Supply-Side Economics Not Working...

It is cheaper to build here because of the shipping charges and time for market changes and a whole slew of supply chain/ inventory issues - specifically custom designed items.

Well really it's not, how is it that Japanese steel is cheaper then US steel? Obviously US steel is not competitive, if tariffs had to be enacted against foreign steel? The US imports around 27.8 million metric tons of steel in 2003 that is the largest in the world; the US makes 92.2 million metric tons, with a mere 5 million being exported. American imports of steel will continue to increase because they are cheaper then US steel, otherwise there would be no importation. Now as for cars etc, it is cheaper to build cars in Canada and Mexico then build them in the US proper, and this is shown by Canada being a HUGE car exporter to the US. So really the US still losses against Canada and Mexico, for instance in Mexico the Beetle was produced in Mexico because it was so much cheaper then in Germany that it made it a profitable venture for Volkswagen. The same could be translated for the US.

Such as pressure vessels, compressors, certain machine tools, semiconductor fabrication tools, PLCs, industrial computers/ IO devices, injection molding machines, paper mill machines, large industrial filters, sonic scrubbers, fractionating columns, dryers, turbines, and so on.

Which could all be very easily made in Mexico for significantly cheaper, and having the same transportation advantages. But the cost of transportation is not so much that it changes the equation. If you can pay a Chinese to work on the factory line for .80/hour you save so much more money that even with transports costs, you still make more a killing then if you were to make it in the USA.

BTW: Chinese steel quality is poor and should cost a lot, but they charge less because of subsidy. I was involved with Anshan steel and Shoudu steel many years ago. Specialty Steel quality is best from USA, Japan and Germany

Chinese steel is probably not of the best quality, but Chinese steel is being used in your house as of this moment. The Chinese prices may have subsides but most states have that anyways (the US with the tariff), and China is the world's largest steel producer, so using basic capitalist economic doctrine, if you build en masse then prices naturally go down.

 

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NO no no no. It always amazes me when seemingly intelligent people fail, miserably, to critically examine facts. Because B proceeded A, does not guarantee that A caused B. Nor does it even demand a relationship. Please take a second to lend a critical eye, not a partisan one. In order to gain support from the opposing party, both Reagan and Bush made similar deals. Each deal, in essence, agreed to increased spending by the opposition in exchange for the tax "cuts".

Taxes should not be a partisan issue. Reagan lowered taxes, then was forced to raise them to avoid the ill-effects of rapid growth. Government revenues nearly doubled from 83-89. However, in those 6 years, government spending more than doubled. Quibble about how the money was spent, but do not attach "deficits" to the reductions. Instead of demonizing cuts, Democrats need to embrace them, as to remove the issue, because they are effective. Those who argue, are using extraneous numbers that are not directly attributable to SSE.

 

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Has the USA managed to reduce its gvt deficit at all? I always read about the yearly borrowing etc going up or down, but never anything about the overall debt being reduced?
(and lets not get into the consumer debt...)

 

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"Has the USA managed to reduce its gvt deficit at all?"

Watch it go.

 

You're kidding, right? When was the last time a US company made a TV/VCR? Do American cars really have a chance against Japanese competitors in the long run? No. Not at all. What would make 'heavy industry' that much different? The American economy is a service economy, always has been. I'm sorry, but "All heavy industry products would" NOT "be cheaper manufactured in US."

 

I'm not an economist but I think the supply-side concept is dated when you consider that we're dealing with a global economy and excessive corporate greed. I guess the greed has always been present but if all of these products are supposed to be cheaper then why aren't they?

I think that the more you inflate the prices the more you can suck out of every tax-paying American - especially when you can cultivate your environment to make any of your products necessary & not desirable. If we can import these products for less money than they can be sold for then lets cut the prices and let the people spend money and boost the economy.

My perception of "Supply side econ" ...

You build stuff - and the more you build, the longer you sit on the product because prices are inflated, the faster it becomes obselete because technology has advanced the product beyond what the product is capable of, you can't build anymore until you sell what you have, you cut prices trying to move stuff - only to find that people's tastes or needs have changed and they won't buy it (even for less) so you write it off as a loss and the people that were supposed to buy it to begin with (according to the manufacturer's expectations) have to pay for it in increased taxes.

I suspect that I'm off-target ... but I am sort of an environmentalist trapped in an automotive engineer's body ...

 

"I am sort of an environmentalist trapped in an automotive engineer's body"

To me, that is no contradiction at all, but an expression indicative of a system stifling innovation, and suppressing technology that would have great popularity and benefit to our species, if allowed to flourish. I and millions more would pay a significant premium right now for a fuel-cell car that would use less and cheaper materials to manufacture than the piston-age clanking smokers we're forced to default to. Strong demand, and a responsive, "energized" economy are ready right now, but present megacorps are bound up in far too much groupthink, vested interests, and old profit modalities, to see the real opportunities of the present, when green makes green.