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| Home Front Economy |
| Chicom invasion begins |
| 2008-05-13 |
| Liu Keli couldn't tell you much about South Carolina, not even where it is in the United States. It's as obscure to him as his home region, Shanxi province, is to most Americans. But Liu is investing $10 million in the Palmetto State, building a printing-plate factory that will open this fall and hire 120 workers. His main aim is to tap the large American market, but when his finance staff penciled out the costs, he was stunned to learn how they compared with those in China. Liu spent about $500,000 for seven acres in Spartanburg -- less than one-fourth what it would cost to buy the same amount of land in Dongguan, a city in southeast China where he runs three plants. U.S. electricity rates are about 75% lower, and in South Carolina, Liu doesn't have to put up with frequent blackouts. About the only major thing that's more expensive in Spartanburg is labor. Liu is looking to offer $12 to $13 an hour there, versus about $2 an hour in Dongguan, not including room and board. But Liu expects to offset some of the higher labor costs with a payroll tax credit of $1,500 per employee from South Carolina. "I was surprised," said the 63-year-old president of Shanxi Yuncheng Plate-Making Group. "The gap's not as large as I thought." Liu is part of a growing wave of Chinese entrepreneurs expanding into the U.S. From Spartanburg to Los Angeles they are building factories, buying companies and investing in business and real estate. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #12 Ima thinkrn Mr. Chinese Import Laborer might find the setting a little inhospitable for living |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-05-13 22:04 |
| #11 I don't doubt that there are abuses of immigration laws by legislators as well as thier contributors, but I do doubt that it is widespread and that Mr. Liu will be successful or his enterprise profitable if he tries to do it for $12.00 jobs |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-05-13 20:41 |
| #10 Could be tough getting H-1Bs for these jobs. You're kidding? Selling H1Bs has been right up there with copyright extension in the gold flow of our Congressmen. I remember when H1Bs were restricted to 20,000 in total. Now they get 10 times as much annually. I'm sure for enough indirect contributions to election funds and hiring of family members, our esteemed representatives can sell us out very easily. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-05-13 19:38 |
| #9 Yup. And that's one difference between here and the EU. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-05-13 19:30 |
| #8 Could be tough getting H-1Bs for these jobs. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-05-13 18:43 |
| #7 When the ChiComs bought textile and clothing plants in Italy, the first thing they did was to import very low wage Chinese workers. The locals were totally frozen out of the industry. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-05-13 18:30 |
| #6 trailing wife, It'll be interesting to see if they can cope with the 'multi-cultural' demographic issues in South Carolina. I remember back in the 80's in business school getting lectured on how to 'fit in', 'respect', just plain not be the ugly american, or whatever you want to call it, when dealing with Asian cultures. Looks like the shoe is on the other foot now.... |
| Posted by: Angert McGurque1462 2008-05-13 17:50 |
| #5 Is the American Spirit Muscular enough to survive the onslaught of rich Chi-Com Goons, rich OPEC Islamist, rich Russian Mafia thugs, rich Narco-terrorist murders, and every other World Class Robber Baron and flood of illegal immigrants. |
| Posted by: RD 2008-05-13 13:01 |
| #4 This is interesting with an article I read yesterday about the ChiComs having more money than economy and inflation is becoming a big problem. The average city dweller could survive, but the poorer farmers and country dwellers are really feeling the pinch. The article predicted the city ChiComs to start buying overseas while the situation at home deteriorated. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-05-13 09:50 |
| #3 It should be interesting when they run head-on into labour and quality control laws. Especially because it will be the workers who insist on their enforcement. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-05-13 08:32 |
| #2 These "Chicoms" understand global capitalism better than Democrats, that's the sad part. |
| Posted by: Gliling Lumplump3518 2008-05-13 06:45 |
| #1 another real estate bubble on the way? |
| Posted by: Sninert Black9312 2008-05-13 01:12 |