American Economics Thread

ansy1968

Brigadier
Registered Member
@ansy1968

Yep. As Keynes said, a vicious spiral. But fortunately Keynes also said and can be observed empirically that prices are sticky downwards. It is very hard to see price deflation (It is not impossible, but hard. Firms tends to cut production to keep prices at the same level). Which is why even in a recession, there's still inflation thought small.

And worse of all, it's the stagflation, the kind we, the older ones experienced in the 1970s. Where the economy is stagnating, and with this the price level should drop to adjust itself according to classical economists. But it never did, so we got a contraction in the economy couple with hyper inflation. Oh happy times! Lol
Hi Gatekeeper,

They may remove the tariff in Chinese goods to lower the inflation pressure. But It will be a tough call, usually the US should be in a stagflation stage right now. They are fortunate that the Dollar is an international reserve currency, I think they may not escape this time around with their over printing, negative reserve rate to undervalue the dollar and a possible challenger in Chinese Yuan.
 

supersnoop

Major
Registered Member
Someone posted about Foxconn last week, here is the same outlet's follow up story
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I wish there was comments on this story. It would be an inevitable toxic comedy/bingo game of people blaming "Chinese corporations" for slave labour (Foxconn HQ is in Taiwan, so I guess that's one-China policy achieved), Trump politics, corporate greed, and government largesse.
 

caudaceus

Senior Member
Registered Member
Someone posted about Foxconn last week, here is the same outlet's follow up story
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

I wish there was comments on this story. It would be an inevitable toxic comedy/bingo game of people blaming "Chinese corporations" for slave labour (Foxconn HQ is in Taiwan, so I guess that's one-China policy achieved), Trump politics, corporate greed, and government largesse.
At lest Fuyao is really hiring and running factory, see the American Factory.

As I said in Biden's thread, I worry that Biden's massive job creation program might produce a few similar results. While, it doesn't hurt that much in the bigger picture, petty Republicans will inflate them to derail Biden.
 

supersnoop

Major
Registered Member
At lest Fuyao is really hiring and running factory, see the American Factory.

As I said in Biden's thread, I worry that Biden's massive job creation program might produce a few similar results. While, it doesn't hurt that much in the bigger picture, petty Republicans will inflate them to derail Biden.

To be honest, I had not followed the American political race closely due to the toxic divisions that exist.

Foxconn has also done this in Pennsylvania and Brazil as well. The question is what is the real motivation of Foxconn? Is it just to make Trump look good so they can avoid his bad side? (Taiwanese company, but heavily invested in Mainland China)

American Factory was an interesting documentary. When I heard the Obamas were involved, I thought it would be more political. However, I thought it was pretty neutral, more about culture clash and the effect on people's lives overall.
 

caudaceus

Senior Member
Registered Member
To be honest, I had not followed the American political race closely due to the toxic divisions that exist.

Foxconn has also done this in Pennsylvania and Brazil as well. The question is what is the real motivation of Foxconn? Is it just to make Trump look good so they can avoid his bad side? (Taiwanese company, but heavily invested in Mainland China)

American Factory was an interesting documentary. When I heard the Obamas were involved, I thought it would be more political. However, I thought it was pretty neutral, more about culture clash and the effect on people's lives overall.
One theory is that Terry Guo wanted to run for the president and having trump's blessing should boost his chance.
 

hullopilllw

Junior Member
Registered Member
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RACINE COUNTY, Wis. —
Foxconn is taking more heat for not creating the high-tech manufacturing jobs it promised in Wisconsin.

"Remember, they changed their entire business model to try to produce ventilators. They have been making masks," Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said last week.


But what Foxconn isn't making yet is what they promised: high-tech LCD screens, as reported by The Verge in an investigative report.

Vos, who represents Mount Pleasant, spoke about it last week.

"The promises that were made where, 'If they created the jobs, they would get the tax credits. If they made the investment, they would get the tax credit,' was all built around the idea that if the project never happened they would never get the resources from the state," Vos said.

WISN 12 News reporter Terry Sater asked former Gov. Scott Walker if he felt bamboozled.

"The deal with Foxconn ensures that they don't get state tax credits unless they hit the jobs and capital investment numbers. The deal protects state taxpayers," Walker said in a statement.

Foxconn, in part, blames the coronavirus and the market: "The specifics of our manufacturing plans and our product lines have changed, but through it all, Foxconn has pressed forward with its Wisconsin plans."

Last month, Foxconn received a permit to use the building for storage.

Racine County's executive Tuesday would only say, "Foxconn is still the largest taxpayer in Mount Pleasant."

"Are you disappointed they haven't brought the manufacturing jobs they promised so far?" Sater asked a Racine County resident.

"They said they were going to bring people in. If they don't bring them in they're not doing their job. Yeah, I'd be disappointed with them," Dave Griffith said.

WISN 12 News reached out to Vos on the investigative report published by The Verge, and he did not respond.
 

AssassinsMace

Lieutenant General
Let's not also forget Trump probably knew it was a lie since he also likes to make promises that he never keeps. He thinks of the now only and doesn't care if it doesn't happen because he's looking for immediate satisfaction. Like where's his better than Obama healthcare he's always promising that will happen within weeks and years have already passed with no such thing in sight. He wanted to look like he was getting the job done by creating jobs for Americans. He still touting a record of doing things that never happened.
 

supersnoop

Major
Registered Member
For what it's worth, these were some of the obvious problems with the Wisconsin LCD plant proposal. By most of what I've read, the issues were evident from the start.

1. The plan was very light on exact details, some of the numbers didn't make sense either. For example, 13,000 jobs was touted. Even including construction jobs, direct employment in an LCD plant could not possibly come close to this.
2. LCD demand is on a downward trend. The small panel market is preferring OLED, the large panel market is preferring next gen tech (Quantum dots, etc.) which the Wisconsin plant was never going to be equipped for. The explanation provided by Foxconn was that they would target automotive demands which was not big enough for those numbers (again).
3. Foxconn's own poor track record.
4. Related to point 2. JDI (Japan Display) had heavily invested in LCD tech and already had Apple as a big customer. They are not able to make their business profitable (despite consolidating the operations of basically all Japanese companies making LCDs) and is basically kept afloat by repeat bail outs by the Japanese government.

However, Foxconn and Trump made a big deal and many photo ops.

What's really too bad is the opportunity to make real investments.
Haier is a great example. They started with one factory in Camden SC, now they have purchased GE Appliance division. This is an over 20 year commitment in an industry that's often cited for offshoring.
 
D

Deleted member 15887

Guest
For what it's worth, these were some of the obvious problems with the Wisconsin LCD plant proposal. By most of what I've read, the issues were evident from the start.

1. The plan was very light on exact details, some of the numbers didn't make sense either. For example, 13,000 jobs was touted. Even including construction jobs, direct employment in an LCD plant could not possibly come close to this.
2. LCD demand is on a downward trend. The small panel market is preferring OLED, the large panel market is preferring next gen tech (Quantum dots, etc.) which the Wisconsin plant was never going to be equipped for. The explanation provided by Foxconn was that they would target automotive demands which was not big enough for those numbers (again).
3. Foxconn's own poor track record.
4. Related to point 2. JDI (Japan Display) had heavily invested in LCD tech and already had Apple as a big customer. They are not able to make their business profitable (despite consolidating the operations of basically all Japanese companies making LCDs) and is basically kept afloat by repeat bail outs by the Japanese government.

However, Foxconn and Trump made a big deal and many photo ops.

What's really too bad is the opportunity to make real investments.
Haier is a great example. They started with one factory in Camden SC, now they have purchased GE Appliance division. This is an over 20 year commitment in an industry that's often cited for offshoring.
Why even make LCD's in America? I'm assuming LCD manufacturing is very automated and thus capital-intensive; 5G can help make this automation process cheaper, but guess where all of the world's best, most comprehensive 5G infrastructure is being built? China.
 
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