Posted on 10/03/2016 3:02:28 AM PDT by expat_panama
Industrial Policy: Donald Trump has been bashing Ford for deciding to shift small car production to Mexico. He's pointing the finger of blame at the wrong target. A big driver behind Ford's move is President Obama's push for tougher federal fuel mandates.
Earlier this year, Ford (F) announced that it was building a major small-car assembly plant south of the border, and more recently said it was going to shift all its small car production to Mexico within a few years.
Trump has called it an "absolute disgrace" and says he'd hit Ford with a 35% import tax on these Mexican-built cars.
For its part, Ford claims that there won't be any loss of jobs, since the U.S. plants making small cars will start making bigger cars. But the simple truth is that the new jobs that will come with Ford's new small-car plant won't be domestic. That's still a loss of jobs.
Whatever you think of Ford's decision, one largely overlooked factor behind it is Obama's push for more stringent federal fuel economy standards...
...tougher CAFE standards raise the cost of a new car. A Heritage Foundation analysis found that Obama's higher standards are adding roughly $3,800 to sticker prices.
Obama's standards come up for review next year, which gives the auto industry, and politicians who have a smidgen of common sense, a chance to end this madness.
In the meantime, Trump should stop threatening Ford and direct his populist rage where it belongs — at Washington, D.C.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
>>—so you would prefer that they go broke here and close their doors?
If Americans can’t build a car that Americans can afford, then that’s the real problem. What do we do when we can’t afford the Mexican car? Then the Indian car? Then the Chinese car?
Here’s the problem. I just bought a new Ford. It has so much technology that it’s ridiculous. No keyhole. It senses when I walk up and unlocks when I touch it. It can tell that I’m inside so the engine starts with a push button. If I leave the fob in the car, I can’t lock it, but if I’m standing right next to the the door, I can lock it.
The mirror dims when cars are behind me.
It has a backup camera and sensors.
And this is the BASE MODEL Mustang GT. The Premium has more gadgetry!
All that tech costs money. Then add on all the lawyer stuff: ABS, traction assist, load cells in the passenger seat for the smart air bags.
Then the federal crap: TPMS, child seat anchors, a dozen airbags.
Our cars cost too much because we have become too stupid and lazy to operate a vehicle safely.
“Related: U.S. government says it lost $11.2 billion on GM bailout “
It wasn’t lost. It was a gift to the unions.
In helping Ford ring up $9 billion in operating profits last year? By all means don't overlook their contributions to that.
Memo to expat_panama: the corporate world has fully embraced the progressive agenda. They are not your friend. They are not a friend of liberty and freedom in the US. Transnational corporations like Ford would give your job to a Mexican for 5 cents more profit. Obviously you don’t care about that because it doesn’t effect you personally. That is very selfish of you, IMO.
Our domestic auto industry made it’s deal with the Obama Devil back in ‘09, so I blame them all.
That is just a flowered talking point. They are still transferring jobs from the US to Mexico.
Why not build both vehicle types in the USA?
Factories are not built for creating jobs, their built to make products that markets demand. Usually overseas factories to please overseas markets, and vehicles made in Mexico can be sold there w/o all the horrendous Mexican import taxes.
The hell with the wear and tear on the starter I guess.
Same cafe, yes. But to reach cafe, which is the average mileage of all the cars, they have to sell a whole lot of small, profit-starving cars. Making these is a log cheaper in Mexico.
GM took that bailout money and invested $5 billion in Mexico and more elsewhere overseas. Somehow GM gets a pass, even from Trump.
That's what we hear from the politics people everyday. What happens in the business world is investors use their own money to build factories for making things that Americans want to buy. Then they create jobs and hire people that make those things until Americans stop buying them. When that happens they close the factories they've built and some crazy left winger says
YOU DIDN'T BUILD THAT! THAT'S NOT YOUR FACTORY THAT'S AN AMERICAN FACTORY --AND YOU DIDN'T CREATE JOBS THOSE ARE U.S. JOBS.
In this cases the left wingers are wrong. We're not talking about "sending US jobs overseas", that's crazy. We're talking about Ford jobs and Ford can do what ever Ford wants w/ 'em. It's a free country.
Somehow I've never been able to figure that out. I mean, he's a businessman isn't he? Then again, he's also a deal maker and he has to talk the talk needed for making the deal and then afterwards he can do whatever suits him.
For its part, Ford claims that there won’t be any loss of jobs, since the U.S. plants making small cars will start making bigger cars. But the simple truth is that the new jobs that will come with Ford’s new small-car plant won’t be domestic. That’s still a loss of jobs.
It is not a loss of jobs. If the jobs were never here in the first place they can’t be lost. If a plant in the US closed and reopened in Mexico, those would be lost jobs. I would prefer they built their new plant in the US, but if there is no incentive to, why should they? Ford didn’t take bail out money like GM did. Hard for me to be too mad at Ford.
A friend just bought a new infinity. When she stops at a red light the engine turns itself off to “save gas”.
My car does that. It is dumb. It is just to help meet arbitrary government figures. Fortunately I can disable that “feature”, but it involves pushing a button after starting the car. A mild inconvenience.
Profits are one issue but $55/HR average labor costs for auto assembly are still excessive. BOTH factors make car prices obscene.
It isn’t going to stop. This is who Trump is, and his supporters, as well. If he wins, it will be because middle class, unionized factory workers turned out for him. And if he loses, it will be because they did not. Obviously, unionized workers are going to blame everything that happens on corporate management, not on the government. And Trump is going to echo their opinion on that.
Yet even with those "obscene" salaries Ford manages to make a pretty sizeable operating profit. Are you blaming the workers because it isn't higher?
Is this the part where we all hold hands and sing, “Look for the Union Label...”
*SMIRK*
And NAFTA - plenty of blame to go around.
Somehow I’ve never been able to figure that out. I mean, he’s a businessman isn’t he? Then again, he’s also a deal maker and he has to talk the talk needed for making the deal and then afterwards he can do whatever suits him.
Somehow I’ve never been able to figure that out. I mean, you are a conservative, aren’t you? Then again, you are aslave to “free trade” and have to talk the talk needed for that. Of course the multi national corporation can advance the progressive agenda however they want and it suits you just fine.
Nothing conservative about that. Are you a Democrat by chance? All you do here is pump free traitor nonsense and make snide comments about Trump. You seem quite comfortable with a potential Hillary Criminal in the White House and her SCOTUS picks. No worries, I’m sure they will push through TPP, TTIP and every other day dream American worker hating free traitors like you have.
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