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Could the United States start creating factories in response to Coronavirus?

Posted on 02/25/2020 6:19:35 AM PST by GulfMan

Can President Trump invoke emergency powers that would wave many of the non-essential permits and red tape issues and begin rapidly ramping up Factories in the United States?

It would seem to me that if we act NOW (not three months from now) we can accomplish two major things to avoid Catastrohpie.

1) Reduce reliance on non US Made Goods. 2) Put people to work who lost jobs due to supply chain collapse.

Even if Coronavirus is kept in control here (and that's not likely) the economic collapse coming is going to be significant, and worse, medicines and other essential medial devices and such are mostly made overseas.

It would seem to me that could start building those plants now that make antibiotics and other essential items, including non-medicine items. This wouldn't merely create construction jobs, but an entire economy of office folks, software engineers, everything we have now, just shifting to meet the coming changes.

I think this is a good idea that President Trump should be considering.


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: coronavirus
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1 posted on 02/25/2020 6:19:35 AM PST by GulfMan
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To: GulfMan

Companies will have little choice but to move out of China.


2 posted on 02/25/2020 6:21:48 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: GulfMan

The tariff should be per product not per country. Bring it home baby!!!!


3 posted on 02/25/2020 6:23:08 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: 1Old Pro

If I were President Trump I would be meeting with business leaders from US based companies, steel companies, medical companies, major construction firms and ask them flat out ... “If we got out of the way, how quickly could you get to work and begin creating the things we need here, now?”


4 posted on 02/25/2020 6:24:05 AM PST by GulfMan
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To: GulfMan

Since you have to ask, the answer is “No”.


5 posted on 02/25/2020 6:24:40 AM PST by Empire_of_Liberty
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To: GulfMan

I would like to think the unions would help make that happen. But since that would be counter to the DEM platform of putting world interests way ahead of American interests, good luck.


6 posted on 02/25/2020 6:25:58 AM PST by CatOwner
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To: 1Old Pro

They can’t say they were not warned. US companies love high rewards but want to spread the risk among the Public.


7 posted on 02/25/2020 6:27:22 AM PST by Tea Party Terrorist (If you watch porn you support human trafficking.)
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To: GulfMan
We are supposed to feel sorry for all the U.S. operators who stampeded to move their supply chains to China after it was granted MFN status at the beginning of this century. I worked in supply chain in Japan then, before moving back to the United States.

We were wise enough to see that it wasn't smart to have so many of our operations in one country and were already beginning to diversify. The three U.S. companies which I worked for since were, in varying degrees, not so wise. Lots of U.S. companies were even stupider.

Long story short, the wisest of the three companies (the one I am working for now), is well diversified in supply chain locations and I expect we will get through this with minor hiccups. The most foolish of the three (put all their eggs in the China basket) is out of business and the third (put most of their eggs in the China basket) is in a world of hurt.

8 posted on 02/25/2020 6:29:09 AM PST by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: GulfMan

There is nothing in their way but greed and the need for ever increasing profit. We need a tariff to force repatriation. There is a huge economic opportunity in the rebuilding America’s infrastructure and industry. Tax breaks ALL THE WAY AROUND FOR CONSTRUCTING FACTORIES HERE!!! Kind of like post industrial Marshall Plan for the USA this time.


9 posted on 02/25/2020 6:31:00 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: GulfMan

We had better revive our pharmaceutical manufacturing at the very least. Hard to believe how far our “national security” has been impacted by off-shoring and the “green” marxists.


10 posted on 02/25/2020 6:31:31 AM PST by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: CatOwner

Unions are non factor. Only 7% of the work force is in a union. 7% and falling....


11 posted on 02/25/2020 6:32:57 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: GulfMan

“Can President Trump invoke emergency powers that would wave many of the non-essential permits and red tape issues and begin rapidly ramping up Factories in the United States?

It would seem to me that if we act NOW (not three months from now) we can accomplish two major things to avoid Catastrohpie. “

No, we’re going to get reamed regardless of what Trump does, as the shelves start to empty this week. But yes, we DEFINITELY need to figure out critical industries and get them back here. I could make a list of a 1000 ways that I would deregulate production...at least to get us back on our feet.

For example, allow Truck manufacturers to build truck engines that don’t require electronics - just big diesel engines, like we had in the past. We can live with the pollution, but not without the trucks...it would be short-term, maybe several years, and then start tightening up requirements again, so our air doesn’t turn into that of Peking. The key is TOTALLY FREE UP production now...just to get things moving. Cleaning up after that will be easy and quick, since all the technology already exists.

To put it another way, we could probably punch out a car that functions to get people and goods from Point A to Point B in 6 months, from a dirt field, if that’s all it had to do. But to get airbags, anti-locks, closed-loop fuel injection, etc. - that requires computers and a huge amount of tweaking - we know how to do it, but the number of piece parts in the car increases 100 fold...so maybe 5 years to get them safe and clean again.


12 posted on 02/25/2020 6:34:53 AM PST by BobL (If some people here don't want to prep for Coronavirus, they can explain it to their families)
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: GulfMan

Only if they were smart. Just watch.


14 posted on 02/25/2020 6:35:41 AM PST by GingisK
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To: CatOwner

“I would like to think the unions would help make that happen. But since that would be counter to the DEM platform of putting world interests way ahead of American interests, good luck.”

I agree, labor unions, given their history (including WW2) will HOLD THIS COUNTRY HOSTAGE, if they see the chance. That’s who they are, and that is who they will always be. We didn’t need their crap at the docks in NYC while trying to fight WW2, and we don’t need their crap now, when we need to feed and care for Americans. If they’re now 7% of private labor, no one will miss them if they become 0%.


15 posted on 02/25/2020 6:38:24 AM PST by BobL (If some people here don't want to prep for Coronavirus, they can explain it to their families)
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To: VTenigma


Car Junkyard Owners - The Next Round of Millionaires ....
16 posted on 02/25/2020 6:39:04 AM PST by GulfMan
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To: GulfMan

The Chinese build entire hospitals in 2 weeks.
Here we can’t even organize the permit requests in 2 years.


17 posted on 02/25/2020 6:41:44 AM PST by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches anything.)
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To: GulfMan

No. US companies created this mess by trying to take advantage of slave labor in communist China. Them them enjoy the suck.


18 posted on 02/25/2020 6:44:08 AM PST by DownInFlames (Galsd)
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To: GulfMan

sure just import several million workers to take the jobs since we are at or near full employment


19 posted on 02/25/2020 6:47:33 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: DownInFlames

“No. US companies created this mess by trying to take advantage of slave labor in communist China. Them them enjoy the suck.”

I’m not so sure. If Rubbermaid sells a broom that costs $10 to make at a US plant, and then a recent immigrant from China uses his connections back home to sell a broom just as good for $5, what is Rubbermaid to do? I guess they could get out of the broom business...or they can produce/buy from China (or some other third world country). But one thing they CANNOT do is continue to try to sell that US broom for $10 - no customers (to speak of). So it ends the same, we lose broom production.

...so the question is: Whose fault is that?


20 posted on 02/25/2020 6:59:08 AM PST by BobL (If some people here don't want to prep for Coronavirus, they can explain it to their families)
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