Quote:
Originally Posted by a_Username
I believe everyone here realizes that buying a domestically manufactured vehicle does help our economy more than another, however the whole point of competition is too weed out the weak. If our automakers fail to meet consumer demand adequately, then the United States automotive industry will fail. This is a big "if", considering there will probably always be an entrepreneur to replace his predecessor in this particular industry. However, even if our industry completely fails, it doesn't imply that we have forever lost the percentage of GDP that our automotive industry adds. It simply means that people will relocate resources to serve other industries that will offset the loss. The only problem is that this isn't an immediate switch, and this will take time to find the appropriate industry where our particular workers stand strong.
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I completely agree with that. It is common knowledge that the "quality gap" with the foreign brands that once existed has been closed, equaled and in many cases even surpassed. We can make competitive high quality cars.
It is the cost factor that worries me. Can we compete on a cost basis and avoid paying our people 3rd world wages? At times, I am skeptical. At one time, the American middle class was the envy of the rest of the world and we were elevating their standard of living. Now I fear that there are competitive market pressures that are pulling our wages down to their level.
Alfie