Tennessee Auto Workers delight in doing the arithmetic

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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{{ “I think what changed the most is everybody started seeing what we could get when the Big Three went on strike,” she said. “They said, ‘Wait, hold on. If they can get all this, we should too.’ We do the same job, just in a different location.” }}

That’s right! Who’s doing the most for you? The Tennessee billionaires, and Southern Governors who profit greatly from the poverty wage economy, or a trade union getting you a better deal?

Maybe this is the start of a “Southern Enlightenment”, kind of like Europe coming out of the Dark Ages? {{ LOL }}

intercst

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Some years ago, I postulated a General Motors where the only USians on the payroll were the honchos at global HQ in Detroit, with all the product designed and produced in China. But the company advertising would still say “buy American, buy GM”. (you would be amazed at the sort of people who insist that where a company HQ is, is what makes a car “American”, not where the product is actually built)

Last fall, Farley, the luminary at Ford, was talking about escalating the transfer of production offshore.

So, we could see a day where the only cars built in the US are built by non-US brands, while the “American” companies build wherever the slave labor is cheapest.

Steve

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It’s not just cars.
Appliances, technology products, clothing etc.
It’s what happens when price drives everything.

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Maybe “cost”, not price. Price, in theory, is set by market competition. We saw what happened to RS, for instance, when they tried to insist their prices, 40% higher than the competition, were justified. To fatten profits, cut costs. Of course, ideology dictates “JCs” are exempt from cost cuts. All cuts are to be born by the Proles.

I have seen VW management insisting they are taking the brand “up-market”, to justify escalating prices. Ford is simply dropping it’s lower priced models.

“So I’m very optimistic about our eight percent because we are not going to be playing in the two-row commodity crossover market because that’s – because Ford’s tried that in the ICE business and it didn’t really work out for us,” Farley said when asked about the company’s profit margin target. “We want to play our hand, our strength, commercial, truck, larger vehicles on the category side.”

https://fordauthority.com/2023/02/ford-ceo-farley-says-company-is-done-with-two-row-ice-suvs/

Two Row Ford EV Crossovers Not Priority For Second Gen

https://fordauthority.com/2023/08/two-row-ford-ev-crossovers-not-priority-for-second-gen/

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JCs are Proles (by definition).

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We have seen plenty of discussion on this board, over the years, about how JCs bring the BoD to heel, and ignore shareholders. They are definitely “inner party” at the very least.

Steve