[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
J Eldred wrote:
If peolpe were to consume responsibly (such as American made, among other things), we would not see the lack of production.
How could you say it is responsible consumption to buy American made if foreign made goods are cheaper and better quality?
Other than that you are generally incorrect. Consumption is not a requirement to produce more goods.
As I stated earlier, and you seem to have neglected to understand, Americans do not have to be their own customers. The world population is very large. There is room to produce and return to our previous standard of living if Americans are willing to become competitive with the rest of the world market.
Do you not agree with this premise?[/quote]
First, foreign goods are not always cheaper. Sometimes, but not all the time and they are definately not better made.
Second, consumption would be a requirement to produce more goods. If people were buying them, they would in turn have to produce more.
No Americans do not have to be their own consumers. However, other countries do not have the means to buy their own products let alone American.
[quote]J Eldred wrote:
How would they afford them if we just produced more? They need to have good paying jobs to have the money to buy anything.
[/quote]
A larger supply of a particular good will bring prices for that good down. This is why goods coming from China are generally cheaper. They produce a ton of stuff that that do not consume themselves.
[quote]J Eldred wrote:
First, foreign goods are not always cheaper. Sometimes, but not all the time and they are definately not better made.[/quote]
If they were not cheaper they would not be sold here.
[quote]
Second, consumption would be a requirement to produce more goods. If people were buying them, they would in turn have to produce more.[/quote]
No it is not. How can you consume something that has not been first produced?
How is it a producer nation can afford to produce goods yet not afford to consume them? It is because Americans are willing to pay more (on credit) that prices are too high for the producer nations to consume themselves. Once credit dries up (and it is) prices will have to come down in the other countries. They will be able to afford their own goods once Americans quit over-consuming them.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
J Eldred wrote:
How would they afford them if we just produced more? They need to have good paying jobs to have the money to buy anything.
A larger supply of a particular good will bring prices for that good down. This is why goods coming from China are generally cheaper. They produce a ton of stuff that that do not consume themselves.
They can do this because wages are lower.[/quote]
Ok Supply is another topic, but at the same time if you continue to produce a lot of products, this at least keeps jobs, if not increases the jobs. Then again this is not a good practice. We want competition to bring prices down not over-production.
Those countries also can’t consume their own products because their wages are too low.
Also there are many products made in the states that are the same price, if not cheaper than foreign.
[quote]J Eldred wrote:
We want competition to bring prices down not over-production.[/quote]
That is competition. Those who can produce more at a lower cost will have the upper-hand in the market; hence they can ask a lower price and thus they are more competitive.
[quote]
Those countries also can’t consume their own products because their wages are too low.[/quote]
No, their wages are set by the market. The goods they produce, however, are expensive precisely because of the huge demand placed on them in the American market. Once demand comes down here those prices have to come down in the producer nations. Though, they will probably stop producing those goods that demand a price lower than they are willing to bear.
“If they were not cheaper they would not be sold here.”
Because of the misconception. For instance: I went to the local hardware because I needed a pry bar. There were a few kinds and I was looking for an American made one. I found one and it was the same price as the foreigns; well actually it was 3 cents cheaper, but we get the point. There are many products like that out there. We just don’t know about it because all the shopping people do are at big national stores who adhere to the misconception.
“That is competition. Those who can produce more at a lower cost will have the upper-hand in the market; hence they can ask a lower price and thus they are more competitive.”
Competition is two or more companies striving to make a product better and giving the consumer greater selection while trying to reduce the price. Not simply over producing someone the other.
[quote]J Eldred wrote:
Competition is two or more cmopanies striving to make a product better and giving the consumer greater selection while trying to reduce the price. Not simply over producing someone the other.[/quote]
What does “over producing” mean?
If I make an income larger than what I spend on a monthly basis am I “over producing”?
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
J Eldred wrote:
Competition is two or more cmopanies striving to make a product better and giving the consumer greater selection while trying to reduce the price. Not simply over producing someone the other.
What does “over producing” mean?
If I make an income larger than what I spend on a monthly basis am I “over producing”?[/quote]
I should have used “out-producing,” or simply just stated that producing more than the other is not economic competition. It is competition in the sense that “I can produce more than you,” but that is different than economic competition.
Obviously, the fix is for the government to borrow and spend more than what they were previously borrowing and spending. And this huge jump in borrowing and spending will correct an economic issue that the previous levels of borrowing and spending didn’t prevent.
If it doesn’t seem to be working, like the last spen…stimulous package, we’ll do it again!