all 9 comments

[–][deleted] 14 insightful - 3 fun14 insightful - 2 fun15 insightful - 3 fun -  (1 child)

A whole lot more, and I'd be willing to pay it. It would also destroy the incentive to outsource, which I'm all for. It would also end throwaway consumer culture, because you don't toss expensive stuff, you get it repaired and treat it as important instead of replaceable.

But there'd be no more $5 t-shirts and cheap electronics. It would hurt the lower classes the most, which would be the basis for arguing against it. I'd still support it though, higher wages means more tax revenue to fund social programs for the poor.

[–][deleted] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

And more ppl. would finally start again to repair their stuff, if the manufactures start to build it as non-obselete and let their customers look under the hood better.

Who needs new stuff every few month's or years, if the old one you got works finely with some love put into it ?

[–]NorfolkTerrier 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

They'd cost what the equivalent "made in America" products do today, or a little less due to economies of scale.

For products where nothing like them is made in America, it's harder to predict. It's possible that in America, there would be less workers hired relative to the products made, if technology levels are higher (automation, etc). This could mean that prices wouldn't go up as much as we think they would, but also that we wouldn't get as many new manufacturing jobs as we think we would.

Cheap foreign labor has made basic products a lot more affordable in America, but ultimately I think it leads to a loss of dignity for both American workers (stuck in shitty service jobs that produce nothing) and foreign workers (making cheap crap for foreigners at starvation wages with no health/safety standards).

[–]suckitreddit 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I recently read an article about how much a smart phone would cost to consumers if they were completely made in the USA. And the price is about $2,000. But keep in mind this $2,000 phone is completely made in America. So, the raw materials are extracted from American mines. No slave labor.

[–]Shitskinned_Faggot 4 insightful - 4 fun4 insightful - 3 fun5 insightful - 4 fun -  (0 children)

Who run the world?

https://i.imgur.com/K2YGiaE.jpg

Beyonce's female slaves in Sri Lanka run the world. So feminism, much Independent Woman, very Survivor, WOW!

[–]wuzizname 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It's more than just minimum wage. If every country around the world, tomorrow, mandated US minimum wage as their minimum wage I'd bet companies would still want to manufacture overseas. It's more than just wages when you factor in things like:

  • Corp tax, land tax

  • Vacation pay, termination pay, overtime pay, maternal / paternal leave pay, benefits

  • Union fees

  • Environmental regulation (biggie here, companies can't dump their byproduct into rivers in the USA like you can in China)

  • Employment regulations (OSHA requirements, safety training, workplace injury pay)

  • Infrastructure costs (factory maintenance, IT needs, etc).

Add all those above up, and companies will find it more preferable to outsource work to countries that expect near slave-labour conditions as the norm. Cheaper to pay someone in India who will work a 14 hour day with no breaks, work Saturdays and not get any compensation if they're injured on the job.

[–]Canbot 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The fact is that no one is selling anything at cost, so raising the cost is does not have a direct causal effect. Everyone is selling thier products at the highest price they can. So the determining factor is not how much it costs to make, but how much people can afford to pay.

[–]soyboy77 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Or if they made trade fair

[–]EATADlCK 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I mean, at that point, just stop outsourcing and create local jobs. It will only amount to better quality production and less abusive consumption.