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Might be controversial to say, but why manufacturing cost is so high in US they making outsourcing so profitable? A Taiwanese silicon engineer salary, even the

Might be controversial to say, but why manufacturing cost is so high in US they making outsourcing so profitable? A Taiwanese silicon engineer salary, even the top band is probably only higher than the entry level of a web developer in SF. Something is definitely wrong

square_usual 6y ago
Web developers in SF are barely representative of web developers outside of SF, let alone factory workers in the US. That's a bad comparison.
- tanilama 6y ago
  It is not IMO. Web developer in US can work freely in HoL area if they want to relocate.
thu2111 6y ago
High cost of labor as it's a rich country with an expensive currency, unions, and in some places, protective labor laws.
- stevehawk 6y ago
  I think you're getting downvoted because you're not allowed to imply unions and protective labor laws drive up the cost of labor in this country.
  - thu2111 6y ago
    There are certainly a lot of people on this site who seem rather blind to the issue. Foxconn's million+ workers do theoretically have a union, but only since 2007, and with actually elected leaders only since 2013. At that time they still faced the issue that most workers didn't know they were meant to elect a union representative at all and the union committee leaders were all managers. What little workers rights exist come mostly due to pressure from Apple and American unions. And of course, as China is getting richer and the workers are starting to slowly come to resemble western workforces, companies are relocating to Vietnam.
runeks 6y ago
> Might be controversial to say, but why manufacturing cost is so high in US they making outsourcing so profitable? I suspect that the falling rate of interest is the primary cause. The falling interest rate on house loans makes houses increasingly expensive, as potential home owners can afford more expensive houses (given the same income) the less they have to pay in interest. The same principle ought to apply to companies who buy factories for manufacturing, with the primary difference being that housing cannot be outsourced while manufacturing can. This hypothesis could be substantiated by looking at the degree to which countries with a long term falling interest rate outsource to countries with a long term stable or rising interest rate, and vice versa.

square_usual 6y ago

Web developers in SF are barely representative of web developers outside of SF, let alone factory workers in the US. That's a bad comparison.

tanilama 6y ago
It is not IMO. Web developer in US can work freely in HoL area if they want to relocate.

thu2111 6y ago

High cost of labor as it's a rich country with an expensive currency, unions, and in some places, protective labor laws.

stevehawk 6y ago
I think you're getting downvoted because you're not allowed to imply unions and protective labor laws drive up the cost of labor in this country.
- thu2111 6y ago
  There are certainly a lot of people on this site who seem rather blind to the issue. Foxconn's million+ workers do theoretically have a union, but only since 2007, and with actually elected leaders only since 2013. At that time they still faced the issue that most workers didn't know they were meant to elect a union representative at all and the union committee leaders were all managers. What little workers rights exist come mostly due to pressure from Apple and American unions. And of course, as China is getting richer and the workers are starting to slowly come to resemble western workforces, companies are relocating to Vietnam.

runeks 6y ago

> Might be controversial to say, but why manufacturing cost is so high in US they making outsourcing so profitable? I suspect that the falling rate of interest is the primary cause. The falling interest rate on house loans makes houses increasingly expensive, as potential home owners can afford more expensive houses (given the same income) the less they have to pay in interest. The same principle ought to apply to companies who buy factories for manufacturing, with the primary difference being that housing cannot be outsourced while manufacturing can. This hypothesis could be substantiated by looking at the degree to which countries with a long term falling interest rate outsource to countries with a long term stable or rising interest rate, and vice versa.