Quote: Somehow, I don't see how America would be better off in the long run if we paid $200 for a $65 pair of shoes because they are made in America or if a new "American made" computer costs $1800 at Best Buy instead of a foreign made one at $499.
I really don't believe American made products are that much more. When a plant shuts down in America and moves to China I don't see the price of that item significantly dropping. Did Nike shoes lower their price from $85 for a pair of shoes to $35 when they shut down the memphis TN plant and move to Mexico??
Besides when the unemployeed factory worker gets laid off and has to take a lower paying job he has less money to spend. He may not even buy the product or service your company offers-putting your own livlyhood at risk. He may also be placed upon various gov't programs (job training, medical benefits) that cost more in taxes so the savings you benefited from buying offdshore is replaced with higher taxes and social cost.
If companies are coerced into closing foreign factories that employ inexpensive workers and opening in the US where they face manditory health insurance laws, spiraling unemployment compensation and union wages, you don't think that prices would rise? If manufacturing costs make up 20 percent of the retail price, that means a $100 item costs $20 to manufacture. If you raise the price of manufacturing from $20 to $60-$80-$100, who is going to purchase the product? Pretty soon the unions will replace their "Buy American" slogan with ones that make people feel guilty for getting their appliances fixed, instead of purchasing new.
Or, this person will realize that working labor all his life is not a good plan, upgrade his education and break into the $100,000 a year market.
Then he'll use his improved skills to automate another factory that can better compete with the low wage labor intense factories in china, building a more superior and quality product in the process. Other components that need to be made by labor can be made in cheap labor markets, imported back in, assembled, sent back of at an overall lower manufacturing cost. You don't want to but import taxes on those items. which is why we have free trade agreements which list all sorts of products.
"I really don't believe American made products are that much more."
Fine, then you don't need Government intervention to buy them.
Did Nike shoes lower their price from $85 for a pair of shoes to $35 when they shut down the memphis TN plant and move to Mexico??