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I think most MAGAs have this idea that 1) manufacturing is a good paying job and 2) if the US isn't manufacturing stuff, that means China is doing it for us, wh

I think most MAGAs have this idea that 1) manufacturing is a good paying job and 2) if the US isn't manufacturing stuff, that means China is doing it for us, which will lead to 3) when we decide to go to war with China we will not have the industrial capacity to fight the war. In their world model, the opportunity cost of manufacturing things domestically is not considered, and certainly not the benefits of manufacturing things cheaply abroad and having US workers move up the value chain.

from-nibly 2y ago
Is there not opportunity cost in both directions? At some point someone needs to have a reason to trade with the us right? Specializing only works when line goes up forever. Heck sometimes line not going up as fast as yesterday is a "crisis".
- guhidalg 2y ago
  > Is there not opportunity cost in both directions? Yes, but there are more working age people outside the US than inside the US, and they’re willing to work for less than people in the US. > At some point someone needs to have a reason to trade with us right? We trade plenty of goods, and we trade more services than goods. The people that produce services tend to be college educated, which is negatively correlated with conservatism. > Specializing only works when line goes up forever. I’m not sure what you mean by this. If you want cheaper and better quality goods and services, then you need specialization. Every country had some competitive advantage, whether it’s natural resources or specific human capital. When an economic downturn happens, it’s not like that competitive advantage suddenly moves abroad. If it’s cheaper to make things in China, it’s still going to be cheaper during a recession. Raising tariffs on China _maybe_ means companies move manufacturing elsewhere, or _maybe_ means they just pass on costs to consumers. I’m willing to bet money it’s the latter.
Yeul 2y ago
How does )3 work in the age of nukes? A shooting war between US-PRC is not something anyone should want.
- guhidalg 2y ago
  Don't ask me, I don't believe it will happen :) I think the deterrence to war between nuclear superpowers is the idea that both sides are capable of fighting that war. China and the US both have the industrial capacity to fight against each other, so they will not fight, there's too much to lose. But in MAGA's opinion, the US is losing the industrial capacity to fight said war because US manufacturing is not as common as in the past. What they ignore is that there is a big difference between making cheap steel and making an F-35. Any country can make steel, but only the US can make an F-35.

from-nibly 2y ago

Is there not opportunity cost in both directions? At some point someone needs to have a reason to trade with the us right? Specializing only works when line goes up forever. Heck sometimes line not going up as fast as yesterday is a "crisis".

guhidalg 2y ago
> Is there not opportunity cost in both directions? Yes, but there are more working age people outside the US than inside the US, and they’re willing to work for less than people in the US. > At some point someone needs to have a reason to trade with us right? We trade plenty of goods, and we trade more services than goods. The people that produce services tend to be college educated, which is negatively correlated with conservatism. > Specializing only works when line goes up forever. I’m not sure what you mean by this. If you want cheaper and better quality goods and services, then you need specialization. Every country had some competitive advantage, whether it’s natural resources or specific human capital. When an economic downturn happens, it’s not like that competitive advantage suddenly moves abroad. If it’s cheaper to make things in China, it’s still going to be cheaper during a recession. Raising tariffs on China _maybe_ means companies move manufacturing elsewhere, or _maybe_ means they just pass on costs to consumers. I’m willing to bet money it’s the latter.

Yeul 2y ago

How does )3 work in the age of nukes? A shooting war between US-PRC is not something anyone should want.

guhidalg 2y ago
Don't ask me, I don't believe it will happen :) I think the deterrence to war between nuclear superpowers is the idea that both sides are capable of fighting that war. China and the US both have the industrial capacity to fight against each other, so they will not fight, there's too much to lose. But in MAGA's opinion, the US is losing the industrial capacity to fight said war because US manufacturing is not as common as in the past. What they ignore is that there is a big difference between making cheap steel and making an F-35. Any country can make steel, but only the US can make an F-35.