Concerns for the Future of Sound United and Update on my Marantz 7706.

TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Audioholic Jedi
Tariffs against China don't, or shouldn't, affect assemblies, AFAIK- I just checked the images for a few Marantz AVRs and two of the three are made in Vietnam, the Cinema 30 is made in Japan.
Trump's tariffs involve the whole world pretty much including India, and Korea, so you can bet Vietnam is caught up in it.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Trump's tariffs involve the whole world pretty much including India, and Korea, so you can bet Vietnam is caught up in it.
The US can't compete on consumer electronics unless the products are tweak-level stuff that's mostly driven by BS. We do a lot of design/developent in other areas, but even in Aerospace, Defense electronics that don't require a lot of security clearances, the US is importing. The average wages in the US are too high because the cost of living has been raised by high wages. This isn't saying that unions are bad per se, but they are behind a lot of large wage increases, cost to manufacturers via strikes and being strong-armed into agreeing to the terms demanded.

The link shows the reasons workers should be in a union and #1 is "Union members earn more than non-union members"- "Union members have better protections against abuses in the workplace" was at #5. Used to be that working conditions/safety and long hours were the main reasons for unions. Everything about unions is about higher pay and that can't help but raise the price of goods made and services provided in the country where those goods and services are purchased.

My dad worked for Harley-Davidson and one of the people he knew drove a Toyota pickup with a 'Buy Union' bumper sticker on it. Proud union member, too- used to bitch about people making $18/hour in the early-'70s for sweeping floors, then I reminded him that they were in the same union. He didn't like me. Boo hoo.

Remember when GM said they had included $1500 in the price of each vehicle for retirees and benefits? Thank the UAW and AFL-CIO for that and look at the range of prices for a Chevy Silverado 1500, for example- $35K-$70K. That's insane.

 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Audioholic Jedi
The US can't compete on consumer electronics unless the products are tweak-level stuff that's mostly driven by BS. We do a lot of design/developent in other areas, but even in Aerospace, Defense electronics that don't require a lot of security clearances, the US is importing. The average wages in the US are too high because the cost of living has been raised by high wages. This isn't saying that unions are bad per se, but they are behind a lot of large wage increases, cost to manufacturers via strikes and being strong-armed into agreeing to the terms demanded.

The link shows the reasons workers should be in a union and #1 is "Union members earn more than non-union members"- "Union members have better protections against abuses in the workplace" was at #5. Used to be that working conditions/safety and long hours were the main reasons for unions. Everything about unions is about higher pay and that can't help but raise the price of goods made and services provided in the country where those goods and services are purchased.

My dad worked for Harley-Davidson and one of the people he knew drove a Toyota pickup with a 'Buy Union' bumper sticker on it. Proud union member, too- used to bitch about people making $18/hour in the early-'70s for sweeping floors, then I reminded him that they were in the same union. He didn't like me. Boo hoo.

Remember when GM said they had included $1500 in the price of each vehicle for retirees and benefits? Thank the UAW and AFL-CIO for that and look at the range of prices for a Chevy Silverado 1500, for example- $35K-$70K. That's insane.

That is the dilemma for all Western Countries. The problem is that although it initially increased standards of living, it shipped a lot of skilled jobs overseas. So now we have a surfeit of low paying jobs, low standard of living and a massive welfare budget.

The only way out of this is targeted tariffs over time, as factories come on line and standards of living equalize around the world.

What Trump has done is nuts. I honestly think this buffoon of a man thinks factories can be built in a week and come on stream with skilled labor in a month.

It all comes down to balance, and getting living standards and wages for like work comparable around the globe. These huge ungainly container ships crossing the oceans burning huge amount of polluting bunker fuel is not a plan either, and needs to stop. It has taken pretty much all my life time to get into this mess, and it will take a generation or two and consistency to get out of it.
 

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