Well, THAT company is why we have a nation full of college students getting saddled with house-sized debts with Sallie Mae (they need a Boot to the Head too) just to get MBA degrees worth only a burger-flipping McJob at the end. I'd sooner short-circuit this by inventing a chefbot, and make SM realize they're not getting "their" money back. I suspect it's more about SM to manufacturing a new indentured servant class anyway.sferrin said:I doubt LM dialed up China and said "make us some pens". They probably got some company that does all kinds of corporate schwag like that to make up some pens and THAT company contracted to China. :
dannydale said:Well, THAT company is why we have a nation full of college students getting saddled with house-sized debts...
mz said:Of course, few people are willing to work like many of those in China, in slave-like conditions.
China might have labor unions some day ...
mz said:Of course, few people are willing to work like many of those in China, in slave-like conditions.
And, deriving from that, China might have labor unions some day if it opens up as a society.
Stuff imported from there would be more expensive but you would have more employment in the manufacturing sector in the west again.
Orionblamblam said:mz said:Of course, few people are willing to work like many of those in China, in slave-like conditions.
Emplying slaves is of course a cost-savings measure, but the savings are not that spectacular. As memory serves, the direct labor costs at the John Deere farm implement factory in Moline, Illinois, amounted to something like 15% of the cost of the finished products (tractors, combines, etc.). If they could somehow eliminate the labor cost, that 15% would be pure profit. However, going from Union workers to slaves won't entirely eliminate the labor costs, and of course the quality of the work will decrease. Yes, it may be startlign to hear that you can actually get lower quality work than what the UAW will provide, but it's true... slave labor tends to be kinda low-skill.
The tax burden, of course, is a far greater issue. It's a direct cost to the company... and to their suppliers & vendors (and *their* suppliers and vendors). It's also costly in that companies need to have standing armies of accountants just to deal withg the taxes, and other standing armies of accountants and lawyers to figure out ways around the taxes
China might have labor unions some day ...
And on that glorious day, when the UAW & AFL/CIO march in and shut down production, the balance of trade will reverse as Chinas productivity grinds to a halt.
mz said:There's also a few other things like environmental regulations which are poor in China. The electricity and steel might be cheap but living in a city is like smoking a few packs of cigarettes every day.