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Mexico was "China" before China was "China" (for scoped values of "China"). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maquiladora http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maquiladora
by pasbesoin 14y ago
Mexico was "China" before China was "China" (for scoped values of "China").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maquiladora http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maquiladora
My limited understanding and impression are that, now that China and transportation have become expensive enough (both in direct costs and in logistics and support issues), Mexico is warming up again -- for the present. I seem to recall that, actually, a significant portion of this activity is now backed by Chinese concerns, including for the favorable effects of NAFTA and whatever else I have some vague recall of having read.
As for this marking the "recovery" of U.S. industry... No more so than watching Zenith implode (personal case), a decade and more ago. IMHO.
P.S. I also have not kept track of the following in a manner to argue it well, but my impression is that part of Mexico's narco-state problem was exacerbated (not caused) by the vacuum left when China's rise sucked the life out of the maquiladoras in a matter of a few years, transforming these localized pockets of relative, if uneven and risky, economic success into economic wastelands.
I guess the overall lesson might be not to trust in such tenuous economic relationships and advantages. Here today, gone tomorrow.
- hakaaaaak 14y agoMaybe, but China is just better suited for production work than Mexico if you look at the following factors: 1. Food, water, shelter. Lack of these means infrastructure will be tough to setup and you are making it harder on imported human resources. 2. Culture, infrastructure and security. These go hand-in-hand. If you don't understand and play by the rules of the culture, security is compromised, and without security, infrastructure is at risk. Without infrastructure things are much more costly. A less liberal government (one that enforces conviction of drug lords that make security a nightmare) may result in better security and therefore better infrastructure. 3. Resources. Access to labor, materials, etc. 4. Heat. In hotter climates, humans are rewarded physically by not working as hard by the fact that they don't get overheated. This is engrained in almost all of us, but even more so when evolution and natural selection also have rewarded lazy behavior. I will probably get downvoted multiple times for saying this, and it isn't true everywhere, but I believe that it happens and can become a cultural phenomenon. Ever heard of a siesta? I know it is just a "break", right...
- PakG1 14y agoMy day job is in a Chinese office of a multinational. After lunch, everyone takes naps. Some people even take them for an hour. From what I understand, post-lunch naps are common across the country. I think Chinese people understand siestas quite well. ;)
- tome 14y agoI'm curious: where do Chinese office workers take naps? In their chairs? Do they have beds?
- dvdhsu 14y agoOffice jobs come with a ~1.5 hour lunch break, where workers go home for a lunch and nap.
- barry-cotter 14y agoEverywhere and anywhere. www.sleepingchinese.com
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- PakG1 14y agoI have friends who have employers that have beds. In my building, everyone sleeps at their desks. Either lean back in the chair or lean forward on the desk. A lot of people also have blankets. The girls like to hug big pillows.
- Apocryphon 14y agoSkimming over the Wikipedia article on siestas, I get the distinct impression that napping is a global practice except in the Anglosphere. Anglo-American economic dominance, coupled with the fashionableness of caffeine drinks, have resulted in a disturbing decline in naps.
- marquis 14y ago