Anyway, I’m not sure any President will be in a position to bring jobs back from overseas, at least in any meaningful number. It was a business decision to offshore them, it’ll have to be a business decision that brings them back. Business may have to place an importance on the national good that puts it on par with the demands of both investors and customers. Personally, I don’t see that happening. Those who try–and by doing so incur higher costs–will be greedily devoured by the predators.

I’d pay a premium price for American-made goods, in fact I have, as I’m sure others here have as well. I’d be surprised, though, if such “protest buying” has much of an impact. It flies in the face of basic economics, so it’s likely to remain an oddity.

I’m not sure I agree with the article when it asserts that “pay isn’t the biggest obstacle.” It is, at least, a pretty damn important issue. Years ago I worked (in a distributed environment) with a team of programmers in India and found them to be every bit a match for American programmers—yet they cost the company about a fourth as much as a domestic coder. Tell me that’s not going to prey mightily on a manager’s mind.

So would I work for a fraction of what I’ve typically made in the past? Yes, I would, but personally I’ve never measured job satisfaction in dollars. Besides, my wife’s an RN and her salary eclipsed mine a long time ago (as it should have). Try offshoring *her* job…

I sat down with a cup of coffee with the intent of reading your links. Right off the bat I run into “Herr Apfelstrudelfuher”. It’s been a long week and I was going to give up but I gave it another try. The second article had an obvious slant but I read it anyway. I’d just like to make a few points.

About tariffs. I don’t enjoy defending Trump but he is a negotiator and throwing out 45% gives him a starting point. Tariffs are a tool to combat unfair trade but they are not a magic bullet. He needs to do better. Part of Trumps plan includes cracking down on intellectual property theft. I’d like to see an outline on how he’d do that.

On getting Apple to build the I phone here. You should note Trump said “get”, not force. There is no legal issue. You should also note that Obama talked to Steve Jobs about the same thing but simply gave up.

I was going to link to something on the subject but realized it’s not fair to make you read an entire article just because I want to make a point. And you really can’t expect me to read all 9 of your links. How about “we” blockquote relative points and cite a source? More importantly maybe we could stick to just a few points per thread?

The phone thing:

Mitt Romney said the solution is “very straightforward.” The United States must pressure China to stop manipulating its currency, he said, and the federal government needs to “make America the most attractive place for entrepreneurs” by lowering taxes. He supports reducing the top corporate tax rate to 25%, down from its current 35%.
President Obama offered a starker answer: “Candy, there are some jobs that are not going to come back, because they’re low-wage, low-skill jobs.”
Speaking strictly for Apple, Obama’s assessment is likely correct. Apple (AAPL) has said that it directly employs thousands of its own workers in China, and about 700,000 assembly workers at manufacturing contractors like Foxconn put together Apple products. It would be almost impossible to bring those jobs to the United States.
Foxconn — China’s largest private employer and the manufacturer of an estimated 40% half of the world’s consumer electronic devices — pays its assembly workers far less than American labor laws would allow. A typical salary is 2500 RMB (U.S. $400), or about $18 a day.
But pay isn’t the biggest obstacle. Various economists have estimated how much an all-American labor force would add to the cost of an iPhone and come up with figures ranging from $65 to $100 per device.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/17/technology/apple-china-jobs/

I think it would be better for everyone if we paid that extra $65-$100 per phone.

Obama says Chinese jobs are low-wage, low-skill jobs so they’re not coming back. That thinking is exactly what’s wrong with how we look at American business. As long as there are people looking for work, we need those jobs. We can’t all be lawyers, doctors and Internet billionaires. I once worked as a construction laborer when I was between jobs. I was grateful for the paycheck and didn’t consider it ” beneath me”. I also worked a temporary tech support job in 2001. I worked 15 hours a day for $9 an hour. (The temp agency charged the software company $18) I needed the work, and the experience to put on a resume. Terrible time to get into tech as you know.

Now I see another problem. It’s easy to go too far without letting the other person speak. It’s also easy to ramble because these issues are so complex. Sorry about that.

After 15 years, you, ER, Bowser, and Buck are the only remaining members I want talk to. If the feeling isn’t mutual, just let me know.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stinkin_badges_bandito_1770.jpg