3 ms·
It can take a while but here is the issue. Importing cheap clothing allows people to have 30 shirts in their closet; however, on the flipside, people working a
by mc32 1y ago
It can take a while but here is the issue.
Importing cheap clothing allows people to have 30 shirts in their closet; however, on the flipside, people working as seamsters and seamstresses lose their jobs. That can mean taking lesser jobs at lesser pay and fewer benefits or leaving the labor market altogether. Underemployed or unemployed people get subsidized and that requires taxes. So the money we saved that allow us to buy cheap clothing also comes with paying more taxes. We'd have a better society with gainfully employed people while wearing more durable clothing with less impact on the environment.
- michaelmrose 1y agoBut we aren't actually doing that because consumer preferences and supply chains are pretty sticky. If it costs $5 for cheap insert country here and $10 for cheap American crap worse than the 5 then 8 for cheap stuff in some other poor country with a better trade deal and $20 for good American stuff almost none of your market moves to the 20 stuff and almost all of it shifts to the $8
- mc32 1y agoWe don't and should not buy cheap crap made abroad or at home. There are still clothing manufacturers in the US (and Japan), who make quality but more expensive clothing. Instead of a $30 "throwaway" hoodie, you get a $140 hoodie that lasts. It'll last longer and it can employ your neighbor instead of letting them become meth heads due to being laid of as a seamster or seamstress, etc. It's a better quality of life for everyone.
- michaelmrose 1y agoShould is very nearly irrelevant besides actuality