I should never have underestimated this group
OT: Made in the USA
- Thread starter Theconnormead
- Start date
When it comes to making cell phones, you should be able to tool an assembly line that is relatively automated I would think. I think the idea you can't make complex products in America without huge increases in prices isn't as accurate, or is at least more nuanced than it used to be.
In fairness, every time they voted for somebody that was against illegal immigration but pro-legal immigration, what that really meant in practice was "keep the legal immigration system 17ed" and go lax on enforcement so we can get (1) new voters and cheap labor or (2) cheap labor depending on which side of the political spectrum the particular politician was.
I don't think we can find out what the political appetite actually is for legal immigration until we have 4 years of actually enforcing the laws on the books and building some credibility so (i) immigration skeptical if not anti-immigration voters won't assume any nod to increasing immigration is just a lie and really going to open the flood gates again and (2) pro illegal immigration politicians/donors worried about cheap labor believe the only way they are going to get more labor is to fix the legal immigration system and settle for slightly more expensive but legal immigrants rather than cheaper illegal immigrants.
I mean. You probably should, the long money is definitely in your favor.
We have sanctions on Russia. Cuba was excluded from tariffs also, care to guess why?
Because Trump is working on a casino deal with Hyman Roth? I wouldn’t trust that guy. He plays like a loveable old man but he’s a snake in the grass who will corrupt your own brother to go against the family.
What % of a factory currently making iphones is staffed with 11 year old workers?
In March, Russia's oil and gas revenues were down 17% Y/Y. April is shaping up to be even worse. When OPEC announced production hikes that was basically putting a lid on the Russian economy and their war effort.
Last edited:
They are transmitting data even when tv is off. Not sure what it is, but someone is paying for
I'm willing to pay more for anything that lasts like quality tools and appliances, auto parts, etc. I'm not willing to pay a dime for any Apple product.
It’s not just the assembly line, it’s also the materials / semiconductors for the chips, the glass for the touch screens, the steel for the case, and all the tiny standard internal electrical components. You’re going to build the final product where you can minimize the logistics of all those materials to the point of assembly.
Apple and Samsung have both unanimously determined that 3rd world Asian countries provide the most economical solution….when looking at the big picture. It’s the raw materials that are the majority of the cost of anything. Not the labor.
Only difference in China and Nazi Germany's primary goal is Germany tried to do it militarily in just a few years. China is doing it over several decades economically. Back in the day the world decided they didn't want to learn to speak German. Question now is, will the world have to learn Chinese one day. Kind of like boiling a frog......throw the frog into a pot of boiling water or place the frog into a pot of mild warm water and bring it up to a boil.
Wonder if this is actually manufacturing IPhones or assembling IPhone componentry ?
An actual free market wouldn't include intellectual property rights. IP enforcement requires regulation, which is anti-free market. Theft of tangible products is one thing, but how do you steal ideas? The person you "stole" it from still has the idea.
A hard-hitting example: Vanilla Ice "stole" 7 notes from Queen and David Bowie. It didn't make Under Pressure disappear, though. And could you imagine a world without Ice Ice Baby?******
The second you put your ideas on paper and have them manufactured in China they are stolen. That is why you can buy an identical item under 50 different "brands" on Amazon and eBay.
This recently floated idea where the US should go back to being a manufacturing economy, where screws are being installed into iphones by Americans in the US, is wild.
It completely ignores decades of history, economic structural change, and social change.
It's idealizing a time when robber barons ruled the economy. Ha, well they still do, they just deal in data now.
It completely ignores decades of history, economic structural change, and social change.
It's idealizing a time when robber barons ruled the economy. Ha, well they still do, they just deal in data now.
Yeah there are some examples where everything is identical, but what I consistently see is examples where things...
- look nearly identical, costs less, and are fundamentally inferior.
- look nearly identical, cost less, and work just as well.
- look identical, cost less, and are fundamentally inferior.
It seems rare that a patented looks identical, operates identically, and costs less.
I am on Amazon daily due to my job and see a products from countless 6letter Chinese brands.
Do you think the Chinese give a **** about patents? Or that most people will take the time to compare specs on a product?
The actions of the administration could indicate best case, Trump is playing chess, worst case, Trump is owned by Putin. I have my opinions, but I certainly would like nothing more than find out that I was completely wrong about all of my thoughts about Trump and that he earns himself gold stars in economics, diplomacy, the strengthening of America and fostering world peace. It would be good for all of us if he finds a workable plan and sticks with it.
I always laugh about the paleo diet folks and ask if they know the average lifespan of a caveman?
And I, as a consumer, don't see a problem with that.
If 6-letter Chinese company can make something that looks similar, costs less, and works just as well, that's a win for me because I get the product I wanted and get to keep more of my money.
If it looks similar, costs less, and doesn't work as well, then I have more options. I can make a decision whether to keep more of my money and get a worse product or give up more of my money and get a better product. That's also a win because I have more choices.
The only time it's not a win is if I'm told I'm getting the high quality brand, but it's really an inferior knockoff. The issue for the consumer in that case isn't that the 6-letter company is violating IP, but that it's committing fraud.
Typical day of a caveman, eat what you can find or kill without being eaten yourself. Break your leg? Dead. Put on a few lbs because you were the whimsical one painting the walls and therefore the slowest runner... Dead.
I ask my uncle the same question when he goes on his rants about how no other animal drinks milk after their first year.
“yeah unc, how long does the average non milk drinking mammal live?, and whats the average human lifespan?”
I largely do not think manufactures care about patents. But that has nothing to do with my comments.
As for if most people take the time to compare specs, well I dont know if they do or dont, but the point of my post is that there are frequently fundamental differences in the details(specs).
65w laptop charger for example- many 6letter Chinese brands arent UL certified while the actual product from Microsoft or Apple is UL certified.
Looks similar/same, fundamentally different, and costs less.
That graph is an interesting visualization. Definitely not something I knew, and I doubt most here knew it. I bet many dismiss it too.
It doesnt look like you accounted for inflation.
$509.09 in 1950 = $6807 in 2025. There are 75 years of inflation to account for.
Manufacturing revenue from 1950 in today's dollars is $1,030,239,698,782.
So it looks like we bring in just short of 3x more revenue from manufacturing now compared to 1950.
And manufacturing revenue on a per person basis is $1800 more now compared to 1950.
Uh...this 100 fold. I have the unfortunate store that sees this every day. People in this neighborhood are dropping 10-30 Amazon packages a day of Returns. That doesn't even speak to what they keep. We are running a disposable society with all costs covered so you don't even have to think about it. Just call up an Uber eats to hit the taco bell drive thru while you click click click for more junk.
Yes. But I wouldn’t pay a plug nickel for a Muslim pager though.
Cut off all the Government $ they are getting and they will go to work. Way too many people getting paid not to work.
That’s wild! What are their names? We need to get to the bottom of this.