As the political campaign heats up this year, the number one issue on everyone’s mind is the economy; specifically, jobs. The past three years we have seen the worst recession since the depression and—regardless of political party—no side has come up with a clear cut fix. One theme that continues to be a drum beat across the nation and in the Upstate: “Our jobs are gone to Asia and we have not replaced them; we are losing ground to the low cost countries.”
But let’s take examples of this and examine them a littler closer.
First, we need to understand how we got to where we are. This is fundamental cause-and-effect by you, the consumer. The more commercial goods and high-tech products you buy at lower costs the more the production will be in lower-cost countries. And, once it goes “over there,” it does not come back.
Steve Jobs, within the year he died, told President Obama that Apple employs over 40,000 workers in the U.S. and over 700,000 in China. Why? Because the U.S. is obsessed with advanced technology but is not willing to pay the price for it. Keep in mind; we have the lowest retail prices in the world for 95 percent of the electronics that are purchased in discount stores.
The Tale of the Boot
There is a factory in Tianjin, China, a port city about 100 miles east of Beijing, which makes boots that are high quality and very affordable. This factory has been in business for over 10 years and has shown improvements in products, quality, and costs that allow you the end customers to continue to support them. The argument could be made: Why can’t we make the same boots in the U.S. and save jobs?
Consider the following:
As you can see, the power is very much with the buyer rather than the seller. Give free enterprise a break. China has put over 400 million people into the middle class—a third of the population; Apple and the Tianjin boot factory have turned just as many into very satisfied customers.
For a more comprehensive look at the cost of boots, visit www.InsideBlackBox.com/global for expanded content.
