Folks, if the plan is to RESET GLOBAL TRADE that can ONLY HAPPEN if we, (you know, the fat, stupid, lazy American's who cost too much and like to buy cheap stuff) essentially flatten ourselves to the level of the rest of the world. To do this, we have to work for less, work for longer, and have less stuff.
Folks, if the plan is to RESET GLOBAL TRADE that can ONLY HAPPEN if we, (you know, the fat, stupid, lazy American's who cost too much and like to buy cheap stuff) essentially flatten ourselves to the level of the rest of the world. To do this, we have to work for less, work for longer, and have less stuff.
I've been involved in manufacturing for well over 30 years. Nearly the entirety of my professional career has been adapting to the changes wrought by outsourcing to Asia (mostly China). In nearly every case, it was adapt to this reality or die (well, lose you job, which is tantamount to dying professionally). When Trump did his first round of tariffs, I spent years attempting to coax vendors to build plants in Mexico or the US. It took years and a few built Mexico plants, but most went to places like Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. When they built new factories, even in these low wage countries, there was still a significant emphasis on automation. They were not hiring thousands or hundreds, they were hiring tens of people and building automated production lines.
While I'd love to see more manufacturing stateside, I just don't see it happening. Much as they do elsewhere in the world, it would be heavily automated (there would not be thousands of people turning little screws). Meanwhile, I can hire 10 to 12 design engineers in Taiwan for the cost of my mid-level engineering salary. They work longer and are more focused than your typical American engineer who's watching Twitch everyday at their desk. You think an American engineer is going to work for $10K a year? Nope! Forget finding folks who are willing to turn a screw for 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. I've watched as production facilities be set up in communities with high unemployment struggle to find workers. Immigrants will show up to do the work eventually, but I've heard many stories of locals showing up for a couple weeks, getting their first pay check, and then disappearing.
Folks, if the plan is to RESET GLOBAL TRADE that can ONLY HAPPEN if we, (you know, the fat, stupid, lazy American's who cost too much and like to buy cheap stuff) essentially flatten ourselves to the level of the rest of the world. To do this, we have to work for less, work for longer, and have less stuff.
I've been involved in manufacturing for well over 30 years. Nearly the entirety of my professional career has been adapting to the changes wrought by outsourcing to Asia (mostly China). In nearly every case, it was adapt to this reality or die (well, lose you job, which is tantamount to dying professionally). When Trump did his first round of tariffs, I spent years attempting to coax vendors to build plants in Mexico or the US. It took years and a few built Mexico plants, but most went to places like Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. When they built new factories, even in these low wage countries, there was still a significant emphasis on automation. They were not hiring thousands or hundreds, they were hiring tens of people and building automated production lines.
While I'd love to see more manufacturing stateside, I just don't see it happening. Much as they do elsewhere in the world, it would be heavily automated (there would not be thousands of people turning little screws). Meanwhile, I can hire 10 to 12 design engineers in Taiwan for the cost of my mid-level engineering salary. They work longer and are more focused than your typical American engineer who's watching Twitch everyday at their desk. You think an American engineer is going to work for $10K a year? Nope! Forget finding folks who are willing to turn a screw for 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. I've watched as production facilities be set up in communities with high unemployment struggle to find workers. Immigrants will show up to do the work eventually, but I've heard many stories of locals showing up for a couple weeks, getting their first pay check, and then disappearing.
Yeah but they're eating the cats. They're eating the dogs. Of the people who live there.