Chump's Consequences

[octave]

Why is globalisation perceived as being bad?

[facthunter]

If Trump does any good it will be by accident. He doesn't care about much but himself  Nev

[facthunter]

Anyhow watch it in real time. We will all pay, one way or another. . Investing in America Once seemed like a good idea.  Nev

[rgmwa]

4 hours ago, octave said:

Why is globalisation perceived as being bad?

I looked it up. The main reason is that globalization exacerbates income inequality, both within and between countries, as wealth tends to concentrate in the hands of a few.  Industries and jobs move to countries with lower labour costs leading to job losses and economic hardship in more developed countries, and potential exploitation of workers and resources in developing countries by multinational corporations. In other words, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. America is a pretty good example of income disparity in a wealthy country and loss of manufacturing jobs. However, their export of services exceeds the value of the disparity in goods that Trump is solely focused on with his tariffs. He's only looking at the numbers that suit his narrative of the US as an exploited and failed nation.

[Marty_d]

It wasn't a failed nation before, but it's going that way fast.

[octave]

20 minutes ago, rgmwa said:

I looked it up. The main reason is that globalization exacerbates income inequality, both within and between countries, as wealth tends to concentrate in the hands of a few.  Industries and jobs move to countries with lower labour costs leading to job losses and economic hardship in more developed countries, and potential exploitation of workers and resources in developing countries by multinational corporations. In other words, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. America is a pretty good example of income disparity in a wealthy country and loss of manufacturing jobs. However, their export of services exceeds the value of the disparity in goods that Trump is solely focused on with his tariffs. He's only looking at the numbers that suit his narrative of the US as an exploited and failed nation.

I think there are obviously pros and cons.  We have all come to expect that a car won't cost many years wages to buy. I recall when I was young my family saving up for a considerable time to buy a new television.  I do think a lot of people complain about things being made overseas where labour is cheaper but will also whinge prices going up.   We want our products to be sold overseas but tend to complain when tools or electronics are made in China 

[rgmwa]

I think the main concerns most people have about globalisation is the quality of the imported goods and the potential exploitation of the people making them. There are plenty of reports on programs like 4 Corners about how workers in many developing countries are used almost as slave labour, working very long hours for pittance wages and often for big Western corporations either directly or through local companies.

But it's a two-edged sword, because if it wasn't for the work the country would not be able to develop, however exploitative and corrupt its progress might be. Japan and South Korea have been very successful over time. Other places like Vietnam probably have a long way to go, but have benefitted significantly from Trumps first round of tariffs on China, when factories moved there to dodge the tariffs.

[octave]

I think there should certainly be rules about dangerous good or goods produced with slave  labour or poor worker conditions.  When it comes to quality I don't always need a top quality product. I renovated my bathroom and bought a budget tile saw for around $100. Sure although it did the job well it certainly wouldn't suit a tradie.  I appreciate not having to pay many hundreds of dollars.

I think the fact is that the world is only getting more connected and I think this is a good thing 

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, rgmwa said:

ther places like Vietnam probably have a long way to go, but have benefitted significantly from Trumps first round of tariffs on China, when factories moved there to dodge the tariffs.

The penny drops! So that's why Trump whacked 47% tariff on Vietnam. He's actually going after the Chinese. Initially I thought it was revenge for the Vietnamese beating them in a war.

[rgmwa]

No. They have just been a victim of their own success at shipping lots of stuff to the US and not buying much in return. Check out Trump’s nonsensical tariff calculations which have nothing to do with reciprocal tariffs as he claims. 

[old man emu]

I had a fish filet for dinner tonight. It came from Vietnam. A lot of our frozen or canned food comes from there or other 'developing' Asian countries. 

[onetrack]

I see no need to import rubbishy quality farmed fish from Vietnam, when we're surrounded by a couple of the worlds biggest oceans and few smaller ones.

The Vietnamese fish farms are in boats sitting in the Mekong River, and the Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, with 400 major factories all discharging their industrial waste into the Mekong with very little official checks, and certainly no waste treatment. I'm happy to pay a lot more for locally-caught fish, and even Australian farmed fish are better than any imported fish.

[rgmwa]

I saw a few prawn ponds in China that didn't give me a lot of confidence in the product. 

[rgmwa]

Good old Bernie Sanders telling it how is is with a glimmer of optimism for the mid-terms:

 

 

Bernie for President! At least he's a decent person, unlike the destructive clown in the White House.

[rgmwa]

Some interesting observations on Trump's tariffs and the future of America by Professor Richard Wolff: