3 ms·

>Why do you think that it's mathematically impossible for a company to find the money some other way? Depends on the industry. If there's a lot of foreign com

>Why do you think that it's mathematically impossible for a company to find the money some other way? Depends on the industry. If there's a lot of foreign competition and workers aren't mindful of the health of the industry, they can easily kill it off. That's what happened to steel production in the US.

Cthulhu_ 9y ago
You're not wrong; if a foreign country can deliver a similar product without respecting worker's rights, it'll screw with the people working at normal income / safety standards. I guess that's one reason why import taxes are a thing, to protect the national workforce - hasn't worked I guess. I wonder if Trump and his cabinet have plans to increase import taxes.
- gozur88 9y ago
  If I were king for a day I'd institute an across-the-board import tariff of 5% or so. Enough to keep domestic suppliers from gouging consumers, but also enough to tilt the playing field a bit in the direction of domestic manufacturing. It would hurt growth a bit, in the long run, but I think it's worth the cost. Globalization increases equality between countries, but it also increases inequality within countries. There are places where unskilled labor pays a couple dollars a day. Doesn't matter what the safety standards are - there isn't anywhere in the US you can survive on that kind of money.
zolthrowaway 9y ago
>That's what happened to steel production in the US. *Some of the steel production in the US. I am certainly not making the argument that the steel industry in the US is as large or vibrant as the 70s or 80s. However, USX still does have several plants open and is doing fairly well. In my slightly knowledgeable opinion, this is because there is such a high up front cost of building a plant (especially a continuous pour caster). The industry also made a very large shift from producing new steel to recycling scrap to produce slabs. Virgin steel is much harder to work with and produce than its recycled counterpart. This lowers the barrier to entry, increasing competition. After this shift, I don't think there is any way that the U.S would have been able to compete with Chinese steel regardless of unions. Even if you removed all of the union CBA stuff and just left U.S compensation laws and OSHA, I highly doubt the margins are there to compete in regards to recycled steel.

Cthulhu_ 9y ago

You're not wrong; if a foreign country can deliver a similar product without respecting worker's rights, it'll screw with the people working at normal income / safety standards. I guess that's one reason why import taxes are a thing, to protect the national workforce - hasn't worked I guess. I wonder if Trump and his cabinet have plans to increase import taxes.

gozur88 9y ago
If I were king for a day I'd institute an across-the-board import tariff of 5% or so. Enough to keep domestic suppliers from gouging consumers, but also enough to tilt the playing field a bit in the direction of domestic manufacturing. It would hurt growth a bit, in the long run, but I think it's worth the cost. Globalization increases equality between countries, but it also increases inequality within countries. There are places where unskilled labor pays a couple dollars a day. Doesn't matter what the safety standards are - there isn't anywhere in the US you can survive on that kind of money.

zolthrowaway 9y ago

>That's what happened to steel production in the US. *Some of the steel production in the US. I am certainly not making the argument that the steel industry in the US is as large or vibrant as the 70s or 80s. However, USX still does have several plants open and is doing fairly well. In my slightly knowledgeable opinion, this is because there is such a high up front cost of building a plant (especially a continuous pour caster). The industry also made a very large shift from producing new steel to recycling scrap to produce slabs. Virgin steel is much harder to work with and produce than its recycled counterpart. This lowers the barrier to entry, increasing competition. After this shift, I don't think there is any way that the U.S would have been able to compete with Chinese steel regardless of unions. Even if you removed all of the union CBA stuff and just left U.S compensation laws and OSHA, I highly doubt the margins are there to compete in regards to recycled steel.