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That is a false dichotomy. Americans used to both design and manufacture computers in the US. IBM and Apple both did until into the 2000's. Jobs for both engine

That is a false dichotomy. Americans used to both design and manufacture computers in the US. IBM and Apple both did until into the 2000's. Jobs for both engineers and blue collier factory workers are possible if this cult of GDP is put to rest. Tell the "total wealth has increased" shtick to the millions of American workers who are poorer because of offshoring, or the thousands who will die of the novel corona virus because we can't manufacture enough masks to give them to health care workers, let alone ordinary people.

valuearb 7y ago
American median incomes continue to climb, and unemployment was at record lows at the beginning of the year. Paying someone $30k a year to assemble computers isn’t a good job, nor is it good business decision when it would be a great job for workers in other countries at $10,000 per year. The law of comparative advantage tells us the path to Greater wealth is to specialize at what you do best. Imagine if you were a lawyer and an amazing typist and you want to make as much money as possible. You could spend 20 hours a week typing up your own documents because you do it twice as fast as any secretary you could hire. But you make $200 an hour for legal work and the secretary costs $20 per hour. You can do everything yourself, and make $4000 a week, or hire a full time secretary and make $7,200 a week. Apple saves money assembling iPhones in China, which helps them to price more competitively and sell more iPhones, creating more engineering, marketing, app developer, designer, tester, and manager jobs here. I’d rather have those jobs here instead of assembly work.
- nojvek 7y ago
  The problem is that we are slowly losing our specialization. China is learning how to manufacture better than us. Then they learn how to assemble better than us, they copy + improve. China could destroy Apple in a heartbeat by ordering FoxConn to charge a much higher premium for Apple phones than their own local brand.
- etrabroline 7y ago
  So you think having all the fastest growing smart phone companies in China is creating more high skilled jobs the US than if those new companies were American? Sounds implausible. Your argument boils down to: "well they haven't outsourced my job yet!" With all the manufacturing happening in China, it's only a matter of time before Alibaba and Oppo dislodge Apple and Google.

valuearb 7y ago

American median incomes continue to climb, and unemployment was at record lows at the beginning of the year. Paying someone $30k a year to assemble computers isn’t a good job, nor is it good business decision when it would be a great job for workers in other countries at $10,000 per year. The law of comparative advantage tells us the path to Greater wealth is to specialize at what you do best. Imagine if you were a lawyer and an amazing typist and you want to make as much money as possible. You could spend 20 hours a week typing up your own documents because you do it twice as fast as any secretary you could hire. But you make $200 an hour for legal work and the secretary costs $20 per hour. You can do everything yourself, and make $4000 a week, or hire a full time secretary and make $7,200 a week. Apple saves money assembling iPhones in China, which helps them to price more competitively and sell more iPhones, creating more engineering, marketing, app developer, designer, tester, and manager jobs here. I’d rather have those jobs here instead of assembly work.

nojvek 7y ago
The problem is that we are slowly losing our specialization. China is learning how to manufacture better than us. Then they learn how to assemble better than us, they copy + improve. China could destroy Apple in a heartbeat by ordering FoxConn to charge a much higher premium for Apple phones than their own local brand.
etrabroline 7y ago
So you think having all the fastest growing smart phone companies in China is creating more high skilled jobs the US than if those new companies were American? Sounds implausible. Your argument boils down to: "well they haven't outsourced my job yet!" With all the manufacturing happening in China, it's only a matter of time before Alibaba and Oppo dislodge Apple and Google.