why did manufacturing leave the US?

Why did manufacturing leave the US? Examines businesses leaving the United States for better countries overseas.

The trend has been taking place in the United States for decades. But why? The argument given to the American public starting some 40 years ago was that labor is cheaper outside the United States. That fact is true, but it hides the element that cheaper labor means more profits for business owners and investors, but loss of jobs for workers, and dependency on other nations that may be cheaper until they bankrupt American businesses producing the same product, then they jack up their prices higher than they have ever been.

But we must not forget that there are other considerations in all of this that we need to take to heart.

The Rise of Labor Unions

At one time, businesses abused their workers. In England, for example, child labor was notorious at one time, and child workers were so young that they did not even know how to read and write before they were thrown into an adult work environment. That situation opened itself up to abuse, and abuse came very well.

Another abuse that happened was when owners and investors made a lot of money but did not pay their workers very well. That is an abuse, but really, that situation was within the discretion of those owners and investors. The simple answer to that was for the worker to look for another job. As a consumer, when consumers understand the abusive practices of these businesses, then they can apply more pressure by not consuming products or services from those abusive businesses. This path is not at all easy, and some businesses have accumulated enough wealth to withstand even consumer pressure. But that is the capitalist way. The consumer decides what product he wants and at what price he will pay.

But considering all angles here, what good did labor unions do for the worker if they eventually jack up salaries so high as to make the businesses unprofitable and eventually go to a foreign country to do business? There is nothing wrong with this concept either, just that if a business does not want to abide by moral and ethical principles, and they want to abandon the United States, let them also abandon the United States as an end customer. In other words, they don’t abide by standard morality and decency, don’t sell in the United States.

If a company has a problem with paying high wages, then they need to deal with that. Workers need to give in to this problem as much as business so that a medium position is obtained where both business makes profit and workers receive a reasonable salary. What has happened in the United States is that Unions were picked up by political parties for their voters, for political power, and the laws of the land changed in favor of the unions. Notice that the workers were benefitted at first, and then when businesses, factories, etc. abandoned the United States, the worker is once again the abused. Business makes money no matter where the factory is located.

But the control on this situation is consumers not buying their products. Congress has made America open for any country in the world to flood our country with their “cheaper products”. Cheap at what cost, though? We can buy very cheap products from China, but (1) we are supporting a Communist regime that is our enemy and desires our destruction. In China, private business is blurred by government control. It is difficult to see where one ends, and the other begins, when the Communist Party understands that the countries businesses are the party’s possession, really. They control the businesses unilaterally. That is the definition of Communism. (2) Communism unjustly imprisons individuals for religious and political purposes. In China, if you are a “dissent”, that is disagree with the Communist Party, you can be imprisoned and that is the reason. No made up charges, just you bother the government’s dictators. These prisoners have no rights, and they are forced to work long, hard hours for a bowl of rice if they are lucky. The Communist government also lies about both their slavery practices and the products being made by forced slavery. The Uyghury is a prime example.

Forced Labor in China’s Xinjiang Region (US State Department)

In Xinjiang, the government is the trafficker.  Authorities use threats of physical violence, forcible drug intake, physical and sexual abuse, and torture to force detainees to work in adjacent or off-site factories or worksites producing garments, footwear, carpets, yarn, food products, holiday decorations, building materials, extractives, materials for solar power equipment and other renewable energy components, consumer electronics, bedding, hair products, cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, face masks, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other goods—and these goods are finding their way into businesses and homes around the world.

So every time you purchase that “cheaper product” (which has an inferior quality, many or most times), you are supporting this Communist practice. You are supporting the traffic and abuse of persons in another country, just so you can have some product at a fraction of a discount.

(3) Buying Chinese products means not supporting Capitalism, and the American worker. Beyond these very important problems, our wellbeing in the United States has come from several sources. We acknowledge that in themselves, they do not produce “blessing”, goodness that persists, but God enters here to bless us, and this is what He is observing and blessing because of it.

The difference is Capitalism versus Socialism or Communism.

Under the Capitalist system, the economy is controlled by individuals who accumulate wealth and means of production through their own independent hard work. That is rewarded financially with profit. Under Communism, individuals also work and get economic gain, but under that system, that gain and even the worker himself is a resource of the Communist government. The difference is great here. Under Capitalism, there is a rule that when a person earns some economic gain, that others respect his private property. That rule is absent in Communist and Socialist countries. Even in the United States, some politicians seem to see everything private as their possession simply for the taking. These politicians are extremely heavily inclined to more and more taxes, and hidden taxes.

Note that the utopian view they present is a lie. They want to champion the Robin Hood concept, take from the rich to give to the poor. Being government and making the laws, they can get away with this. But this is a betrayal of the Capitalist position. Even in taxation, our country was founded (the straw that broke the camel’s back was taxation without representation) on the principle that people have a certain right and power over their own money and what is done with it.

What do you really want? (and at what price)

The question boils down to what do you really want? Beyond that simple question, a second issue comes into play. At what price are you paying for it? US products have historically not been the cheapest products in the world. They usually are not over priced either. But the true saying, you get what you pay for comes into play. If you want a good wrench, buy a US made wrench. If you want the best quality wrench that is out there, probably buy a German made one. Sears Craftman wrenches are good wrenches but they come with a forever guarantee that if one of their wrenches breaks they will replace it for free. That is quality.

When I worked construction, I didn’t do plumbing work. In one case, I had to remove a bathroom sink, and there is a special only that purpose wrench. I bought one that was Chinese made because I thought I would never use it again. The first time I tried to use it, it broke in two. So I had to return and buy a “good one”. So I paid a premium to get the thing to work. That issue is really a make-or-break element in all of this. Trash is cheap, and quality things cost. Quality products give you good service and last. Trash is unless all too soon. Many times, it doesn’t even make it through the moment it was bought for.

The drive for cheaper has to be resisted.

Why did manufacturing leave the US?