Quote:
Originally Posted by Platapus
No scamming, just Capitolism.
This was an excellent example of Capitalism at its best. And Capitalism is supposed to be what America is about, right?
Both companies (Whirlpool and Maytag) were in existence to make money. Corporations are not social programs, nor political entities. They are in business to make business pay off. They are motivated by profit, not social goodness.
Whirlpool, operating legally, changed their business model to maximize their profits by lowering their costs. Maytag chose not to.
Whirlpool chose to use the laws of business to their advantage. Maytag chose not to.
Whirlpool prospered and Maytag failed. This is exactly how it is supposed to work in a Capitalistic market.
What's to gripe about? It would be rather hypocritical to only like Capitalism when it works in your favour.
We may wring our hands about Corporations moving jobs overseas, but that is not a concern with Corporations (or their stockholders (us )). Profit is.
Clearly the market (us again) made their choices very clear. We preferred the cheaper Whirlpool over the Maytag stuff. Again, Capitalism working as intended.
Now, if we want corporations to be more concerned with what is good for the US and its citizens, we need to make the conscious decision to move away from Capitalism and adopt Nationalism. A step I don't think too many people really want to take.
Me? I like Capitalism. It works for me. I want to be able to buy the bestest for the leastest.
As a Capitalist, I would have a hard time paying more just because something is made in America (and probably lower quality to boot)
A Nationalist would have no problem with this.
This is what it comes down to -- Is the consumer willing to pay more for a domestic product when a cheaper product is available from overseas?
Factor in quality and the equation may get uglier for American Businesses. It took us about 50 years to kill the domestic product market. It will take many years to rebuild it....if we can. (Just wait until the African industrial revolution happens in about 20+ years)
It kinda sucks when Capitalism works against America, but that's Capitalism for you.
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You are entirely correct in all of your points above. Whirpool chose the better long term market strategy. But the question poses itself as to why it is cheaper to move overseas in the first place? Answer, Government laws and regulations. Why would our government tax heavily any US based manufacturing but give tax breaks to those who shift opperations overseas? Foreighn interests and lobby in washington! Should not our own Government protect the interests of the American worker?
Now im not talking about protectionism, just eqauling the playing field.
Tax breaks should be given to to companys who make products here. Not the other way around.