19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Make You Weep

Business Insider ^ | 9/27/10 | Michael Snyder

[central_va]

The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution.

[tacticalogic]

Great then the tariff is working!

As long as they don't respond with a 20% tariff on American wheat.

[Alberta's Child]

What exactly is going to be “at least as cheap” if the U.S. imposes a 20% tariff on imported goods — which means the U.S.-made goods will have to cost 20% more for anyone to even consider repatriating their manufacturing capacity here?

[Alberta's Child]

I would rather err on the side of a strong aerospace program and a permanent military presence in orbit. It’s far more cost-effective than maintaining an industrial base with enormous excess capacity “just in case” we need it.

[Ajnin]

Are you of the opinion that every country we slap a tariff on is going to happily go along with taxing their goods without a similar tariff?

[Alberta's Child]

Yes, but that has nothing to do with wasted industrial capacity for military purposes. We’re going broke because we spend trillions of dollars on things that have no productive value at all.

[central_va]

Are you of the opinion that every country we slap a tariff on is going to happily go along with taxing their goods without a similar tariff?

They already do that now for no retaliatory reason what so ever.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Takes only a couple generations to dumb down a society.

How true. Now they vote Democrat and Donald Trump.

[central_va]

I will put you in the nuc ‘em first and as questions later column. GloBULList monger you.

[central_va]

As long as they don't respond with a 20% tariff on American wheat.

Fine then domestic wheat just went down in price! Another win!

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

The union labor cost per car made in the USA is 8%. I doubt if anything manufactured in the USA is going to need more labor than a car assembly line.

Talk about economic illiteracy! The average car costs ~$25,000. That means that $2000 dollars of that cost is union labor. What makes you think the cost will stay the same percentage for a different product? What if the dollar cost stays the same per worker? How many 10 cent widgets will make up for $2000 labor?

Anyone who thinks cost scale linearly for all products has never run a business in their life. I'm not against some tariffs, but I am against stupid reasons... and yours is as stupid as they come...

[WRhine]

You seem at have a problem with history. America always had tariffs of at least 10% to much higher levels throughout our history until recently. It was a critical factor in America becoming the biggest manufacturing and technological powerhouse ever; until the our experiment with free (one-way) corporate sponsored trade deals.

Please re-review our tariff history and come back with a argument.

[Alberta's Child]

Uh .. what?

[GenXteacher]

If foreign goods cost 20% more, then that makes them less competitive with domestic goods. If they cost 20% more US goods, that makes them not at all competitive, and those traitors who wish to return to our shores can or be replaced by domestic producers, who employ our people.

[central_va]

I would rather err on the side of a strong aerospace program and a permanent military presence in orbit.

What weapons do you think spawar platforms will shoot? Spit wads?

If you say you want to relay on militarized space then you are saying you want to rely on nuclear weapons.

[Alberta's Child]

If I produce something in China that sells for $100 in the U.S. today, and a 20% tariff is imposed on it, then it will cost $120 tomorrow.

Do you really think a U.S. manufacturer would sell it for less than $119.99?

[Alberta's Child]

Isn't that what the "space race" has been all about?

The U.S. space program was a military initiative, not a National Geographic research effort.

[tacticalogic]

Fine then domestic wheat just went down in price! Another win!

Not for the wheat farmers. In the meantime, the Chinese found a loophole, and are doing 80% of the assembly work in China and sending sub-assemblies some third-party country we don't haven't imposed a tariff on for final assembly.

[central_va]

Nuclear weapons are political weapons. The next war world war will b conventional. Just like the last one.

[Ajnin]

So let’s increase the tariffs. Because we need to pay more money for cheap shit...Yeah!

[Alberta's Child]

Sure — let’s just take your word for that, eh?