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America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

molsonhart.com

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Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#501

Post by dboreham »

pokot0 wrote: post #176
pjc50 wrote: post #35

> China generates over twice as much electricity per person today as the United States. Why? This appears to be completely wrong? All the stats I can find say that the US has about 4x the per capita electricity generation of China. Other than that it seems to be mostly good points, especially the overall one: you cannot do this overnight. > If you’re building a new factory in the United States, your investment will a…

Can someone explain to me why EU VAT is considered a tariff, while US sales taxes are not? They both seem a sale tax to me.

They're not. Only disingenuous charlatans say they are.

Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#503

Post by fleek »

kamaal wrote: post #288
jghn wrote: post #117

The other day I saw the results of a poll [1] where 80% of Americans thought the *country* would be better off if more Americans worked in factories. However, only 20% of Americans thought that *they* would be better off if more Americans worked in factories. It was surprisingly bipartisan. In other words, people like the idea of this, but no one actually wants this. [1] https://www.ft.com/content/845917ed-41a5-449f-…

Would interesting to know what percentage themselves or their own children wanted to work at a factory. Can tell with a huge degree of confidence for all practical purposes thats 0. Its always easy to expect other people to make sacrifices working these jobs, while imagining you and your kids working office desk jobs.

Is everyone on hacker news so entitled and privileged they cannot even imagine an American citizen wanting to work for a living?

I absolutely would work a factory job if it paid 100k+ and meant owning a home someday.

Instead I got 100k student loans and make 60k at a desk and I'll never have a life outside of work because I simply can't afford it.

I'll be 35 this year after 12 years of working and just starting to have a positive net worth.

American dream my ass.

Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#504

Post by JumpCrisscross »

wormlord wrote: post #150

I think the collapse of the American Empire is no more preventible than the collapse of the British, Spanish, or Roman empires. The issues with the US being the reserve currency has been known for a while now (and was even predicted by Keynes before the Bretton-Woods summit): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffin_dilemma Any discussion of "bringing back manufacturing" that doesn't mention government spending or socia…

> the collapse of the American Empire is no more preventible than the collapse of the British, Spanish, or Roman empires

They each had longer runs than we’ve had.

My pet theory is lead. From 1950 to 1980 we birthed a leaded generation [1]. Today, up to 60% of American voters were born before 1975 [2]. (Voters born between 1950 and 1980 came into the majority in the 1990s and should fall into the minority by 2028, but only barely. So in summary: Iraq War, Financial Crisis, Covid and Trump 47. It won’t be until the 2040s when truly unleaded voters, those born after 2000, command a majority.)

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35254913/#&gid=article-figur...

[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/the-changing...

Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#505

Post by LatteLazy »

I prefer the alternative explain: this is just trump bringing in a national sales tax without having to go through the senate or eat the unpopularity.

There seems to be no actual plan to actually bring back manufacturing (this would require different tariffs, loans, tax accounting rules, etc). And there seems to be no targeting of china (everywhere is being tariffed, allies and enemies, strategic suppliers and places with no trade with the USA etc)

Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#506

Post by stetrain »

gosub100 wrote: post #473
matthewdgreen wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it annoying that you think the other choice was “offshoring is great.” Spending on US factory construction surged under Biden. This was largely due to stuff like the IRA and the CHIPS Act. If voters had made different choices in November 2024, in Congress as well as the Presidency, I think we could have had even more aggressive industrial policy — instead of this absolute shitshow that will permanently damage…

Largely due to government welfare, business is great!

There are carrots and sticks. The current plan seems to be to cut down giant trees at random and hope they don't fall on anything important. If they do there will need to be government welfare applied anyway to keep businesses alive just like during the previous Trump administration.

Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#507

Post by stetrain »

xienze wrote: post #440
philistine wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The candidate who opposed Trump during the primaries would have done something very similar to what you said. But then she was born with ovaries so the Republican Party wanted nothing to do with her as the top boss.

Democrat voters didn’t want anything to do with her during the 2020 primaries and didn’t turn out as much for her in 2024 as they did for Biden in 2020, so who are the real misogynists here?

> Democrat voters didn’t want anything to do with her during the 2020 primaries and didn’t turn out as much for her in 2024 as they did for Biden in 2020, so who are the real misogynists here?

Are you talking about Harris? I'm pretty sure she wasn't in the republican primaries so that isn't who the previous comment was talking about.

Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#508

Post by stetrain »

xienze wrote: post #491
watwut wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty clearly republicans, to be honest.

And this is why Democrats lost. Why admit and address that perhaps they ran a candidate that was deeply unpopular, even within her own party, when they could just instead blame the “misogynistic Republican” boogeyman.

> And this is why Democrats lost.

What do Democrats have to do with Republican candidates in a Republican primary?

Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#509

Post by JKCalhoun »

gosub100 wrote: post #477
jghn wrote: post #117

The other day I saw the results of a poll [1] where 80% of Americans thought the *country* would be better off if more Americans worked in factories. However, only 20% of Americans thought that *they* would be better off if more Americans worked in factories. It was surprisingly bipartisan. In other words, people like the idea of this, but no one actually wants this. [1] https://www.ft.com/content/845917ed-41a5-449f-…

I would consider factory work if it paid a liveable wage and I didn't have other options.

I started out asking myself, what would it take for American's to be okay with factory work. For example, my grandfather worked in a GM plant in Kansas City for most of his life. I mean he had started out wearing suits and doing books for a bank when he was young and fresh out of high school.

And then I remembered, oh yeah, the Great Depression happened when he was young and he was let go from his bank job — the bank folded. When the decent paying factory job at an auto assembly plant eventually came along he probably jumped at it.

Re: America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back

#510

Post by rjsw »

9dev wrote: post #352
999900000999 wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We already have a massive prison industrial complex, a lack of basic rights and a complete disregard for due process. Very soon we'll be forced to make shoes and other things behind bars. No trial needed, just indefinite detention.

Now that is an elegant solution! They are starting to punish people with the wrong opinion and strip them of their citizen rights already; instead of flying them to El Salvador, might as well keep them as slaves in a federal prison! Pesky dissidents and manufacturing problems solved at the same time!

Arbeit macht frei.
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