Kip Powick Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 I'm thinking Trump is spewing enough sh!t at Mexico that there'll be a bumper crop of mushrooms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 13 minutes ago, Maverick said: I'm thinking Trump is spewing enough sh!t at Mexico that there'll be a bumper crop of mushrooms! You beat me to it Mav! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Trump says he's going to place a 35% tariff on certain imported goods. I'll bet the Ford BoD will be rethinking its decision to move 'small car' production to Mexico now as will a few other manufacturers too. It looks like things are going to start getting better for American labour and the middle class soon, but if Trump's plans are going to have traction, labour unions are going to have to reconsider how big and long their wish lists are too. We can only hope Canada has the political capacity left to get in step with a renewing America and become a co-operating partner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chockalicious Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Anyone who thinks manufacturing jobs that have left the US are coming back is misguided, same for Canada for that matter. As consumers we have made.our bed, outsourcing of jobs to maintain costs is a horse that has left the barn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 9 hours ago, DEFCON said: Trump says he's going to place a 35% tariff on certain imported goods. I'll bet the Ford BoD will be rethinking its decision to move 'small car' production to Mexico now as will a few other manufacturers too. It looks like things are going to start getting better for American labour and the middle class soon, but if Trump's plans are going to have traction, labour unions are going to have to reconsider how big and long their wish lists are too. We can only hope Canada has the political capacity left to get in step with a renewing America and become a co-operating partner. And here's where the folly of Trump's nationalism falls on its face. If he wants to repatriate auto sector jobs, then either the US workers are going to have to make similar money to their Mexican counterparts (around $5.00 to $6.00 per hour and ZERO benefits / pension) or the cost of those entry level vehicles is going to rise to the point where even fewer Americans can afford them. The American worker is as much responsible for the current state of their job market as the corporations they like to blame. They've put price ahead of everything else in their purchasing decisions (as evidenced by the proliferation of Walmarts and warehouse stores) and in doing so, they have helped to put themselves out of work. And we're no better on this side of the border. If you want the other guy to take a pay cut but you don't expect to have take one in kind, then you're fooling yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakelad Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpperDeck Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 6 hours ago, chockalicious said: Anyone who thinks manufacturing jobs that have left the US are coming back is misguided, same for Canada for that matter. As consumers we have made.our bed, outsourcing of jobs to maintain costs is a horse that has left the barn. I don't know whether I am misguided or delusional but I believe that ultimately cost dictates the place of manufacture. Why would it be otherwise? And so...if it costs less to build in the US than in Mexico...or elsewhere....because of tariiffs, then you will build in the US. The corollary of that propsition is that the goods will cost more and you will (may) sell less and therefore require less manpower in the process.....but so what? Globalization has raised the level for some and lowered it for others but all to the benefit of companies exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. Mexican laborers; Chinese laborers etc are happy but the workers in the industrialized countries...not so much. It may play havoc with my portfolio but I personally would like to see the imposition of "incentives" to keep manufacturing "at home". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo32a Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 6 hours ago, Lakelad said: . . That is just the raw cost of labour, yes? If you add in all the benefits does it stay the same? I know a few years ago it was cheaper to manufacture in Canada because our medical plan was much cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 JO No offence, but if you weren't part of the North American working class when 'fair trade' rules were in effect, you aren't in a position to appreciate the benefits related policies once conferred to the Western economies. 'Free Trade' has been the corporatocracy's dream child and it has resulted in the collapse of the middle class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakelad Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 12 hours ago, mo32a said: That is just the raw cost of labour, yes? If you add in all the benefits does it stay the same? I know a few years ago it was cheaper to manufacture in Canada because our medical plan was much cheaper. Per appended excerpt, the earlier WSJ stats appear to be straight wage costs without benefit loading. IAC there remains a substantial differential between Mexican and US labour costs. Only figure I came across for loaded Canadian auto worker costs came in at about $48/hr (US). Quote A worker in Mexico costs car companies an average of $8 an hour, including wages and benefits. That compares with $58 in the U.S. for General Motors and $38 at Volkswagen's factory in Tennessee, the lowest hourly cost in the U.S., according to the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank in Ann Arbor, Michigan. German auto workers cost about $52 an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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