Why did we allow US Corps to build China so strong and skip Mexico?

[DaveSimmons]

I am surprised people can not see how disadvantageous it is to invest in China vs Strengthening our Continent and our neighbors...

Actually.. this is the first time I thought about it this way... We played both sides of the profit game Our Agricultural Corporations utilized the illegal labor as long as they could while the electronics corps profited off of the Slave/Communist wages in China

Right. I actually agree with you that it would be in our long term interest to have strong, stable government in Mexico with workers wanting to stay there but several improbable things would need to happen to make that possible:

- Decriminalize and tax marijuana at the federal level and switch to drug treatment instead of interdiction to cut off both the demand and the income of the cartels. This would also help the US economy from domestic production being legal and taxed.

- Get consumers to pay more for meat and produce (possibly much more), so wages can rise enough to pay US workers instead of illegals

- Get consumers to accept other cost increases for work now done by illegals, such as construction and lawn care.

People want their cheap goods and the many people think alcohol is the only acceptable drug so I don't see any of that happening any time soon.

 

[Hacp]

Because Mexico City is a shithole and its government is incompetent. Believe it or not, because China is so stable, it is a better place to invest.

 

[dahunan]

Because Mexico City is a shithole and its government is incompetent. Believe it or not, because China is so stable, it is a better place to invest.

Look this is simple and well known.. but how does it really help us...

Make CHINA... stronger ????

Remember the spy plane incident.. the first time Bush got to test chinese made condoms ???

^^^^^ EVEN AFTER THAT.. we kept funneling Billions upon Billions into China.. A KNOWN ENEMY...

Too bad our education system fails so hard

 

[Hacp]

Look this is simple and well known.. but how does it really help us...

Make CHINA... stronger ????

Remember the spy plane incident.. the first time Bush got to test chinese made condoms ???

^^^^^ EVEN AFTER THAT.. we kept funneling Billions upon Billions into China.. A KNOWN ENEMY...

Too bad our education system fails so hard

How does it help us? Cheaper prices. Otherwise, just keep the jobs in the US. Mexico is not worth investing in unless private corporations deem it so.

 

[sandorski]

Building up Mexico would certainly be more beneficial and solve numerous problems(like Illegal Immigration). However, building up China presents a Business opportunity(at least for Multinational Corporations) that is unparalleled in History. One could Build a California sized Economy(somewhat optimistic, but possible) in Mexico and benefit or they can build a US+ sized Economy(very realistic, practically a given) in China and benefit. It really is a no-brainer from a Multinational Corporations viewpoint.

 

[Narmer]

Narmer, It had ZERO to do with education.. LMAO... how smart do you have to be to work a manufacturing assembly line.. god damn .. do you help them brainwash you

PROFITS.. MONEY$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

They pump billiions into China while our southern border is fucking broke and the poorest people break through our borders and try to create a living.. yet you feel fine.. SENDING Billions to your future enemy

Do you think all Chinese are working on the assembly line? You haven't a clue. Look at how the Japanese invaded the US educational system back in the 1960s-1980s until they got their educational system to be par with the West. Look at how the Chinese are doing the same today. Who do you think starts and run these millions of factories? Drones? Who do you think are in management positions? Uneducated drones?

China may have a lot of people to work in the factories but so do places like India and Africa. Why do you think China is a better working environment? It is because of the quality of the workers, the infrastructure, the stable political environment, and the educational system. You can try to blame corporate America for Mexico's failure but the simple truth is that it's the Mexicans fault. They lazily thought that they would be the first choice when it came to outsourcing so the government did not focus on necessary structural reforms on infrastructure, labor, education, and healthcare. Now they are an afterthought and their people are (illegally) voting with their feet.

 

[StageLeft]

Cheaper labor in China and the workers may be better. I've heard a lot about the laziness/lack of motivation/lack of "Wow, I guess we actually need to get this done by a certain date" attitude of Mexicans--and this is from people who've actually worked down there and seen it first hand. I don't know how the work culture is in China, but in Mexico it is, frankly, pretty bad. I haven't checked on violence/crime but I suspect it's lower in much of China.

 

[nageov3t]

when China fucks up its enviornment, at least it's all the way over there across the Pacific and not right next door.

my company has an office in Hong Kong and when I was thinking about visiting it a couple years ago, they warned me not to go during specific times because the wind blows downwind from China.

also, your use of the word "allow" is super funny

 

[bfdd]

Simple answer. China has been a long time friend of the United States whereas Mexico has been for the most part an enemy of the United States. Just because in more recent times China and the US have had their problems, we're still friendly to each other. Look back throughout history and you'll see lots of friendly back and forth.

 

[K1052]

Massive corruption mostly and a security situation that has been deteriorating for 20 years due to the drug trade.

It is extremely difficult for an American corporation not to get taken in Latin America. Many bow out after they figure out how much money they were loosing. The domestic partners that exist often don't have the expertise, desire, or competency to do most work under contract without heavy supervision. Given the escalating violence in large parts of Mexico it isn't practical to do this anymore.

China however is a manufacturers dream. Lax environmental laws, strong central government friendly to foreign investment, a massive populace with strong work ethic, and proximity to Asian competition.

 

[gevorg]

Easy question.

Cheap, massive and well controlled slave labor.

 

[charrison]

You do realize that mexico is a larger trade partner than china?

 

[Infohawk]

The US built up China? No. We traded with them.

China deserves credit for its economic boom. Why is China more successful than Mexico? Culture. You might as well ask why Chinese-Americans are more academically successful than Mexican-Americans.

 

[FaaR]

^^^^^ EVEN AFTER THAT.. we kept funneling Billions upon Billions into China.. A KNOWN ENEMY...

Enemy, in what sense?

Have they declared war on you? Eh, no. Are they currently involved in hostilities with you? ...Um, no again. Are they behaving in any threatening manner whatsoever? Not really, no.

If you by "enemy" mean they act aggressively to seize control and influence over natural resources, other governments and so on - like you do - then by the same logic the entire world considers the US its enemy also. That's a bit of a stretch though, I'm sure most agree...

Too bad our education system fails so hard

You said it yourself man...although one can hardly dispute your assertion when there's people in this very thread who believe they're "fixing" someone else's quote by inserting the word "communist" into it... Christ, China hasn't even pretended to be communist in anything but name for well over 20 years now, and still after all this time, people just can't seem to understand that.

 

[BoomerD]

This is nothing new. In my lifetime, cheap labor and cheap, low quality products have always come from the Orient.

First it was Japan...then the Japanese built their economy and the cheap labor and shitty product were made in Hong Kong...then the workers in Hong Kong improved their lives...and cheap shitty products were made in Taiwan...then South Korea...now China. I see more and more products being imported from Vietnam...is this a sign that China's era of cheap labor is ended?

 

[piasabird]

I dont think Mexico is worth saving. The cops often coerce bribes from stranded motorists.

 

[llee]

Both are corrupt, but if you want to build iPods while paying workers $5 a day, which is more attractive? The stable, orderly China or the chaotic and violent Mexico?

Thanks for the better explanation.

You do realize that mexico is a larger trade partner than china?

Not anymore, check your statistics.
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/top/dst/2010/04/balance.htm

Enemy, in what sense?

Have they declared war on you? Eh, no. Are they currently involved in hostilities with you? ...Um, no again. Are they behaving in any threatening manner whatsoever? Not really, no.

Exactly. Why exactly do we perceive China as an enemy? Most of the companies who invest there see it as an opportunity.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Look this is simple and well known.. but how does it really help us...

Make CHINA... stronger ????

Remember the spy plane incident.. the first time Bush got to test chinese made condoms ???

^^^^^ EVEN AFTER THAT.. we kept funneling Billions upon Billions into China.. A KNOWN ENEMY...

Too bad our education system fails so hard

who's out to help who?
who is we?

US companies are the one who "invested" in china. no the US govt. you think companies have some other incentive other than profits? this is not a philanthropic endeavor. it's a business.

unless you're suggesting that the US govt dick them over with some policy that favors mexico over china.

 

[Kirby]

Remember the Alamo!

 

[Genx87]

Hard to say. But off the top of my head I would imagine China is cheaper and more stable. Mexico's govt is corrupt and unstable due to the drug trade.

 

[palehorse]

Because Mexico is a completely uneducated cesspool of corrupt unstable worthlessness?

Oh yeah...

 

[DietDrThunder]

Money's a decent explanation. It's cheaper to work with China then with Mexico apparently.
I highly doubt that DaveSimmons has ever been to a Chinese factory, let alone China.
Why would the Mexican working conditions be screwed simply due to drug trading? What's in it for the dealers? I thought they were the ones doing the bullying and intimidation... They don't seem like tree huggers either. Nice try.

It is not only cheaper, but the quality of the products are better. My company opened a large wiring harness factory in Mexico around 1998, to save on labor costs here in the US. After three years of shotty workmanship and harnesses failing quality testing, my company shut the facility down and re-opened the facility here in the US. Because of the poor quality, so much money was spent on rework that the price per harness was actually higher than the harnesses manufactured here.

It is also easier to deal with China because a larger number of business people in China speak english. I'll have to find the article, but I read that there are more people in China learning english than people speaking english in the United States.

 

[bfdd]

Enemy, in what sense?

Have they declared war on you? Eh, no. Are they currently involved in hostilities with you? ...Um, no again. Are they behaving in any threatening manner whatsoever? Not really, no.

If you by "enemy" mean they act aggressively to seize control and influence over natural resources, other governments and so on - like you do - then by the same logic the entire world considers the US its enemy also. That's a bit of a stretch though, I'm sure most agree...


You said it yourself man...although one can hardly dispute your assertion when there's people in this very thread who believe they're "fixing" someone else's quote by inserting the word "communist" into it... Christ, China hasn't even pretended to be communist in anything but name for well over 20 years now, and still after all this time, people just can't seem to understand that.

I don't understand the whole "China is a long time enemy of the USA" bs. China has BARELY at any point been a real enemy to the USA. Communism was the enemy of the USA, not China. China and the USA have had a pretty good relationship and they are one of our better "friends" imo.

 

[Cotswolds]

Enemy, in what sense?

Have they declared war on you? Eh, no. Are they currently involved in hostilities with you? ...Um, no again. Are they behaving in any threatening manner whatsoever? Not really, no.

So all that stealing of military secrets in the 90s didn't raise the hair on your neck? Or were you old enough to be paying attention at that time?

I've believed for a long time that the U.S. will be at war with China in our lifetime. But having said that, Mexico is a cesspool, beyond saving. If you think Chinese made goods are junk, just look at the crap that Mexico produces. Sure our companies invested in China, but it was the Chinese who provided that impetus. It was the Chinese who wooed our businesses to invest. The Mexican society will never be as industrious or hard-working as that of the Chinese. I don't think it's a matter of race, rather one of culture.

 

[evident]

china is evil