Virtually every great advancement in history has had some sort of governmental backing.
If the banks can't see their way to help and are more interested in distributing the monies as bonuses to their top echelon then the government has to step in as the bank of last resort.
And it's awfully obvious that the great successes at Chrysler and GM have quickly benefitted from "gonvernment interference".
Jefferson used governmental power to secure some great advances.
The firking accountant president (beancounter) of Chrysler the first time around did not know what he was doing and ran it into the ground. So in came Iacocca who turned it around with Governmental assistance.
Lutz is right about Iacocca establishing confidence in the public domain. Sergio is doing it where the German's from Mercedes couldn't.
It's crap that we are being regulated to death. And it is true that foreign kids do get preferential treatment and then turn against us in a most condescending and demeaning way.
The great American Standards that technological groups have come up with are distributing themselves world wide and I am not talking about toilets.
Ever ride a Mitsubishi elevator? Nice acceleration curve. They took it farther.
How about the Washers and Dryers at Best Buy? LG and Samsung, stuff developed here but vastly improved over there because the top execs here were fat and sassy and remain so.
Lots of places to take potshots at, not just the government.
And excellence here means work here. Anybody want work here?
Tim, I have seen the same exported factory machinery in China and other parts of Asia. In Indonesia, which touts itself as a lower cost alternative to China (imagine that!), nearly all the managers were ex-pats, mostly Americans.
We have spoken with U.S.-based companies like pc-board makers who say they have brought work back from Asia for the reasons jmiller has cited. Lower manufacturing costs in Asia were outweighed by low quality, logistics issues and communications problems. I'm guessing more of this type of mid-level, -volume manufacturing will come back from Asia.
I would take issue with the assertion that elimination of the tax on overseas profits would result in greater investment in the U.S. Many multinational companies are sitting on piles of cash now and have shown no inclination to invest in workers, infrastructure or innovative products. Moreover, many benefit from the U.S. R&D tax credit, but you'd be hard pressed to find a single innovation since this "tax incentive" was created in 1981.
Thanks to all who weighed in on this thread about the vital issue of reviving U.S. manufacturing.
On the issue of what we do to compete with the likes of Foxconn, we certainly can't replicate its model, nor would we want. We can fix our manufacturing problems while at the same time preserving the dignity of work. I believe we need to rebuild a flexible manufacturing base that can be quickly scaled up in order to compete with Asian manufacturers. The we leverage our unmatched worker productivity.
I'll next puruse other reader comments and respond where I can.
I agree with a lot of what everyone here has to say. It is important that we do reverse unemployment and get jobs back for many Americans. The task though is no longer bringing back jobs to America, the way we have structured the global marketplace today could simply not support it. Instead we must create new jobs to support and give structure to the jobs we have moved oversees. Yes, bringing back jobs would result in a few more Americans getting back jobs, but if we can build a stronger support network for the future, we will have created a strong enough infrastruture if or when jobs are to come back to America.
By the way, it is amazing the way everyone discusses things here unlike yahoo and other ridiculous sites that simply post racist, religious, and outrageous things that are most likely due to a lack of education.
@Dave, Yeah, I agree with your accessment of doing business in China although I bet the Chinese pave the way for companies like Foxcon. It's no doubt a nightmare for little startups.
My point was that it's also harder for small startups here. And unlike very large companies, small startups in the US would not even THINK of locating in China. So which should we be doing more to encourage?
If you've weighed in here, please take our Quick Poll on "Should the government support the return of manufacturing jobs to the US?" It's on the lower right side of the Design News home page. Results so far are here. The answer options are:
a) Yes, by funding research, education, and tax credits
b) Yes, in principle, but without spending taxpayer money
c) No, the government shouldn't pick winners and losers
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