[garbawarb]

One other thing about the US is that they're stubbornly protectionist when it comes to jobs. They're scared to introduce efficiencies such as automating things like manufacturing because some people will lose their jobs in the short-term, even though it's better economically for the long-term. It's ironic that the country run by a Communist Party isn't afraid to embrace innovation like the US is afraid.

[influx]

Do you think strong unions play into this protectionism in the United States vs China?

[m463]

Reading the history of shipping, unions played a huge role in the slower transition from labor-intensive general shipping to containerized shipping.

multiple steps to get goods near a ship in a warehouse, prepared for the ship, manually loaded and packed, and more nonsense became just: drive the containers to the dock and load them when the ship showed up.

[Kim_Bruning]

I probably read this the wrong way around. I thought the question was about how the huge Chinese unions are involved in the nation's technological ascendancy. Which I really would like to learn more about!

[garbawarb]

It's a factor but it's also true of non-union jobs. Politicians are against any short-term pain because they're afraid they won't be elected. But it's just a part of the culture, US voters don't like it either (even if they're not the ones facing potential job loss)