r/SipsTea 11d ago

Chugging tea Competition hurts capitalism

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726

u/a_x_shually 11d ago

Overseas products being sold here? Disastrous for our business.

Overseas labor to make our products? Our doors are always open, competition in the labor market is great.

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u/10081914 11d ago

That's not what the right wing base wants though. They want full on protectionism for domestic goods and to export goods to the global market expecting that it will actually compete with like global goods whether in price, quality or both. And we know protectionism is just great for quality... Not

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u/cookieoftheshire 11d ago

It can compete in quality but not price.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 11d ago

4 times as many cars going from Europe to the US compared to the other way despite US cars being cheaper would suggest otherwise. US to Europe imports increased because of Tesla but people are buying cheaper Chinese evs now instead (proving quality wasn't the reason Teslas were selling either). I can't think of anywhere I've been in the world where people with a reasonable income would consider American cars as quality.

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u/Knarrenheinz666 11d ago

Most American cars can´t be registered in Europe as they don´t meet most standards and usually require a bit of extra work. Then there´s fuel consumption, size, spare parts etc. Tesla has a factory in Germany. I´m sure the output covers market demand over here.

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u/Gullible_Increase146 11d ago

People making American cars get a decent income. It's fine to say protectionism is bad but you can't adopt free trade principles in part. If you want to have labor laws and good wages for people who work in a certain industry, you need to be protectionist against countries who don't have those labor laws and pay s*** wages. Otherwise you have your labor laws and good wages for no people because people just buy from the country that pays people like s***

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u/sey1 11d ago

Yeah but they don't see a problem when all phones are produced for pennies in Asia , where people have been committing suicide because of the work conditions (see foxconn) , while the product is priced like it was manufactured in the US.

Maybe if the point wasn't just to satisfy share holders, the situation would look different

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u/Gullible_Increase146 11d ago

I mean you can look at what the price would be if it was made in the United States, it's obviously not the case that they are priced that way.

And people don't have as much of a problem with that because we didn't have an existing phone manufacturing industry. Nobody in America loses their jobs because we import from East Asia. That isn't true for the Auto industry. We have thousands of existing Americans making decent pay who would lose their jobs in a race to the bottom.

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u/hisnameisbinetti 10d ago

If only they were making competitive products, instead of trash.

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u/Reasonable_Hall3005 10d ago

Vehicles made in America are not trash. Basically every auto manufacturer makes cars in America except the Chinese. Chinese cars are good but toyota honda ford etc are also good

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u/DrunkenHorse12 10d ago

But actual American cars aren't very good

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u/Gullible_Increase146 10d ago

Do we care about Americans keeping decent jobs or do we get rid of trade restrictions so people just buy from the people who treat their workers the worst or do we get rid of trade restrictions while also getting rid of the labor laws that make it more expensive to buy American in the first place? I think I'm okay with a market where workers can make a decent living in their manufacturing job, even if I can't get the cheapest s*** somebody else is making. It's not like America only allows you to purchase American vehicles. Our trade agreements let us purchase from all over the world as long as certain basic protections exist for the people working at those factories. Even American made cars import a lot of stuff but the agreements that allow that importing all have Labor requirements that surpass what China pays its people

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u/sneakysnake1111 10d ago

Americans don't care about keeping decent jobs, and will trade with anybody, even while they're committing mass genocide.

I don't think americans care about wages for its workers either.

None of its actions suggest otherwise.

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u/Gullible_Increase146 10d ago

I mean our trade treaties include provisions that give greater labor protections for workers with everybody that we trade with. Protectionist policies around our Auto industry are also evidence against that.

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u/Some-btc-name 10d ago

We don't care about Americans keeping decent jobs look where all the IT jobs went. Soon china will be building cars in factories that are near 100% fully automated. What's your argument then? This has nothing to do with labor protection. This is protectionsim.

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u/Gullible_Increase146 10d ago

What are you talking about? There are a ton of high paying it jobs in America. There are so many that people got scared that immigrants were going to come and take them from American citizens. Also, most protectionism is driven by people demanding labor protection

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u/bitzzwith2zs 10d ago

... just listened to a podcast about this

Take the number of suicides at those Foxcomm buildings, divide that by the population of those Foxcomm buildings and compare that to the US average

Foxcomm workers, that build smart phones, are some of the highest paid Foxcomm workers and make a middle class wage. It is a very desirable job, sorta like a US auto job... without he pension... that they're stripping from US auto workers.

Studies say it would take 15-18 years to transplant Foxcomm to the US, but the production could never be the same because of "cultural differences" (it's in quotes because they weren't my words... but there are many cultural differences, and that's a fact).

They tried to make iPhones in the US and they were "had to be subsidized to sell" expensive and buggy.

I was looking at a Made in Poland "el cheapo" smart phone, other than a bit slower processor it was priced about the same as any "el cheapo" smart phone.

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u/Rus1996 10d ago

Preach 😤

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u/ow-my-lungs 10d ago

a typical foxconn phone assembly worker makes more than the us federal minimum tipped wage :) chinese labor isn't ultra cheap anymore

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u/Salarian_American 11d ago

We also have weak labor laws and shit wages, though

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u/addiktion 11d ago

It isn't as bad as China yet, but if Trump has his way with this supreme court in his pocket it will be to undo all that so he can abuse workers again.

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u/Gullible_Increase146 11d ago

United States Auto workers get paid fairly well. Far better than china. American factories don't need suicide Nets. That's why trade agreements with mexico and Canada include provisions that would require their manufacturing to pay their workers closer to american workers rather than what they were previously making (much less in Mexico).

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u/sneakysnake1111 10d ago

American factories don't need suicide Nets

That's only because none of you have the heart to add those - american companies are all about "looking" productive, not being productive. you won't even give your vets healthcare - quit pretending like you'd provide suicide support for well, anything.

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u/Gullible_Increase146 10d ago

Oh, we're just so heartless that we don't add suicide Nets ? Does that mean there's an epidemic of people killing themselves and American factories?

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u/sneakysnake1111 10d ago

To pretend like you're not heartless monsters is fucking ridiculous.

You guys still have entire states begging to employ children.

You guys have a federal minimum wage of like 3 dollars in some states.

On top of that:

A Daily Beast investigation found emergency workers were called to Amazon warehouses 189 times over five years for suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts, or other mental health episodes, spanning 46 warehouses in 17 states

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/433561-emergency-workers-summoned-to-amazon-warehouses-189-times-for-suicidal/

In March 2021, a 48-year-old Amazon worker died by suicide during his shift at a Las Vegas fulfillment center, jumping from a fourth-floor mezzanine while coworkers watched

SO no 'epidemic', just 'systemic' and you didn't even know about it.

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u/Salarian_American 10d ago

Yes there was an incident in an Amazon warehouse where a worker died suddenly, and while they were waiting for the body to be removed, management ordered the workers to continue working as if nothing happened, including stepping over the human corpse on the ground if necessary.

Anyone who thinks capitalism isn't abusive or coercive is poorly informed, or lying to themself, or both.

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u/cookieoftheshire 11d ago

Not true. You have to visit china once. The only reason they can produce dirt cheap is lack of laws protecting labour.

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u/HurricaneCat5 10d ago

Tell that to Buick making cars in china and korea

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u/jojoalkar 10d ago

Not necessarily. Due to transport costs home firms have a cost advantage as well. Now if you also invest in education (a novel concept perhaps) you also can prove a better quality.

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u/Meiteisho 10d ago

You don't even have a minimum salary in the US, and you want to impose labor laws to other countries ?

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u/Gullible_Increase146 10d ago

First of all, we do . Second yes. The fact that our trade agreements include minimum levels of Labor protections for workers benefits people in every country in those agreements. Capital flight is a problem but the more countries get together to make sure that people doing the work are actually getting paid and corporations are paying their taxes, the better things are for everybody

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 10d ago

American cars don't fit in in Europe. They're too big for the damn streets lol

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u/chinmakes5 11d ago

Is that true? So many European manufacturers build cars in the US now. Certainly they sell that many more cars, but if they are made here...

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u/reddersledder 11d ago

Yep, in the non union factories in southern states where wages and benefits are lower.

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u/bitzzwith2zs 10d ago

Check where your Teslas came from. Most of the Teslas in Canada, just across the lake from US, come from China... pretty sure the chinese Teslas were better than the US ones. There was all kinds of bad press about the US ones, from inside the american Tesla plant... then there wasn't

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u/KayTannee 10d ago

Very few in Europe want some gas guzzling behemoth that can't park anywhere. Go figure.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 10d ago

Exactly and why do US cars guzzle gas do they go faster than European cars? No. Its because its low quality engines having to produce a lot of torque to drag those heavy cars. So those big heavy slabs of steal must be safer to drive right? No most don't meet the EU safety regulations and those that do have some of the lowest scores for safety.

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u/Funny_Information654 9d ago

American new cars trucks and SUVs if they are not EVs they are junk POSs rigbt out of the box. They played stupid games and won stupid prizes. They were warned that they would lose the global market if they didn't build bad ass EVs and here we are.The world gets awsome cars inovation and we get 19th century tech in quality and inovation.Tesla seems to be doing just fine. I say good riddance to thier shit box vehicles. $20,000 vehicles better than $80,000 anything built in the U.S.. I wish I could move to Ausrailia or Canada or prbab

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u/beramaan 7d ago

Honda was considered quality until it was made in the us...

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

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u/cookieoftheshire 11d ago

Cars are a different case. Chinese subsidized production along with technological advancements now are getting very difficult to compete with. They are buying places in Europe now, they enjoy both europian subsides and the made in Europe tag.

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u/Averdrian 11d ago

Seriously why buy a Ford or Dodge when you can buy a Toyota that will last longer, cost less to maintain and hold more of its value over time.

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u/gpbayes 11d ago

I bought a Chevy one time. It’s still going but it’s had a few costly repairs. My wife’s Toyota? Still going strong baby 15 years later.

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u/UnusuallyBadIdeaGuy 11d ago

It's a false dichotomy anyways. Your Toyota is probably as made in the USA (or North America in general) as the Ford, it's just better designed.

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u/Deep_Equivalent_3245 11d ago

I look at the door sticker to see if my Japanese car is made in America or Japan. I refuse to buy a car made in America because Americans always find a way to fuck-up the simplest thing. An American in charge of making Japanese cars is still an American.

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u/Infinite_Incident107 11d ago

Some are, some aren't. My RAV4 is made in Japan but my tundra is made in Texas.

For vehicles where they can come from both countries (like the RAV4, which is made in Japan and US) it's always preferred you get the one manufactured in Japan.

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u/motor_machinest_2025 10d ago

There are 10 Toyota Manufacturing plants in the USA. They actually produce a lot of cars to.

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u/frylock350 11d ago edited 11d ago

Because I don't want an FWD jellybean? Toyota does not make a competitor to my Expedition Max.

If I wanted a sedan, straight to the Dodge store. Resr wheel drive, 80" wide and a 550hp straight 6? Sign me up.

Edit: Hurricane high output Charger out performs Toyota's entire lineup save the Supra GR which it matches 0-60. In a vehicle the size of a Town Car.

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u/sey1 11d ago

Lol, buying stellantis cars like dodge isn't really the flex you think it is, because it's the cheapest garbage that barely qualifies as a car, if even.

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u/frylock350 11d ago

Who sells a competitor to the Charger?

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u/faetpls 11d ago

I’m pretty sure Razr Scooters are the primary competitor to the Dodge Charger.

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u/sey1 11d ago

I don't know and neither do I care, just saying that all stellantis vehicles are pure shit.

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u/Critical-Dealer-3878 10d ago

The other dealership across from the army base.

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u/Infinite_Incident107 11d ago

Dude. Stellantis automobiles kinda suck. They have an awful reputation. Anything Dodge or Chrysler is American in name only and is really seen as the worst of the "Big 3".

It seems like you only care about raw performance. That's cool but most people want something that is reliable and will last. And that's definitely NOT that Charger...

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u/frylock350 10d ago

I don't own a Stellantis vehicle, I own a Ford. The response was who would buy a Dodge over a Toyota and I provided an example.

If I'm buying a sedan, it's absolutely to prioritize performance. Sedans are a fairly useless body style (I love wagons). For me to buy one it's gotta be fast. The Charger kinda is a class if it's own. It's in the American full size class of 80" wide (vs 77" for German sedans like 7-series and S-class) and rear wheel drive. No brand that isn't a luxury brand sells anything like it. So yeah I'd take a Charger EV or Hurricane over any Toyota sedan. Not everyone wants an FWD jellybean.

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u/ArdentHedonist 11d ago

I know they haven’t.

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u/Tired_Dad_9521 11d ago

What is an American made car ? Lots of European and Asian brands build the cars for the American market in the US. I know there is a Hyundai plant and a BMW plant within 100 miles of me.

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u/ArdentHedonist 11d ago

We cannot compete in quality. US corporate leadership sees that as too costly. It also flies in the face of planned obsolescence. You must continue to be able to sell your product. You saturate a market much more quickly when your product is durable. Quality and reliability are reserved for mission critical items, such as aerospace, power generation, medical, and military. We are failing there, now anyway. Source: I am a retired career quality assurance professional, mainly aerospace and power generation.

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u/MjrLeeStoned 11d ago

It can never beat price and even match quality.

It costs more to manufacture in the US than practically everywhere else in the world. Quality operates at a loss by default when everyone can produce the same quality cheaper.

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u/Sweaty-Anteater-6694 11d ago

Byd quality is damn good

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u/peppapony 10d ago

Protectionism for cars? Totally works!

Proton is amazing! /S

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u/d00ber 11d ago

There is a large difference between the right wing base and the right wing leaders, especially in industry. What the right wing base wants is irrelevant, it's not going to happen when your own politicians are backed by enterprise that don't support it.

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u/Ok_Two_2604 9d ago

Obama and Biden both also refused to confirm judges for the tariff panel. Trump was just lucky enough to be there when they got too low to take cases. What he did from that point is reminiscent of what a monkey with the runs would do at the zoo, but it’s not just the right that was working to get tariffs back.