“Will shifting part of the production of Oreos to Mexico, cause the price of Oreas sold in the US to drop?”
Price is determined by supply and demand, not by manufacturing costs. However, lower manufacturing costs give the producer more flexibility to respond to supply and demand, and if more producers have more flexibility, there should be more competition that results in lower prices. Oreos are a terrible example though, because if you pick a big brand that is always in high demand, then the price will never vary much, no matter what the circumstances. That’s the same reason Apple products are a terrible example.
“How does being able to buy cheap crap from China compensate for not earning enough to pay for these?”
Most of the economy doesn’t work in manufacturing jobs so most people’s earnings are not dropping due to manufacturing in China. The low priced goods are a straight benefit with no downside to that majority.
“Also, not every worker has the mental chops to become a software engineer, and not every person will benefit from getting a college degree, but millions of people getting college degrees WILL drive up the price of getting one for EVERYONE, including the people who need degrees.”
This much is true, but this is the fault of the federal government, not China. If we weren’t doling out student loan guarantees like we were guaranteeing bad mortgages 10 years ago, there wouldn’t be an issue.
So, what is the brilliant solution for the American middle and working classes NOT collapsing? What is the brilliant solution for bringing jobs back?
You can talk about less regulation and that is all well and good. But how much less are we talking about?
Do we want NO regulations like China? Even I don’t want to breath Beijing air.
So pick a year out of US History where regulations were lax enough that they would entice manufacturing to come back to the US from China, that would not lead to the US cities and rivers looking like China. I would like a year. 1790? 1832? 1910? 1973? Or any other year?
Also elaborate on how you plan on punishing or preventing China from stealing US tech, US movies, software, etc?
What “comparative advantage” does China possess, besides low-wages and no environmental or safety standards? Are they like super dexterous? Do they posses super intelligence? Cybernetic enhancements to their bodies?