• Skyrmir@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    US companies shouldnā€™t bother with China until China is a functioning democracy, which may be never, but there are hopes.

      • Skyrmir@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Idiocracy is also a functioning democracy, and still better than authoritarianism.

      • Tinidril@midwest.social
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        5 months ago

        Thatā€™s what happens when a government massively subsidizes manufacturing in an industry.

        • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          US corporations have been ā€œmassively subsidizedā€ to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars a year, for most of the last century. Now that they can no longer compete against the monster they financed the last 40 years, all you simps jump to their defense instead of blaming them for turning their backs on, and impoverishing, the domestic workforce, and endangering national security.

          This is what happens when you let your corporations outsource their operations to authoritarian states; chasing the lowest paid workers, circumventing labor and environmental regulations, and devaluing the domestic labor market for generations. They had no problem ā€œcompetingā€ when they had the strategic upper hand and were generating more profits.

          Oh well, at least the richest 1% got richer.

          • Tinidril@midwest.social
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            5 months ago

            I absolutely blame them for what they did to workers, particularly in manufacturing, Bill Clinton was especially bad, though later presidents did little to nothing to fix it. However US subsidies are far less than Chinaā€™s, and the bulk of them work differently.

            Itā€™s relevant how the subsidies are applied. Most of the US subsidies for electric vehicles are applied to the price of purchase and, until recently, were as available to foreign manufacturers as domestic. That means those subsidies donā€™t apply to US manufactured vehicles being sold outside the US. China, applies far more subsidies directly to manufacturing than the US does, meaning they apply equally to vehicles sold both domestically and abroad.

            Itā€™s not a matter of which countries subsidize their industries and which do not. All countries subsidize their important industries to some extent. What China has done is far beyond accepted norms, and that provokes response.

            • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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              5 months ago

              You know those hundredā€™s of billions in fossil fuel subsidies, the US has stolen from the people and given to planet killers like the Koch bros for decades? All of those could have gone to domestic renewable energy projects, and the US might not have only been able to compete, but could have been works leaders. This exact scenario was predicted when China started to heavily fund clean energy.

              The US has applied far more subsidies than China ever has; except it did so to maintain the status quo and enrich its wealthiest fossil fuel oligarchs, instead of listening to scientists and switching to clean energy. Now the same corporate oligarchs who corrupted the government to hamstring renewables for decades, are again pulling the strings and trying to further hamstring renewable adoption in the name of ā€œnational securityā€ and ā€œjobsā€ ā€” both problems THEY willfully created for their own profit ā€” and instead of turning their narrative against them, you continue to do their bidding and defend actions that will (conveniently) continue to enrich those same oligarchs. They are acting in their own best interests. Not yours! They never have, and they never will. Yet still they ask you to jump, and you say how high.

              • Tinidril@midwest.social
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                5 months ago

                Well gosh, I agree with almost every word of that, except for the part about the US subsidizing more than China does. You really seem to be making a whole lot of assumptions about me. Go touch grass.

        • sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al
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          5 months ago

          You know that American car makers are heavily subsidized right? Didnā€™t we just post a story about GM fleecing the government of 6 billion.

          Itā€™s amazing how Americans have zero self-awareness.

          • Tinidril@midwest.social
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            5 months ago

            See my other reply to a similar comment.

            I assume the $6 billion refers to their recent stock buyback? Stock buybacks should be illegal, but I donā€™t see where thatā€™s ripping off the government. Itā€™s actually notable that the government took a massive ownership stake in GM in exchange for the COVID bailout.