Cheap labor leaving China

[jhu]

According to Time. Next up within the next 50 years: "Made somewhere in Africa"...

 

[Infohawk]

Africa's problem is that it's too poorly organized and chaotically corrupt. Nobody wants to do business there unless you're extracting resources and shipping themselves elsewhere.

The average manufacturing wage in China is still only about $3.10 an hour, (compared with $22.30 in the U.S.).

And even then companies don't have to pay for environmental studies and things like that. I don't think China's advantage is going away too soon.

 

[blackangst1]

Interesting article. Easy to put spin on it and say a direct result of raising minimum wage is the export of jobs? :thinking:

China will go through the same things we did, in time...OSHA, child labor laws, unions, etc.

 

[Merad]

Next up within the next 50 years: "Made somewhere in Africa"...

In 50 years most of the larger companies will probably have turned to automated production for as many items as possible.

 

[ProfJohn]

That story is great news for everyone.

All the people panicked over China must have missed the 1980s and the panic over Japan.
Soon China will probably experience its own 'lost decade' as its super fast growth catches up with its super high debt and over expanded infrastructure. China will eventually reach a point where it will not be able to grow faster than its problems. Then it will turn into Japan of the 90s.

About Chinese debt
http://www.economist.com/node/18775343

 

[GoPackGo]

For jobs coming back to the US its a combination of three things...Cost of Labor, Cost of Shipping and Quality of Production.

 

[blackangst1]

That story is great news for everyone.

All the people panicked over China must have missed the 1980s and the panic over Japan.
Soon China will probably experience its own 'lost decade' as its super fast growth catches up with its super high debt and over expanded infrastructure. China will eventually reach a point where it will not be able to grow faster than its problems. Then it will turn into Japan of the 90s.

About Chinese debt
http://www.economist.com/node/18775343

Youre exactly right. I remember the 80's, even though I didnt watch the news nightly or read it daily, but I suuuure remember the setiment about how Japan is taking over the US, we'll soon be speaking Japanese, etc etc etc.

 

[Infohawk]

Youre exactly right. I remember the 80's, even though I didnt watch the news nightly or read it daily, but I suuuure remember the setiment about how Japan is taking over the US, we'll soon be speaking Japanese, etc etc etc.

And in the 1930s people didn't want to get involved in a European war....

The big difference between Japan and China is the population. Really the only reason the US is the most powerful country in the world is that it's the most populous western country. Japan was not going to be more powerful with its population. China very well could be.

 

[shira]

Cheap space-alien labor, the wave of the future.

 

[rchiu]

That story is great news for everyone.

All the people panicked over China must have missed the 1980s and the panic over Japan.
Soon China will probably experience its own 'lost decade' as its super fast growth catches up with its super high debt and over expanded infrastructure. China will eventually reach a point where it will not be able to grow faster than its problems. Then it will turn into Japan of the 90s.

About Chinese debt
http://www.economist.com/node/18775343

The question is when is that point going to be. Right now China per capita GDP is like $5k and they are already #2 in world economy. If their GDP per capita hit $40k like when Japan slowed in the 90's, their overall GDP would be way greater than the US and everyone else.

Cheap labor leaving China is actually the ticket for China to get to this new economic height. They are transforming their economy to higher value adding industries like green energy (their solar power products are doing very well for example), infrastructure like high speed rail (even the US is thinking to buy from them). That's the path of all developed Asian countries like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore went through. I'd be concerned about China starting to compete with the US in high value added industries. Who cares about cheap labor leaving China, not like they are going back to the US.

 

[bfdd]

Cheap space-alien labor, the wave of the future.

This got a lol out of me.

 

[Texashiker]

Africa's problem is that it's too poorly organized and chaotically corrupt.

After the US or the UN topples a few governments, and halliburton rebuilds africa from the ground up, everything will be ready for companies to exploit cheap labor.

If it were not for the religious zealots, afghanistan would be a great place for some company to move into. People need jobs, the government is a puppet, so why not.

Several years ago the wages in mexico started going up. So what did companies do, they packed up, and left mexico in favor of china. Now that wages in china are going up, I suspect africa will be next.

There are several ways to handle a governments that do not allow its people to be exploited for their cheap labor, and its either a cruise missile, the US air force or send in the army.