Interesting US/Chinese role reversal

[WiseOne]

A Chinese auto glass tycoon has caused a stir by shifting part of his empire to the United States and setting up a factory in Ohio, citing high taxes and soaring labour costs at home.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-tycoon ... nance.html'

It's hard not to laugh out loud at the stir this caused in China - the equivalent of the sentiments for which Trump was excoriated. More to the point, this suggests that Trump's plan to cut corporate taxes is going to do a LOT of good, if he can pull it off. Why Obama's team never thought of this simple solution is beyond me. Obama ran on a "Hope and change" platform and specifically wanted to focus on job creation and improving the quality of life for the middle class. If only he spent his political capital and $$ on this rather than on that useless fiscal stimulus.

But then, I have long had the impression that the Democratic party in general does not want to build up the US manufacturing base. I guess because it'll come with environmental problems, so they prefer a service-based economy. Too bad it only serves the populations at the extreme ends of the wage scale. For an analogy, consider the pre-Industrial Age/feudal economy. You were either in the aristocracy or dirt poor. The middle class only came to be because of the Industrial Revolution, i.e. manufacturing. I just don't see how you can have a solid middle class without it, or a viable replacement which does not currently exist.

[dualstow]

I think Haier had a factory in the States. Not sure if they still do. Pretty cool, though.

[I Shrugged]

It's a very interesting story, WiseOne. I think some people have suggested that this would eventually start happening.

I am trying to be charitable about Obama, but he really didn't do anything about much of anything. In fact that is probably the best thing I can say about his 8 years. Trump is such a loose cannon that no one can be too sure what's up, but I like a lot of his ideas about how to turn things around.

I don't know what the Dems want. Again, I'm trying to be charitable, or at least, not mean. But really. All I can tell they want is to force people to accept certain lifestyles, beliefs, etc. That's it, from my point of view. It's become primarily a protest movement of and for victims. It's about denunciations, reparations, and vengeance. They have NO viable plans for the economy. None. And as far as I can see, they don't get any of that.

The Dems have left so much low-hanging fruit that any blind Republican should be able to come in and really make things happen. And Trump is better suited for this than most of them. Never thought I'd say that. Maybe I'll be wrong. Let's see.

The great invisible secret today is that most of the citizens of the US are hoping Trump succeeds. That includes a lot of Dem voters.

[WiseOne]

[
Also, I don't think Dems prefer a service-based (and implicitly low-wage) economy. Unfortunately, the situation seems to be more as I Shrugged describes it -- with a few exceptions (like Bernie Sanders), they emphasize outgroup identity over all else. An economic plan that actually speaks to peoples' needs is just not on the radar.

You're right. I glanced at the blurbs on whitehouse.gov, which has a big emphasis on "helping the middle class". It was all about Obamacare and the fiscal stimulus, with a side helping of supporting small business with the following proposals:

- SBA loans to startups
- Reducing delays in payments on federal government contracts
- a mentorship program
- efforts to "attract immigrant entrepreneurs"

and this:

top Administration leaders continue to hit the road to engage with young entrepreneurs, urban entrepreneurs, rural entrepreneurs and high-tech entrepreneurs in healthcare, clean energy, and learning technology

It's hard to imagine this having any meaningful impact on the economy. I hope the Dems will eventually wake up and start getting serious about the economy, but I bet they'll simply wait for the demographic trends to fix their problems.