Valuetainment - March 31, 2025


How China Killed America’s Middle Class - And How Trump’s Tariffs Will Bring Jobs Back to the U.S.


Episode Stats

Length

12 minutes

Words per Minute

190.42012

Word Count

2,372

Sentence Count

291

Misogynist Sentences

5

Hate Speech Sentences

8


Summary

Two decisions we made in the last 50 years have destroyed our manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Fast forward to 2001, China enters the World Trade Organization, and within 8 years, 6 million more manufacturing jobs were lost in China.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Two decisions we made in the last 50 years that destroyed our manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
00:00:04.580 And let me tell you what I mean by this.
00:00:05.720 Imagine in 1970, if you worked in China, do you know what the average employee made in China minimum wage?
00:00:11.980 You ready for this?
00:00:12.880 They made 50 wands per month, which is roughly $20.33 per month, which is roughly 8 cents an hour.
00:00:20.780 That's the labor cost in China.
00:00:22.280 So imagine Nixon is sitting there saying, let's open it up so we can start doing business in China.
00:00:27.020 We do, they call it the ping pong diplomacy because now we can send our jobs and manufacturers over there.
00:00:33.480 And this was the first time ever a U.S. president visited China.
00:00:36.960 Nixon goes to China.
00:00:38.260 25 years, there was no communication between U.S. and China at all during that period.
00:00:43.560 He goes, they brokered a deal.
00:00:45.500 Oh my God, that's so awesome.
00:00:47.720 Fast forward, gradually jobs are moving, jobs are moving, jobs are moving.
00:00:51.720 Then in 2001, December 11th, China enters the World Trade Organization within a span of 8 years later, 6 million manufacturing jobs goes over there.
00:01:03.920 The rich got richer because they're like, listen, if labor to us is going to cost 50 cents an hour in China, it's costing us a bunch of money here.
00:01:11.420 We're about to make a lot of money.
00:01:12.980 But what did it do to middle America?
00:01:14.660 It absolutely destroyed it.
00:01:16.440 We're going to talk about that today.
00:01:17.720 If you get value out of this video, give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel.
00:01:30.060 Let's get into it.
00:01:30.560 So check this out.
00:01:31.160 I got numbers for you.
00:01:31.920 Ready?
00:01:32.480 A little concerning.
00:01:33.400 Remember how we talked about 1970, the ping pong, you know, and then they go in 2001, China come on in, World Trade Organization.
00:01:40.200 In 1970, the average minimum wage in China is roughly, I told you, 8 cents.
00:01:44.740 Let's say 8 to 12 cents an hour in 1970.
00:01:46.900 U.S. is $1.60, which means we're 13 times more expensive to hire people in America in 1970 than China.
00:01:54.500 In China, you're like, man, we're saving 13 times salary.
00:01:57.480 Send the labor there.
00:01:59.080 Don't do it here.
00:01:59.840 Send it there.
00:02:00.680 Then they go to 2001, World Trade Organization.
00:02:03.340 Come on in, China.
00:02:04.520 Come and compete with the rest of us.
00:02:05.760 Come on in all these other companies.
00:02:07.120 No problem.
00:02:07.720 Great.
00:02:08.140 In 2001, it's 34 cents an hour in China.
00:02:11.440 It's 5.15 minimum wage an hour in U.S.
00:02:14.000 15 times more.
00:02:15.020 But you know what it is today in China?
00:02:16.920 3.75 an hour minimum wage now.
00:02:19.400 In U.S. it's 7.25, only two times more.
00:02:22.140 You can look at the same, say, a couple of different things.
00:02:24.080 Wow.
00:02:24.260 China's getting hammered because their cost has gone so up that now it's like, how are we going to make up with all this?
00:02:29.720 Or you could say, why is our income not growing so fast in America?
00:02:34.860 Well, because we shipped off all that labor over there and we don't have it here.
00:02:39.000 Labor is expensive now.
00:02:39.980 Let me give you a couple examples of what's happened.
00:02:42.380 Watch this.
00:02:43.120 So, if you look at this chart on this website, this shows the percentage of countries manufacturing share output.
00:02:53.400 This shows the top 10 countries by share of world manufacturing output from 1970 to 2018.
00:03:00.120 I got the numbers for today.
00:03:01.120 I'll give it to you.
00:03:02.020 In 1970, if you go look at the numbers on where U.S. was at, we had 29% of all manufacturing jobs.
00:03:09.760 That was U.S.
00:03:10.620 Second was Russia.
00:03:11.680 Then Japan, Germany, U.K., France, Italy.
00:03:13.860 Look at China.
00:03:14.800 3.1%.
00:03:15.400 If you let this play out and you see where it goes to, by 2001, you know what you'll notice in 2001?
00:03:23.400 Let's look at 2001.
00:03:24.720 By 2001, we're at 25.6%.
00:03:27.360 We're still leading the way.
00:03:28.620 China goes from 3% to 8.2, nearly 3X-ing from 70 till today.
00:03:34.700 But if you keep playing it and see where it goes to today, it's this chart that I have in front of me.
00:03:39.820 China is now 31%.
00:03:41.940 U.S. is roughly 15.9%.
00:03:44.260 And it's projecting that by 2030, manufacturing jobs, you know how many is going to be China?
00:03:49.600 45%.
00:03:50.560 And by 2030, you know what U.S. is going to be?
00:03:53.060 11%.
00:03:54.340 This goes from having 18.6 million manufacturing jobs in 2000 in the U.S.
00:04:01.700 Fast forward eight years later, nine years later, that 18.6 drops to 11.4 million.
00:04:07.260 Six million is gone.
00:04:08.320 What happens to different states?
00:04:09.960 Let's look at it.
00:04:10.760 If you look at this chart, you go focus on 2001.
00:04:13.640 How's Michigan doing with jobs in 2001?
00:04:15.920 Now, keep in mind, Michigan back in the days got decimated because of what happened when China opened and they came in.
00:04:22.240 Like, whoa, you're kind of hurting us here.
00:04:24.180 That's the story you have of Michigan.
00:04:26.420 The 1980s, when they call it the Detroit auto industry collapse, between 1970 and 2010, Detroit lost over 50% of its population.
00:04:35.840 Unemployment in some neighborhoods hit 30% to 40%.
00:04:39.480 Why?
00:04:40.400 It's cheaper to build the same thing in a different country.
00:04:42.840 Why are we doing it in Michigan?
00:04:44.380 Bam, takes a hit.
00:04:45.540 Let's go to the next one.
00:04:46.720 Ohio.
00:04:47.360 Look at Ohio's numbers from 2001.
00:04:49.360 Look what happens to Ohio next.
00:04:50.780 When you go and look at some Ohio stories, what do you hear about?
00:04:52.840 September 19, 1977, a day known as Black Monday, the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company abruptly closes.
00:04:59.440 Campbell Works and Campbell Works Mill in Youngstown, Ohio, immediately laying off approximately 5,000 workers.
00:05:05.480 This is where the whole concept of Rust Belt comes out.
00:05:07.620 This continues.
00:05:08.400 Job losses.
00:05:09.440 Initial closed led to cascading effect, resulting in the loss of over 50,000 jobs and a Mahoning Valley within the next five years.
00:05:17.740 Population decline.
00:05:19.220 Youngstown population goes from 150 when it peaked in the mid-20th century to 65,000.
00:05:24.000 Unemployment hit 24.9% in the 80s.
00:05:26.560 This is even pre-WTO China joining us.
00:05:29.660 So when you look at Ohio, Ohio takes the hit.
00:05:32.600 Then when you go to Indiana, Indiana, the impact, Gary's population, this is the steels, Gary Works, was one of the largest steel mill in the world starting in the late 70s.
00:05:41.660 Production cuts on layoffs gutted the workforce from 175,000 people in 1960 to 70,000 people today.
00:05:48.680 100,000 people left because there are no jobs.
00:05:52.420 What am I doing here?
00:05:53.920 They went elsewhere.
00:05:55.260 Let's go to Pennsylvania next.
00:05:56.480 Look at Pennsylvania, how it drops from 2001, boom, to where it's at today.
00:05:59.860 Pennsylvania, Bethlehem Steel Collapse in 1995.
00:06:03.220 This was another one of those companies that employed thousands of employees, thousands of lost jobs.
00:06:09.200 City lost its economic injury.
00:06:10.520 The company officially declared bankruptcy in 2000 and what?
00:06:14.220 2001.
00:06:15.120 This company called Bethlehem Steel Collapse.
00:06:17.620 They have to go, why, after 2001, if you're going to open it up and you're going to have China coming in,
00:06:21.980 hey, guys, we got to do something about this.
00:06:23.420 We can't compete with cheap labor.
00:06:24.780 We're going to go elsewhere.
00:06:25.760 The investors, we're going to go do this business in China.
00:06:28.020 Illinois, same story.
00:06:30.240 Illinois, different company.
00:06:31.700 Chicago's union, stockyard closure.
00:06:34.280 Guess what year?
00:06:35.260 1971.
00:06:36.220 That's the day that, you know, Nixon allowed China to come and do all the trades that they were doing.
00:06:40.900 How many jobs lost?
00:06:42.260 40,000 jobs were lost.
00:06:45.140 That's Illinois.
00:06:45.680 I can't give you more stories.
00:06:47.380 North Carolina, if you go to Carolina from 2001, look at the drop that Carolina has.
00:06:52.160 Straight up.
00:06:52.840 It's not even like a small little dip.
00:06:54.700 Gone.
00:06:55.420 You go to Wisconsin.
00:06:56.980 Gone.
00:06:57.380 You go to New York.
00:06:59.060 Gone.
00:06:59.700 You go to California.
00:07:00.600 Look at California.
00:07:01.420 I was peaking.
00:07:02.340 2001, China joins the World Trade Organization.
00:07:04.960 Gone.
00:07:05.320 The aerospace industry collapse of 1990s.
00:07:08.460 L.A. County alone lost 200,000 aerospace jobs in the 90s.
00:07:13.060 Entire communities like Lancaster and Palm that once thrived around Lockheed and Northrop suffered mass layoffs.
00:07:19.940 But who benefited from it?
00:07:21.520 All the way on the other side is a country called China.
00:07:24.220 They benefited from this.
00:07:25.680 Policy seemed good short term, but it destroyed a lot of low and middle income people's lives in America.
00:07:31.900 So, Asberg, you may say, Pat, this is too dramatic.
00:07:34.400 Give it a break.
00:07:35.180 Give me a break.
00:07:35.760 You cannot be talking about this kind of stuff.
00:07:37.920 Here's a chart for you from Statista.
00:07:40.280 Okay.
00:07:40.500 Outsourcing viewed as the top threat to U.S. jobs.
00:07:44.360 This is 2016.
00:07:45.460 So, they scored it, right, on what they thought it was going to be.
00:07:48.800 So, number one, increase outsourcing of jobs to other countries was their number one fear is what they were most worried about.
00:07:55.900 Number two, more foreign-made products being sold in the U.S.
00:07:58.980 Where are they foreign-made products?
00:08:01.360 So, it's benefiting you, but it's being sold here.
00:08:04.060 Why are we not making it here and selling it here?
00:08:08.540 Number three, increased use of contract or temp employees.
00:08:12.540 Decline of union membership.
00:08:13.900 Automation of jobs.
00:08:14.860 Growing number of immigrant workers in the U.S.
00:08:16.960 The U.S.-made products being sold abroad.
00:08:20.300 Internet email, other office tech.
00:08:22.260 You would think that would be number one.
00:08:23.840 No, no.
00:08:24.420 But number one is what?
00:08:25.980 Outsource.
00:08:27.280 Outsource.
00:08:28.220 Cheaper labor.
00:08:29.700 Cheaper labor.
00:08:30.800 Who does it affect?
00:08:31.900 Here's what it affects.
00:08:32.760 Let's look at this.
00:08:33.940 Income gains.
00:08:35.000 At the top, dwarf does low- and middle-income households.
00:08:38.940 This is from 1979 till today.
00:08:41.880 Look what happened to the top 1%.
00:08:43.380 Very well.
00:08:44.360 It's looking really, really good for the top 1%.
00:08:46.540 But here's what's very, very interesting.
00:08:49.020 Look at next is the next 19%.
00:08:51.960 So you're in the top 20 percentile, let's just say.
00:08:54.520 They grew 116%, but you know who beat them?
00:08:57.780 The bottom 20% of workers in America.
00:09:00.860 Go in the early 80s in 1985, 1990.
00:09:03.980 Look what yellow is at the bottom 20%.
00:09:05.800 They're below zero.
00:09:07.100 But the bottom 20%, because the welfare state outgrew the next 19% of workers.
00:09:13.580 They're talking about you, by the way.
00:09:15.120 If you watch my content, you're somebody that wants to improve your life, do better.
00:09:19.260 You're working.
00:09:19.960 You're running a business, small business owner, salesperson.
00:09:22.160 Working at a job, want to bring value.
00:09:23.960 Why are we helping the bottom 20% more than we are those that are actually, they don't
00:09:28.280 need your taxes to be increased to pay them.
00:09:30.400 Why are we not rewarding them a little bit more?
00:09:32.800 And in the middle 60, you know what the middle 60 is?
00:09:35.760 Look where the middle 60 is at.
00:09:37.300 The lowest growth.
00:09:38.480 They don't have to do anything.
00:09:39.800 Jobs are cheaper elsewhere.
00:09:41.080 That's what's taking place.
00:09:42.400 But that's not, don't get me wrong.
00:09:43.680 You can find a way to improve yourself.
00:09:45.180 You can find a way to improve your valuation in a marketplace with different skill sets that
00:09:49.600 you learn.
00:09:50.380 But sometimes bad policies affect the people you were hoping to help.
00:09:54.920 Boom.
00:09:55.500 Those jobs went elsewhere.
00:09:57.380 So where are we going with this, Kyle?
00:09:58.580 What's your point?
00:09:59.080 I don't get it.
00:09:59.580 Why are we talking?
00:10:00.120 All of a sudden, you're fired up about this because everybody's talking about tariffs,
00:10:02.800 right?
00:10:03.560 A tariff this and tariff that and tariff this.
00:10:05.740 Well, tariff kind of got Apple to say, we're going to invest $500 billion in the U.S.
00:10:10.340 in the next few years.
00:10:11.340 Apple?
00:10:12.080 Yes.
00:10:12.340 What does it mean to invest $500 billion?
00:10:14.460 Is it like I'm going to put it in a mutual fund?
00:10:16.400 No.
00:10:17.040 Those are jobs.
00:10:18.460 They need people.
00:10:19.520 $500 billion.
00:10:20.420 Lots of money.
00:10:21.760 UAE, $1.4 trillion.
00:10:24.480 That's a lot of money.
00:10:25.560 Saudi, $600 billion.
00:10:27.460 Rolls Royce.
00:10:28.360 We're going to bring some of our jobs that's in Mexico, Canada, and China.
00:10:31.640 We're going to bring it to the U.S.
00:10:32.840 Why?
00:10:33.440 Because we have to.
00:10:35.020 Because these tariffs are kind of going to be cheaper to produce the stuff here than to
00:10:38.120 do it in Mexico, Canada, and China.
00:10:40.160 Bingo.
00:10:40.900 The jobs are coming here.
00:10:42.140 That's why.
00:10:43.100 The same way were these policies.
00:10:46.460 1971.
00:10:47.780 Let's let China come in.
00:10:49.240 2001.
00:10:50.020 An idea from Clinton's and some of the other guys.
00:10:52.140 Let's let them come and compete.
00:10:53.660 All they did is take our jobs.
00:10:56.040 And the way they're now creating the reciprocal tariffs and the fear being imposed on all these
00:11:00.900 other guys.
00:11:01.300 And by the way, on a side note, U.S. getting control of the two ports in Panama Canal.
00:11:06.820 You know how China feels about that?
00:11:08.280 That was one of their biggest leverage points that they had.
00:11:10.880 They lost control with that.
00:11:12.740 This is allowing U.S.
00:11:14.500 You, if you live in America, jobs are coming here.
00:11:17.360 You get to sit there and say, I just want people to get jobs here.
00:11:21.040 Why?
00:11:21.480 If people make more money, they get to take care of their families.
00:11:24.660 They get to have dignity where they can look in front of their wives and feel like they're
00:11:29.540 a man.
00:11:30.140 They can look in front of their kids, feel like they're a father doing their job.
00:11:34.600 They stand tall.
00:11:35.820 If they stand tall, crime goes down.
00:11:38.400 If crime goes down, communities do well because people felt safe and secure because they're
00:11:43.900 reinvesting into the communities.
00:11:45.420 But if jobs are going elsewhere, money's going elsewhere, your cities are going to be more
00:11:50.020 unsafe.
00:11:50.720 Crime is going to go up and we don't want that.
00:11:53.000 That's why to the people that understand business, sit there and say, look, this is kind of a
00:11:57.540 good idea, but it's going to be painful for a couple of years.
00:12:01.420 I don't know if we have the tolerance for it.
00:12:03.300 We're about to find out.
00:12:04.640 We're about to find out what the pain tolerance of us American citizens are going to be while
00:12:09.120 we're going through this process.
00:12:10.100 Anyways, if you got value out of this video, give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel.
00:12:14.040 And if you've not watched the video on what just happened with Panama Canal and the Black
00:12:18.960 Rock deal, taking it away from CK Hutchinson, if you've not seen it yet, whatever you do,
00:12:23.860 take 10 minutes and watch that video as well.
00:12:25.500 Click here to watch it.
00:12:26.220 Take care, everybody.
00:12:26.940 Bye-bye, bye-bye.