This seems to be the number one response to my question about tariffs:
“If it was made in America the quality would be just as bad as the chinese slop”
Didn’t realize america produces such terrible quality stuff with no hope of improvement 😬
nostr:note1ls8stlktazn0tupytr8ljz6q8gtdk2egte7n3tg0u4p34yrm68rswgj04u
Maybe for american cars (which are mostly made in mexico, Canada etc)...not everything though
That is demonstrably false. You *will* pay a great deal more for quality, but it’s here.
If I don't have the option to buy from slave labor I am being oppressed
I was called a statist multiple times lol. I am just making an analysis of the current situation and trying to think of positive outcomes 🤷♂️
I sympathize for sure. Like most conversations nowadays, nuance is apparently the enemy.
What are those possible positive outcomes?
Not supporting slave labor is a natural to nice-to-have I would say 🤷♂️
Also more incentive for people to actually manufacture stuff locally, so there is more variety other than just chinese slop, and an opportunity to show that NA products are superior. Also having sovereign manufacturing bases for tech (although this seems less likely and trump already exempted those)
If its simply too expensive to import than there is an economic opportunity to take a stab at doing it locally. If there is no incentive because you can never beat the cheap labour in China then noone will even bother to try.
China seems too much better at certain things to ever be beaten, like quadcopters for example
American companies can make good things, as long as they're not too complex and quite overpriced. The people making them need to feel like kings. The root of this is complex, but in broad strokes we inherently value simpler, more durable solutions and are trying to overcome systemic financial pressure
The root cause of the prevalence of low quality goods is inflation via high time preference. People no longer value durability. This alters the structure of production and distorts the culture in a self-reinforcing cycle.
how can they possibly know what a product made in the USA that doesn't exist will be like?
is guessing the future in the direction one wants reality to be in order to support one's beliefs reality?
I mean you guys have a system set up to create excellence whenever you put your minds to it. You seem first to moon (allegedly), are the number 1 rocket platform for bringing payloads to space, are creating dire wolfs. You’re saying ya’ll couldn’t make better stuff if you have an incentive to do so?
But what, exactly, is or should be "the incentive"? Government policies that put a thumb on the scale to promote some vague idea of "national greatness"?
Or the free market, which has roundly decided that it doesn't make sense for American workers to be (as our Commerce secretary so eloquently put it) "screwing in tiny screws on iPhones"?
Just because something is hard doesn't mean it's worth doing.
There is always hope but a lot of US manufacturers are short-staffed and it's affecting quality control.
My previous employer used to require an aptitude test, background check, HS diploma and random drug screening for production floor positions. Now they'll hire almost anyone who shows up on time for the interview.
Existing employees now have to do not only their regular job plus overtime to cover staff shortages, but also mentor a new-hire who more often than not will have quit within the first 90 days. The ones who stick around are getting burned out and it shows in their attention to detail.
Ran into a former coworker who left for greener pastures before I did. Asked him how he liked it.
"Man, everywhere you go, people say the same thing: 'This used to be a good place to work.'"
Quality is subjective.
People making comments like that are clueless… I had a US-built Kia Optima and it was not only affordable but easily the best-made and best-built car I have ever owned. I have a US-built Nissan X-Terra - same thing.. outstanding and still running after 175k miles. On the other hand some of the worst cars I’ve driven were built in Germany..
The idea that America is going to be economically self-sufficient is as ludicrous as these "homestead" guys who think they're going to live off in a cabin in the woods and be self-sufficient.
That's great until your kid gets sick, or your computer fails... oh what, you didn't build an entire TSMC foundry into your cabin? Too bad, guess you're going to have to re-engage with the economy.
This is a *feature* not a *bug.* We can't grow coffee in America, we can't grow Avocados. But we have money, and other countries do that much better, so trade is "win-win."
"No hope of improvement" what? This isn't some high school report card. Manufacturing jobs aren't coming back to America, outside of certain highly bespoke "artisinal" products. Like Teslas.
What if US loses WRC status and noone wants their dollars, what then? Just collapse? Seems like a risky proposition to be a nation of just importing everything and just pressing a button on a money printer.
Not being totally dependent on foreign adversaries doesn’t seem like a bad precautionary step, even if it’s less efficient than a pure free market.
Monetary reset is happening irregardless of someone’a feelings about manufacturing and trade.
I suspect the current admin understands this.
Post monetary reset global trade boundary conditions necessarily change.
Well there's a lot of stuff going on there. Obviously on the aspect of "monetary reset", I mean, Bitcoin fixes this. Inflationary currencies can't survive, and with their demise will come the demise of the MegaState as we know it today.
But free trade is the solution, not the culprit. I, the Individual, have no "foreign adversaries." Only potential trading partners.
"Not being totally dependent on foreign adversaries doesn’t seem like a bad precautionary step, even if it’s less efficient than a pure free market."
There's a word for that, and it's economic central planning. And it's doomed to failure.
This is why states are voting to create their own strategic bitcoin and gold reserves. You do not accumulate this much debt and expect to ever be able to pay off the slave masters. Best to just give them the middle finger and start over fresh with actual sound money. While charging them for the crimes they have committed to make this possible in the first place.
Hmm, thats a bad comparison. The "homestead" guys just want better food; they still participate in the broader economy.
There's nothing wrong with trying to bring back manufacturing to your country; especially if you're anticipating war.
The mainstream economic answer would be that putting up barriers for competition would give American companies no incentive to improve. Sadly there's plenty examples where high tariffs and other barriers did cause laziness, the US ship building industry is one. Brazil also has experience...
Though I suspect a modest tariff might help push entrepreneurs from thinking "there's no point in competing" to "alright, let's try".
You can’t generalize the quality of a product based on the country it comes from. I always heard that Chinese products are shit quality. But that doesn’t apply to products like the iPhone. Guns and other weapons made in the US are really good quality but some are better than others. We shouldn’t judge quality based on the country it comes from but by the businesses producing them.
“Do not wash in direct sunlight,” 😆
https://www.wired.com/story/this-is-why-teslas-stainless-steel-cybertrucks-may-be-rusting/
