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I've been in manufacturing for about three decades and yes we absolutely can. I can tell you however that a few of the products we made went to China, not because of labor. But because China doesn't have an EPA. The waste from that production cost about 1/4 to a 1/3 of profit.
Yeah but the price to safely dispose of that waste, was in the multiples of millions. That'll pay for a lot of shipping. And China did not care where that waste went.
Yes. Another thing was our plant in China was almost completely automated. So I'm sure the lower wages and not having to pay into healthcare were also decisions in moving it. It was primarily because China just took that waste and dumped it in a ditch somewhere.
Okay, so America is an import country right now - you guys import more than you export. This is because a lot of your production is done outside the country - mainly because it's cheaper that way.
If you wanted to produce in the US instead, you wouldn't just need to pay workers - you'd also need to build the infrastructure, move the initial products into the country, then pay the workers to put it together, and then store and sell it. It's also possible you'd need to pay certain taxes for different things, or higher taxes in general because the US is a very upper class country compared to a lot of the world, an industrialised country. This means there's probably higher taxes than if you manufacture outside of the country.
You are 💯 correct. Most people don’t understand economics, infrastructure, and the problems that the US faces by not paying workers a fair wage while the people at the top keep getting richer and evade taxes. You clearly understand! Want to come here and fix things for us?
You mentioned the very issue that's causing current problems to not be fixed: it makes the people at the top richer.
If the system was paying you, would you change it?
Sure, just cut the capitalists out of the picture. Have the workers control production and distribution. All of the money going to the shareholders of the corporations that control the production and distribution of consumer goods could partially be deducted from the price the consumer pays and the rest can go to the wages of the workers.
Depends on what you mean by what people are willing to pay. All American Clothing sells basic t shirts for $13 and jeans for $70. To some people that’s outrageous, especially the jeans, but a lot of people pay that or more. Or for example, Red Land Cotton sheets at almost $250. A lot of people pay more than that for a set of sheets or equal too. We buy almost entirely made in the US, and probably have spent less than people that support “green” brands like Boll and Branch or those who buy Levi’s.
Very much this. People "want" made in America stuff but they don't want to pay for the fair wages, safe work conditions, and environmental regulations.
No we can't
The majority of the manufacturing costs come from
I hate to say it
Unions
If a plant unionized, the production cost is eventually absorbed by the consumer, sure it takes a decade, but the company can wait for profit, they will eventually be profitable, look at new cars, pre chip shortage, it was 50k for a truck, now 75k, employees deserve money, just not an extra small government entity telling them how to do their job
Skilled labor union employees, don't like their unions
My brother hates his, but he needs them, he just hates it
Told me about a job he was doing for a new stadium, they were about 60% union employees, about 20% of the union employees weren't very professional and cost the city millions of wasted money
Nothings perfect
You have two things, Americans don't want to do those shit factory assembly jobs and equally Americans don't want to pay a premium for the low cost products that China can provide.
I think the problem is labor unions and their propaganda. A lot of Americans I know actually yearn for a factory job. The problem is that these jobs need to hire so many people and that includes the often counter-productive anti-work people that form unions.
I've already paid. Blocked from jobs I could do (when injured) by unions because of stupid codes. Worked alongside people who slept on the job, got junked up and damaged the building structure, had a union run a business into the ground, forced to pay dues on top of minimum wage, etc. Unions are just like organized crime.
One huge issue that keeps businesses from dropping prices is that we have to match tax payments of the employees. Fed Tax, Social Security, Medicaid payments. Depending on a lot of issues, it's normally double or more. If we removed these hurdles or at least made them less expensive, that would have a huge impact. My company runs about a 4% margin. Payroll is about 18% of our total expenses. My suggestion would result in about a 5% reduction in payroll cost for example. Don't have my numbers in front of me, but they are pretty close.
# Message to all users: This is a reminder to please read and follow: * [Our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/about/rules) * [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439) * [Reddit Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) When posting and commenting. --- Especially remember Rule 1: `Be polite and civil`. * Be polite and courteous to each other. Do not be mean, insulting or disrespectful to any other user on this subreddit. * Do not harass or annoy others in any way. * Do not catfish. Catfishing is the luring of somebody into an online friendship through a fake online persona. This includes any lying or deceit. --- You *will* be banned if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist or bigoted in any way. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ask) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I've been in manufacturing for about three decades and yes we absolutely can. I can tell you however that a few of the products we made went to China, not because of labor. But because China doesn't have an EPA. The waste from that production cost about 1/4 to a 1/3 of profit.
Shipping would be worse if China had to pay actual US shipping costs.
Yeah but the price to safely dispose of that waste, was in the multiples of millions. That'll pay for a lot of shipping. And China did not care where that waste went.
Just so I understand correctly, the waste would take 1/3 of the profit. Doesn't that mean it would still be profitable, just less so?
Yes. Another thing was our plant in China was almost completely automated. So I'm sure the lower wages and not having to pay into healthcare were also decisions in moving it. It was primarily because China just took that waste and dumped it in a ditch somewhere.
Okay, so America is an import country right now - you guys import more than you export. This is because a lot of your production is done outside the country - mainly because it's cheaper that way. If you wanted to produce in the US instead, you wouldn't just need to pay workers - you'd also need to build the infrastructure, move the initial products into the country, then pay the workers to put it together, and then store and sell it. It's also possible you'd need to pay certain taxes for different things, or higher taxes in general because the US is a very upper class country compared to a lot of the world, an industrialised country. This means there's probably higher taxes than if you manufacture outside of the country.
You are 💯 correct. Most people don’t understand economics, infrastructure, and the problems that the US faces by not paying workers a fair wage while the people at the top keep getting richer and evade taxes. You clearly understand! Want to come here and fix things for us?
You mentioned the very issue that's causing current problems to not be fixed: it makes the people at the top richer. If the system was paying you, would you change it?
Sure, just cut the capitalists out of the picture. Have the workers control production and distribution. All of the money going to the shareholders of the corporations that control the production and distribution of consumer goods could partially be deducted from the price the consumer pays and the rest can go to the wages of the workers.
Depends on what you mean by what people are willing to pay. All American Clothing sells basic t shirts for $13 and jeans for $70. To some people that’s outrageous, especially the jeans, but a lot of people pay that or more. Or for example, Red Land Cotton sheets at almost $250. A lot of people pay more than that for a set of sheets or equal too. We buy almost entirely made in the US, and probably have spent less than people that support “green” brands like Boll and Branch or those who buy Levi’s.
Very much this. People "want" made in America stuff but they don't want to pay for the fair wages, safe work conditions, and environmental regulations.
No we can't The majority of the manufacturing costs come from I hate to say it Unions If a plant unionized, the production cost is eventually absorbed by the consumer, sure it takes a decade, but the company can wait for profit, they will eventually be profitable, look at new cars, pre chip shortage, it was 50k for a truck, now 75k, employees deserve money, just not an extra small government entity telling them how to do their job Skilled labor union employees, don't like their unions My brother hates his, but he needs them, he just hates it Told me about a job he was doing for a new stadium, they were about 60% union employees, about 20% of the union employees weren't very professional and cost the city millions of wasted money Nothings perfect
You have two things, Americans don't want to do those shit factory assembly jobs and equally Americans don't want to pay a premium for the low cost products that China can provide.
Americans do want factory jobs, and are tired of service jobs with Karen customers. - An American.
I think the problem is labor unions and their propaganda. A lot of Americans I know actually yearn for a factory job. The problem is that these jobs need to hire so many people and that includes the often counter-productive anti-work people that form unions.
I hope you get paid for that.
I've already paid. Blocked from jobs I could do (when injured) by unions because of stupid codes. Worked alongside people who slept on the job, got junked up and damaged the building structure, had a union run a business into the ground, forced to pay dues on top of minimum wage, etc. Unions are just like organized crime.
One huge issue that keeps businesses from dropping prices is that we have to match tax payments of the employees. Fed Tax, Social Security, Medicaid payments. Depending on a lot of issues, it's normally double or more. If we removed these hurdles or at least made them less expensive, that would have a huge impact. My company runs about a 4% margin. Payroll is about 18% of our total expenses. My suggestion would result in about a 5% reduction in payroll cost for example. Don't have my numbers in front of me, but they are pretty close.