Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyman 08
Here are some things that make our products cost more to manufacture:
1. EPA regulations
2. Safety regulations
3. Having Liability Insurance Keeping and All the lawyers needed to fight product lawsuits and paying those settlements.
4. higher Pay for all employees
5. higher benefits for all employees
My opnion is that numbers 1,2 and 3 are the biggest drag on the US Manufacturers at this time compared to what other countries impose on their industries. Not saying they are necessarily a bad thing, it is just other countries do not impose as strict regulations or liability laws as the US does.
So this leave the only ways a manufacturer in this country can reduce costs is to:
1. cut pay to all employees
2. cut benefits to all employees
3. cut quality of materials used
4. move manufacturing to the same places that they are making things.
Every time We try to place restrictions on Imported goods we have been threatened with even more import restrictions on our own goods going out of the country.
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I would argue that 1 and 2 are faced by any manufacturer that sells into the US. And I believe the US is free to make cars that just meet regulations in whatever country they are exporting to. So I would say those two are equal for all. 3 is definitely US unique. And I COMPLETELY agree that placing import restrictions is a bad idea. It will just get us in the end. We buy too much stuff globally and do still export quite a bit. We need to level the cost playing field (lower wages for US workers) or wait for the other countries to catch up. I believe the latter will happen, but it will take a longer amount of time. I call it Global Equillibrium.