The End of Cheap Labor in China

[HIGH_PLAINS]

The End of Cheap Labor in China

 

[zembonez]

The average manufacturing wage in China is still only about $3.10 an hour, (compared with $22.30 in the U.S.)

Still sounds like a bargain to me.
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[IXLR8]

China cannot get the population to move into the cities. They have built several empty cities that (almost) no one lives in.... and think its great.

 

[M. Sage]

^^^^^^ That kind of thing happens in every planned economy.

 

[DaRedneck]

Good!

Maybe some of the Benedict Arnolds will bring their companies back within our borders. Then again, I don't wanna pay more for Nike Shox. LOL!

 

[Texasjack]

China has been sending vast numbers of people to Africa to work on developing low-cost situations for labor and raw materials. They plan things in terms of decades instead of quarters.

 

[TrailDust]

China has been sending vast numbers of people to Africa to work on developing low-cost situations for labor and raw materials. They plan things in terms of decades instead of quarters.

The fact that we don't plan for decades is a grave weakness for America. Individual Americans also seem to have a memory that recalls little or nothing from two weeks in the past.....

 

[matefrio]

China cannot get the population to move into the cities. They have built several empty cities that (almost) no one lives in.... and think its great.

It's not getting folks moved into the city that's the problem in the video, it's building when there is no demand to boost GDP artificially.

 

[Texas1911]

Good!

Maybe some of the Benedict Arnolds will bring their companies back within our borders. Then again, I don't wanna pay more for Nike Shox. LOL!

Unions are a major reason why Americans have been priced out of the labor market. Instead of $12 - 15 / hr. for an assembly line worker in a non-Union state you'll pay $22 / hr. for the same labor in a Union state. That bodes well for the union worker until more and more contracts are awarded to the non-Union states, but then the unions want to complain about losing contracts. It boils down to a "I want my cake and to eat it too" mentality that so many Americans have.

To put it in perspective, I worked a job where I designed structural components for multimillion dollar houses; everything from the connections, beams, bracing, layout, etc. and I was paid less than the average union worker that sits on an assembly line. I am a far higher educated and skilled worker, but I make less in the market than the union workers.

California recently spent $7 Billion on a new bridge, and awarded the labor contract to a Chinese firm whom is using Chinese workers. They saved $500 Million on the project by going non-union. Now if the union would have been smart, they would have negotiated to an acceptable rate or at least a more competitive rate. Instead, they are sitting on their asses doing nothing and earning nothing in a slow economy.

I do think our labor and tariff laws should support US labor and US manufacturing, but the key to this puzzle lies largely in the US labor market coming to terms with the globally competitive market.

 

[TrailDust]

Not to worry anyway, the Chinese are repeating the same mistakes the U.S. made in recent years, and is heading for a mortgage banking crisis to rival our own.

 

[M. Sage]

The fact that we don't plan for decades is a grave weakness for America. Individual Americans also seem to have a memory that recalls little or nothing from two weeks in the past.....

I disagree. Economic planning cannot go that far out. There is too much change, too many innovations. If you try planning that far out, you're going to wind up with plans that are outdated by next year.

 

[Texasjack]

Yeah, the Chinese aren't all that smart - they were dumb enough to lend money to Obama! Maybe he'll send them a big bucket full of Hope and Change in return!

 

[TrailDust]

I disagree. Economic planning cannot go that far out. There is too much change, too many innovations. If you try planning that far out, you're going to wind up with plans that are outdated by next year.

You do have a very valid point. A lot of what was in my thought process when I wrote that was thinking about other national priorities as well, such as space exploration or foreign policy, both things that constantly change and keep our allies/partners exasperated and perplexed.

 

[AcidFlashGordon]

Unions are a major reason why Americans have been priced out of the labor market. Instead of $12 - 15 / hr. for an assembly line worker in a non-Union state you'll pay $22 / hr. for the same labor in a Union state. That bodes well for the union worker until more and more contracts are awarded to the non-Union states, but then the unions want to complain about losing contracts. It boils down to a "I want my cake and to eat it too" mentality that so many Americans have.

This can be evidenced by the Boeing case where the union in the Washington plant complained to the NLRB about Boeing opening a new, non-union plant in South Carolina. The union complained that Boeing was "union busting" but the thing is, Boeing is not closing its Washington (union) plant but expanding operations and opening a new (non-union) plant in South Carolina.