Posted on 05/12/2016 4:35:21 AM PDT by expat_panama
“Actually, it doesn’t. Because of US and Canadian unions, many factories in the US are not automated to the same degree as they are overseas.”
In 1995 I toured a Rover automobile assembly plant in Cowley, England. The company had just been bought by BMW, but the robotic technology in use was Honda’s, left over from an earlier joint venture. (Most of the cars being built were re-badged Civics, Accords, and Acura Legends.) All of the painting and almost all of the welding was done by robots. However, I noticed some workers were welding the trunk (”boot”) lids by hand, and I asked the tour guide why that wasn’t also being done by robots. He replied that it had to do with “staffing agreements” (i.e., featherbedding) with the local trade union. All but the Mini and Land Rover bits of Rover cars were out of business soon thereafter.
That means NEW jobs (see programmers, CAD-CAM, robotics, etc).
New jobs require new enterprises, innovation and the freedom to create.
Neither of the uniparties favor freedom.
Because the politicians have sent manufacturing jobs overseas, leaving no jobs except burger flipping. The way the liberals “solve” that is to demand that burger joints pay $15 per hour.
You mean neither WING of the Uniparty favors freedom. (grin)
Which means, outside of the Zombie Apocalypse, Killer Avian Bird Flu, or the S.M.O.D. . . . we’re screwed. . .
The people against the Keystone Pipeline claim that the oil will be converted to gasoline in the US and then sold to China. Even if true, doesn’t that mean that the pipeline increases manufacturing? We take raw materials from Canada and manufacture a finished product: gasoline. And if we sell it to China, isn’t that exporting? Manufacturing and exporting goods and paying taxes and providing jobs? It’s all good.
In the last two months, I’ve walked out of McDonalds three times because the service was so slow. I think they’re cutting back counter staff because of the rising minimum wage.
There is a good argument to be made against our trade policy, that our existing agreements keep us out of many foreign markets. We need to absolutely insist on real free trade rather than the faux free trade we have today.
But there is also a bad argument being made against our trade policy, the argument that Americans are somehow entitled by birthright to make 5x-10x the amount of money made by foreigners producing an equivalent product. Any attempt to force this result by government will lead to disaster.
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