The shareholders are us. You and I. We place our investments in stock (real estate also of course) and we demand the highest return we can get. Don’t be so quick to distance from the “problem”.
Indeed. The first level are the stockholders. The second level are consumers that demand the lowest prices.
Maybe if everyone actually agreed to buy US made, even with higher prices, we could solve some of these problems. But then they need wages high enough to afford the higher cost locally made stuff, which cuts into profit.... and round and round we go...
I stopped blaming my fellow citizens a long time ago for seeking out the cheapest available option. Nobody looks past the tips of their noses and never have. Doesn't matter if you're moneyed elite or working poor - all that changes is scale. It's part of the human condition. That being said I place the blame firmly at the feet of the Fed. It's one of the essential duties actually tasked to the Federal Government is managing international trade and they failed, miserably. It doesn't matter what side of the ideological isle you're on - they both failed us. Trade policies that fleeced the working class in the country were championed by both. What we gained in worthless material wealth with multiple TV's in every room and ten year old children with smartphones we lost in our own self reliance.
I don't for a second think that this can't be fixed though, or at least pulled back. We were already starting to fight back (for once) before this all began. Once this finally settles I fully expect the West to be reexamining its reliance on foreign powers. At least something good may come out of this.
