5 ms·

How do you figure? The surplus comes from the fact that US buyers don't have to pay a percentage to the intermediary, so they can spend it on other things, lik

by scribu 9y ago

How do you figure? The surplus comes from the fact that US buyers don't have to pay a percentage to the intermediary, so they can spend it on other things, like going out to a local restaurant more often.

cujo 9y ago
Forgive my ignorance, but can't it go the other way also? A contrived example... A person has $X that they spend every week at the local town restaurant. They see they can buy a cool new widget from a Chinese vendor (from the article) for $Y. Over the course of the next few weeks, said person spends a little less at the restaurant so as to save up $Y, ultimately purchasing the widget once enough money is saved. In this example the person is contributing less to the local economy.
- rtpg 9y ago
  for the local economy there's functionally no difference between giving the money to China or to a reseller at the other side of the country.
  - TeMPOraL 9y ago
    s/local economy/national economy/, and the point stands. Though I don't see introducing/enforcing waste as a right way to ensure more money goes to the national economy.
- scribu 9y ago
  You're right, it could go both ways. I guess the question then is: do we have a way of predicting which way it will go?
- bearcobra 9y ago
  It can, and gets even more complicated when that widget was available locally for $Z and $Y < $Z. Was $Z so much greater than $Y that the person would have never started to save for it? Or did $Y mean they were able to start spending at the restaurant again sooner? How do you calculate the value of the cool new widget once the person has it?
- benchaney 9y ago
  In that case the local economy would benefit from the decrease in $Y, which is an example of what GP described, not anything going the other way.
- benchaney 9y ago
  In that case the local economy would benefit from the decrease in $Y, which is an example of what GP described, not anything going the other way.

by scribu 9y ago

cujo 9y ago

Forgive my ignorance, but can't it go the other way also? A contrived example... A person has $X that they spend every week at the local town restaurant. They see they can buy a cool new widget from a Chinese vendor (from the article) for $Y. Over the course of the next few weeks, said person spends a little less at the restaurant so as to save up $Y, ultimately purchasing the widget once enough money is saved. In this example the person is contributing less to the local economy.

rtpg 9y ago
for the local economy there's functionally no difference between giving the money to China or to a reseller at the other side of the country.
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  s/local economy/national economy/, and the point stands. Though I don't see introducing/enforcing waste as a right way to ensure more money goes to the national economy.
scribu 9y ago
You're right, it could go both ways. I guess the question then is: do we have a way of predicting which way it will go?
bearcobra 9y ago
It can, and gets even more complicated when that widget was available locally for $Z and $Y < $Z. Was $Z so much greater than $Y that the person would have never started to save for it? Or did $Y mean they were able to start spending at the restaurant again sooner? How do you calculate the value of the cool new widget once the person has it?
benchaney 9y ago
In that case the local economy would benefit from the decrease in $Y, which is an example of what GP described, not anything going the other way.
benchaney 9y ago
In that case the local economy would benefit from the decrease in $Y, which is an example of what GP described, not anything going the other way.