter of the law you're always going to be playing cat and mouse games. People who generate money want to keep it and people who give away money want to take it from people who have money. One will ALWAYS be a step ahead of the other.
If you enforce the spirit of the law people call foul and stop playing the game with you.
Don't get mad at the mice, just build better mouse traps.
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#53Of course the circumvention of the "chicken tax" is probably the most well-known example of tariff engineering: > Ford imported all of its first-generation Ford Transit Connect models as "passenger vehicles" by including rear windows, rear seats, and rear seat belts. The vehicles are exported from Turkey on ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), arrive in Baltimore, and are converted back into light tru…
I'd also note that Ford's attempt to dodge the tariff here wasn't successful. The US DOJ sued and Ford coughed up $365 million to settle the lawsuit: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2024/03/11/ford-...
A rare example of actual consequences for not following the spirit of the law, but only the letter of it
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#54> certain women’s garments with “pockets below the waist” get lower duty rates than those without. Because of that, a number of the women’s shirts Columbia Sportswear makes are intentionally designed with tiny pockets near the waistline, which lowers the cost of importing them.
Thanks for the gist.
The clickbait title could use an edit:
> The reason some Columbia shirts have a tiny pocket near waistline: lower import duties
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#55Of course the circumvention of the "chicken tax" is probably the most well-known example of tariff engineering: > Ford imported all of its first-generation Ford Transit Connect models as "passenger vehicles" by including rear windows, rear seats, and rear seat belts. The vehicles are exported from Turkey on ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), arrive in Baltimore, and are converted back into light tru…
I'm going to start compiling a list of stories to reply with when people say "environmental activists are too preachy/emotional about their work" and the Ford motor company manufacturing seats, seat belts, and windows, shipping them in vans to get out of a few thousand dollars in taxes per vehicle, and then shredding those things without them seeing a single ass in their entire existence after removing them from the…
Honda had a subsidiary to import US soy to Japan since their containers to Japan were empty.
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#56Of course the circumvention of the "chicken tax" is probably the most well-known example of tariff engineering: > Ford imported all of its first-generation Ford Transit Connect models as "passenger vehicles" by including rear windows, rear seats, and rear seat belts. The vehicles are exported from Turkey on ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), arrive in Baltimore, and are converted back into light tru…
I'm going to start compiling a list of stories to reply with when people say "environmental activists are too preachy/emotional about their work" and the Ford motor company manufacturing seats, seat belts, and windows, shipping them in vans to get out of a few thousand dollars in taxes per vehicle, and then shredding those things without them seeing a single ass in their entire existence after removing them from the…
I get being appalled at the waste involved. But that waste was cheaper than the customs duties they would otherwise have had to pay. In other words, all that appalling waste was more efficient than the duties would have been.
To put it another way, I believe that you should be even more appalled at the waste that the customs duties would have imposed.
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#57Of course the circumvention of the "chicken tax" is probably the most well-known example of tariff engineering: > Ford imported all of its first-generation Ford Transit Connect models as "passenger vehicles" by including rear windows, rear seats, and rear seat belts. The vehicles are exported from Turkey on ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), arrive in Baltimore, and are converted back into light tru…
I'd also note that Ford's attempt to dodge the tariff here wasn't successful. The US DOJ sued and Ford coughed up $365 million to settle the lawsuit: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2024/03/11/ford-...
Would it have turned out differently if they sold the vehicles as-is and included a "truck conversion kit" with the parts they used to turn them into light trucks? My thinking is based on the Subaru BRAT and its two bucket seats attached in the pickup bed.
I'm assuming it's cheaper/easier to sell light trucks than passenger vehicles in the US. (I'm aware of the difference in emission regulations)
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm going to start compiling a list of stories to reply with when people say "environmental activists are too preachy/emotional about their work" and the Ford motor company manufacturing seats, seat belts, and windows, shipping them in vans to get out of a few thousand dollars in taxes per vehicle, and then shredding those things without them seeing a single ass in their entire existence after removing them from the…
I get being appalled at the waste involved. But that waste was cheaper than the customs duties they would otherwise have had to pay. In other words, all that appalling waste was more efficient than the duties would have been. To put it another way, I believe that you should be even more appalled at the waste that the customs duties would have imposed.
What on earth are you talking about? One of these things is a waste of finite resources, and the other is a "waste" of money, which is a value-storage concept, and it is a concept indeed since the vast, vast, vast majority of money doesn't actually exist beyond a number in a balance sheet.
Yes, it would've costed Ford more to comply with the regulations by the letter and by the spirit of what was being asked of them. This should be the BARE MINIMUM we expect from members of the business community. I'm so sick of corporate apologia where some dick-headed corporation finds loopholes and ways to re-categorize things as what they definitely, categorically are not and this is not only often not criticized, but is celebrated by people! The only way this is a good thing is if you take from first principles that it's Ford's duty as an organization to duck the LAW, the result of the process of consented governance, and the flaunting of the authorities entrusted to carry out that governance, at every conceivable place to keep every last red cent they can, irrespective of the larger harmful effects it has on our world and society. If that's truly the case, then I submit that our society is not in fact for people, it is in fact, for corporations and the people just happen to live in it.
Whether you agree with a law or a regulation or not, you are bound to respect it. If you disagree about a speed limit set on a highway, do 150 through it, and get a ticket and show up to traffic court and argue that the limit should be higher, you will pay your ticket because your opinion is irrelevant to that law. You're more than free (and I would encourage) you to advocate for changing those laws/regulations, to weigh in when public opinion is requested, to vote for politicians who support what you want to see your government do, all of that is completely, 100% above board. But once all those processes are done and the laws are written, you can't simply fucking ignore them because you don't think they're the right laws. That's anarchy, and not the fun kind.
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm going to start compiling a list of stories to reply with when people say "environmental activists are too preachy/emotional about their work" and the Ford motor company manufacturing seats, seat belts, and windows, shipping them in vans to get out of a few thousand dollars in taxes per vehicle, and then shredding those things without them seeing a single ass in their entire existence after removing them from the…
You're not mad at the person who wrote the tax code? Taxes are pretty arbitrary. Unless you intend to enforce the spirit rather than the letter of the law you're always going to be playing cat and mouse games. People who generate money want to keep it and people who give away money want to take it from people who have money. One will ALWAYS be a step ahead of the other. If you enforce the spirit of the law people cal…
"Don't hate the player; hate the game" is the cheaters motto.
I've always found it weird how so many folks will shout at the top of their lungs how good it is to not have any integrity.
Re: The reason your Columbia shirt has a tiny pocket near your waistline (2019)
#60Government regulations are always going to be far behind clever people. It is better to reduce government regulations and use the courts to stop abuses.