Posted on 04/22/2019 5:43:15 AM PDT by reaganaut1
President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imported washing machines has had an odd effect: It raised prices on washing machines, as expected, but also drove up the cost of clothes dryers, which rose by $92 last year.
What appears to have happened, according to new research from economists at the University of Chicago and the Federal Reserve, is a case study in how a measure meant to help domestic factory workers can rebound on American consumers, creating unexpected costs and leaving shoppers with a sky-high bill for every factory job created.
Research to be released on Monday by the economists Aaron Flaaen, of the Fed, and Ali Hortacsu and Felix Tintelnot, of Chicago, estimates that consumers bore between 125 percent and 225 percent of the costs of the washing machine tariffs. The authors calculate that the tariffs brought in $82 million to the United States Treasury, while raising consumer prices by $1.5 billion.
And while the tariffs did encourage foreign companies to shift more of their manufacturing to the United States and created about 1,800 new jobs, the researchers conclude that those came at a steep cost: about $817,000 per job.
Mr. Trump imposed the tariffs last year in response to a complaint by the Michigan-based manufacturer Whirlpool, which claimed foreign competitors were cornering the American washing machine market with cheaper models that threatened domestic manufacturers. The tariffs started at 20 percent per imported washer and rose to 50 percent late in the year, after total imports exceeded a quota set by the administration.
Mr. Trump, a self-proclaimed lover of tariffs, hailed the move as a way to help American production and jobs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I wouldn’t be surprised that Samsung, LG and the Haier Group (who owns the GE brand) moves a lot of their washer and dryer machine production to the USA. And with good reason: washer and dryer sales are the most consistent in North America, where homes are better suited for such combinations.
The greatest disappointment of the Trump Administration so far was forcing Pruitt out of the EPA. He was implementing a plan that would've taken a chainsaw to decades of economy-killing environmental regulations that liberals and RINO Republicans had forced on us over the years. It was more than the left could handle. They view the EPA as a liberal sanctuary regardless of who is in the White House (mostly Republicans have allowed this) and went absolutely bonkers over Scott Pruitt. He had to go.
I think i know what your talking about, turn the knob slightly so it keeps filling.
Sounds like you have an older analog mechanically controlled washer.
My top load whirlpool is all digital computer controlled although it has normal knobs and looks like an older style machine.
I can’t even open the door to watch it fill the frigging door locks up from beginning to end of cycle.
Previous posts, already happening.
“LG Electronics Inc. today announced plans to construct a new 829,000-square-foot home appliance manufacturing facility near Clarksville, Tennessee. The project, in the heart of Montgomery County, is expected to bring at least 600 full-time jobs to the area.”
Samsung opened a factory in SC.
Maytag/Whirpool/Amana/Kitchenaid are already made in Iowa.
GE I believe are made in Old Mexico still(NAFTA).
The problem is NONE of these machines are made like the OLD Maytag, GE washing machines from the 1970s & 1980s. That is why we bought a Speed Queen washing machine.
There is actually a store near me that reconditions and resells old washing machines. My current machine is a late 80’s model Kenmore that has been reconditioned to near-new.
Sad part is the store’s owner has told me that eventually the supply of old pre-regulation machines to rehab is going to dry-up and he’ll be forced out of business.
You mean those crappy American appliances? Instead of buying new, we had our washer and dryer rebuilt. American appliances are crappy junk.
They raised taxes so high people could not afford to by much..so the eliete shipped all the jobs over seas...Cheap goods..but no jobs..
The fact is the dryer design really has not fundamentally changed in 50+ years.
It is a metal drum that spins around with a heater that blows air trough it. The only difference is Kevlar belts that never brake.
I’m all for saving money on a new washing machine, but when did Americans — especially Freepers of all people — get this mentality that we have some kind of God-given right to cheap consumer products?
My personal advice BUY A CHEAPER UNIT Keep It Simple, they have less components to go bad, and are cheaper to fix, most DYI people can even fix them for just the parts, lots of How To Videos on You Tube. Most give up to 20/30 yrs of service.
You don’t need a $2,000 washer or dryer that take a lot of computer chips.
I’m old enough to have washed Diapers and hubby’s Fatigues in the Bathtub when there was no money for a Landry-mat and hang them on a clothes line. Only thing that got sent to the Cleaners were his Dress Uniforms, those White ones were a nightmare to keep clean. (Navy)
So true, we're the same way here. We live that way with all major purchases, including cars. We keep it simple and avoid the unnecessary sizzle.
Of course not. The Whirlpool products are built in American plants, using American energy, buying most components made in America, delivered by American trucks driven by American drivers. Americans prepare food in the cafeterias. The workers spend most of their income at American stores, support American schools, give to American churches and charities, while the corporation and workers pay taxes to American cities, states, school districts and the federal treasury.
The Chinese washer results in a small portion going to the retailer and the other 95% is shipped back to China.
Which of the two is really costing America and its consumers.
Well, to avoid kids copying that scene in “Rocketman”, modern dryers have a “child-proof” mode.
I would have never known, save for accidentally enabling it one day. Had to look it up online to figure out what I did, what it was, and what to try to un-enable it.
Damn that inconvenient NYSlimes for always publishing them inconvenient truths...and then we have folks who jump in their boat and help all the concern trolls find another nugget to get oh-so-concerned about.
One of the reasons we can’t make progress is because the politicians who refuse to do something also know that steps in the right direction will take some minor inconvenience (not like everyone buys a new washer and/or dryer more often than every 15+ years) so they can keep away from long-term progress because the short tern growing pains are “just too much so we gotta stay on the steady decline into Dem Heaven”...
Ahhhha! Caught you. Only a subscriber would know that...
I’d prefer to have great employment prospects that a few dollars in my pocket.
I hate the EPA
Next time get a speed queen
the even have instructions on how to get around the mandates.
“Only a subscriber would know that...”
Actually it was in the very first line of the excerpt.
So there.
L
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