Thousands of factories have closed as a result of the sharp drop in orders - prompting fears that employment worries could lead to unrest.

Join the club.

Luffed the part in the article where they talk about the global economic slump affecting China competitiveness.

Whaa?!

No labor standards, no enviromental standards and the average workers making just enuff to keep them feed and fit for work and they are somehow less competitive now?

So wot now? They're gonna switch to full-on slavery in order to regain their competitive edge?

/Beyond the prison slave labor that already exists.

Be Well.

Must be a shortage of lead.

The Chinese want to keep their economy rolling? Maybe they should start paying their workers enough to buy the same shit they produce. This is something that many don't seem to understand, an economy requires both manufacturers and consumers. You can't have one without the other.

wha, we are no better, we have consumers but no producers.

The US collapse is a black hole that pulls down everything in its orbit.

"...So wot now? They're gonna switch to full-on slavery in order to regain their competitive edge?
Beyond the prison slave labor that already exists...Posted by dethspud"

Absolutely, Senor Papas. In fact that was the republican idea to solve the US Manufacturing Crisis at home...until a little ship called the S.S. OBAMA smashed their Dickensian nightmare all to shit!

Ye swell.

It is the unions that have caused manufacturing to leave the U.S.

It is the unions that have caused manufacturing to leave the U.S.

#7 | Posted by cabo_vato
=================
Unionization is not a problem in China so what is your take on the Chinese problem?
When we were highly unionized in the US we had a much higher standard of living than we do now. Surly you can't say that we are better off. We got along just fine with GM Ford and Chrysler and somehow I don't feel particularly enriched by being able to buy Toyota Nissan Kia etc.
Now to get bact to your original thought if that is what you want to call it manufacturing left the US because of greed on those at the top. The only people that benefitted from mfg leaving the US were the politicians, bankers and business owners. You can see now in the mess we are in who got the money without questions asked: bankers! They took the money and bought other banks and then they paid dividends to stockholders. HELLO! You only pay dividends when you have a profit! If China can only suceed by exporting their crap that should tell you something is terribly terribly wrong. With a population as big as theirs they should be able to be self sufficient and sell most of their goods at home like we did at one time with our high wages, benefits and unionization!

When we were highly unionized in the US we had a much higher standard of living than we do now.

Not exactly. Union laborers made above market wages at the expense of non-union labor. It was production that raised everybody's standard of living, not unions.

We got along just fine with GM Ford and Chrysler and somehow I don't feel particularly enriched by being able to buy Toyota Nissan Kia etc.

GM, Ford's and Chrysler's labor costs are so high, they lose money on every car. Even if they destroy themselves, the unions won't take cutbacks.

Now to get bact to your original thought if that is what you want to call it manufacturing left the US because of greed on those at the top.

Bad management and unions are a lethal combination.

The only people that benefited from mfg leaving the US were the politicians, bankers and business owners.

Politicians and bankers yes. I don't see what other choice businessmen had. It was either offshore or go out of business.

If China can only succeed by exporting their crap that should tell you something is terribly terribly wrong.

If it was crap, consumers wouldn't be buying and WalMart wouldn't be selling.

Americans are in for a huge drop in their standard of living until there is some kind of balance with the rest of the world. Any attempt to wall us off will only make matters worse.

What Wal*marts sales are down?

Maybe we China should have a minimum wage of $7.20 a month.

A Chinese counter-revolution would be vicious with millions having their heads and bodies separated. libs everywhere will be wringing their hands. Thom will be laughing.

libs everywhere will be wringing their hands. Thom will be laughing.

#12 | Posted by fwthom

People everywhere should wonder why we trade with such barbarians. Thom doesn't give a shit. Too him apparently, they're only human and not so important as corporate profit.

China's been lying about their manufacturing output for years. Their official forecasts call for economic growth of 8-9% in 2009 which, in an economy where the United States is falling apart, is a crack-induced fantasy. The US economy will contract by 10% or more, Europe more so. That translates to an absolute annihilation of the Chinese economy.

Don't forget too, depressions last longer and are more painful to creditor nations. Japan in the 1990's. The US in the 1930's. Now China.

RIR tripe...

#14 | Posted by rightisright

The U.S. economy has only begun its descent. The Dow will fall... and fall.. then level out at around 4,500. Think about it. The U.S. used to be the world's biggest creditor nation. Now it's the world's biggest debtor. That isn't good.

You want to talk lying? How about how the American government and its kissing cousin, the Fed, have been lying to the people about the state of the economy over the years.

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
The economic outlook
Before the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress
March 28, 2007

"Overall, the economy appears likely to continue to expand at a moderate pace over coming quarters. As the inventory of unsold new homes is worked off, the drag from residential investment should wane. Consumer spending appears solid, and business investment seems likely to post moderate gains."

Lies. Or maybe he's just that stupid. Either way, it's not good.

Meanwhile, the Chinese are setting themselves up as the next economic superpower in the coming decades. In 2003, China and India's economies grew more than twice as fast as the world average.

China's economy is in deep doodoo because they are stupid. If you create a product that everybody wants, like ipods for example and then make 50 other knockoffs that are so cheap you can get them in a happy meal pretty soon everyone has three of them and they tend to get harder to sell. Another good example is cars. The average American already has a yard full of cars. When times are tough, who needs another one? Take a look around the average home. There is three computers, five TVs, 20 radios, fifty clocks and a garage full of "George Carlin stuff" the owners forgot they even owned. 90% of it was made in China. Who really needs anymore stuff? The Chinese peasants are still trying to by a decent pair of shoes. Good luck selling cheap crap to them. We Americans are the ones buying the crap because we had disposable income. Now we are eating hot dogs and spam. You can't eat mp3 players.

You can't eat mp3 players.

#16 | POSTED BY RINGMASTER

Sure you can, they just don't taste good.

Wassa matta, China?

Confucius didn't say anything about the consequences of undercutting American industry to the point that a bunch of Americans don't have jobs anymore and can't afford to buy what you make?

"Americans are in for a huge drop in their standard of living until there is some kind of balance with the rest of the world."

#9 | Posted by Ray

Scary.

We may be in a situation where we can come out ahead. Centralized economies don't fare well when things go to crap, and populations without safety nets get pretty upset when jobs are lost. The Chinese are launching their own bail out plan that is a larger percentage of their GDP than ours is. If we are smart, we may be able to take advantage of the situation.

If we are smart, we may be able to take advantage of the situation.

#20 | Posted by deadarmadillo

We have already taken advantage of it. We sold them shit-loads of treasury bonds when they were paying a dividend. Now, we will but them them back with dollars that has less value. China got screwed on that deal with a big old US dick.

I say we finish them off by not buying any more cheap chinese crap.

Any country that comes out ahead in this depression will do it by producing food. After the recent scam with melamine in everything, including baby formula, I won't buy any food stuff made in China. Although the average American is dumb enough to, they will eventually die out from the crap and China will loose that niche too. Yep, they are in deep shit.

It is the unions that have caused manufacturing to leave the U.S.

#7 | Posted by cabo_vato

You left out the envirnmentals and our government.

When we were highly unionized in the US we had a much higher standard of living than we do now.

The vigorousness of the US economy in 50's and 60's is explained by the fact that they were one of the last industrialized countries left standing after WWII. Those days of no competition aren't about to return.