most of today’s manufacturing done by people cannot be automated. If it could, it would have already been done so, by China
China 4 years ago: Xiaomi's "dark" factory.
this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2025
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I know most people find it unrealistic that underpaid sweatshop-style manufacturing could ever be moved to the US, but considering the rate at which social safety nets, employee rights and unions are deconstructed, the idea might not be that far-fetched. Already many people work two or more jobs to make ends meet, jobs such as waiting are already grossly underpaid and borderline degrading in many cases, and people are still eager to do that work because the alternative would be for them and their families to go hungry or homeless. Who's to say sewing cheap dresses 12-14 hours a day is such a bad pospect in comparison?
What kneecaps this prodpect is that the other half of the supply-demand curve simply won't fall enough to meet American production where it will inevitably peak - far lower than that of existing overseas factories, even with the implementation of tariffs.
I think people fail to understand that, even if investors were to somehow become obsessed with dropping factories in the states left and right, people still wouldn't be able to outproduce China and India. Even if Americans get paid the same poor wages, the cost of production would still be too high because the cost of living is also too high, not least because we have very little HDH and everything is too spread apart with little public transportation.
Yeah if things get that bad factory jobs might start to look appealing. I don't think we're there yet though.
- no one believes his bullshit enough to invest in the US.
Well, Nvidia plans to move manufacturing to the US, and Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has pledged a 50 billion investment in US facilities, so there are at least some ass-kissers.
What happens after these announcements remains to be seen.
It won’t happen.
Nvidia will find a way to have an assembly line slap a sticker on “parts” that slip through a tariff and they’ll call that made in the USA. One job created.
I don’t know anything about Roche.
#4 went into some weird welfare-queen, kids-these-days, get-off-my-lawn territory.
The rest is solid.
He's not wrong though. Americans are considered generally lazy and rather entitled. If you hire 10 people, odds are at least one of those people is going to cause you some kind of drama or unwanted inefficiency.
Honestly if only 1 in 10 caused drama that would probably be an improvement.
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