No, US didn't lose it, we collectively decided that whenever we buy something, the price was the most important aspect.

It's like everybody forgot that their neighbour's job depend on them.

We're repeating the same pattern with online shopping, malls and stores everywhere are closing because of our collective actions, we're not losing them like I lost my keys.

▲

vsgherzi 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

What you're describing literally is us losing it. We lost in the market. Price was above all for the market and we didn't adapt and lost. I agree with the point you're trying to make but we did lose it in the sense that we do not have the manufacturing capacity we once did

▲

denkmoon 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Homo economicus' desire for a 'good deal' or 'a bargain' will kill us.

	▲	SlightlyLeftPad 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		“Why would I hire X when I can get it for $20 a month on ChatGPT?” Hmm, I don’t like the sound of that.

▲

shiroiuma 27 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

>We're repeating the same pattern with online shopping, malls and stores everywhere are closing because of our collective actions

Are you talking about the small mom-n-pop shops that are only open when most people are at work, while with online shopping you can do it any time 24/7? The same mom-n-pop shops that refused to take returns, and had poor selection and would take weeks to order something for you, at a ridiculous price?

There are a lot of really good reasons online shopping has put so many stores out of business.

▲

cucumber3732842 an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Who's we?

The college educated white collar professionals who are grossly over-represented in policy discourse?

Middle america, the formerly industrial northeast and the former bulk industry west have been complaining about this shit policy for over a generation.

Implicitly shuttering our manufacturing and heavy industry by subjecting it to policy that we knew would make it increasingly noncompetitive at the margin and would prevent continuing investment was a macro/federal level economic policy choice that was actively pursued for approx 50yr.

▲

rangestransform an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Not overrepresented enough given that middle America has disproportionate per capita voting power

	▲	cucumber3732842 an hour ago \| parent [-]
		It's not just middle america. It's the entire economy that deals in things first and numbers and ideas second.

▲

Braxton1980 31 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

What government policies are you referring to? Businesses moved manufacturing to China because their goal is to make as much money as possible. The only potential barrier is if US citizens would care that it wasn't made in America. Products are labeled and most people don't care.

This is an American quality where a person who works in a factory that makes extension cords and needs their job to survive would buy the cheaper lamp even though it's made in China.

Most people aren't willing to make financial sacrifices to help people they don't know EVEN if they might be affected by another person having the same belief.

▲

donw 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

We collectively decided nothing.

Our political/ruling class wanted more of the pie for themselves, dropped the trade barriers protecting American industry, and gorged themselves on the arbitrage as manufacturing flowed to our chief geopolitcal rival, who was quite happy to accept such a generous gift.

▲

Braxton1980 29 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

People could have supported American manufacturing by buying American. You're saying the government should intervene in the economy in a significant because the majority of people are just selfish

▲

insane_dreamer 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That's true, but we also collectively decided to buy cheap stuff from Walmart instead of buying from the local town store, creating a race to the bottom.

▲

pixl97 18 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

Ya, because the same item was way more at other stores and people didn't understand why. Most of it was logistics at first and not just cheap items. That and buying in very very large lots. It was over time that the hunt for more profits started chasing cheap items.

Really the mom and pop store was set to die in the US because of car culture. You'll pay a bit more to walk to the closest store, but if you're already driving there is very little cost in driving to a store a little farther is almost nothing.

▲

plagiarist an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Or did stagnant wages drive Americans to buy what they could afford instead of products that would last?

We also have many US manufacturers moving sourcing their subcomponents from overseas to save a few cents per unit, there's no way to prevent that, nobody is going to check the BOM from everything they ever buy.

I think collective behavior is a large component but it is not quite right to declare it as the primary driver.

	▲	Braxton1980 24 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		What if people could have purchased American made goods but this means that they would have had to have less or what they did get wouldn't be as good. For example, I get a 40inch TV instead of a 65 inch or I buy a set of American made screwdrivers but then I can't get a bottle of Vodka. Most people have their basic needs met. They just want as much as possible for their money even if it harms other Americans. At the same time, if they happen to work at a factory making extension cords, they'll want people to buy their US made cords to protect their job. Because most people are selfish when it comes to people who aren't family or friends.

▲

ihsw 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[dead]