astromeria.. you would love the "Unity Day" festivities all around Italy -- chance for the downtrodden workers to sing stirring communist songs.
"Made in Italy" is a big issue here, with bazillions of economic commissions, etc. (read, money wasted) to protect local industries. But the only glimmer of growth is in high-tech, for which Italy is only slowing adapting itself, with some successes in bio-tech and specialized manufacturing, like helicopters. The fabulous textile mills are mostly gone, along with the leather trade, the clothing trade. Big protections for agriculture but that, too, is fading for obvious reasons mentioned by 3 Yrs to Go. The EU is doing its damndest to extirpate any possible 'home-grown' advantage (legislating the permissible length of asparagus and trying to abolish wood-fired pizza ovens Union-wide are but two of their infamous diktats). The Italian companies that are having success are those who invest overseas, no doubt about it. Fashion and eyewear (go LUX!) designed in Italy but made in China.
In the US I used to be a "liberal", but here, between the unions and the gov't. I see first hand that socialism and protectionism has not helped the Italian worker; instead, it's just another form of slavery. The salaries here are (take home) about $1200-1500/month, even for people with degrees, like computer programmers. (Of course, you can't fire most people, though).
As if that weren't enough, cartels and protectionism ensure that consumer goods cost double or more: normal Braun coffeemaker made in Germany, no auto-shutoff: here $70 (literally identical model in the US =$20); normal fridge (1/2 American size) $650. Banks charge high monthly fees for any kind of account AND charge you to close your account. You can't find even medium-cheap-quality items of clothes or shoes for less than $40, even at 1/2-off sales (fondly remembering my last trip to Marshall's and the $11 skirt I got). P.S. Sales are only allowed on certain weeks of the year, in January and August!!! Not sure who that is supposed to protect... the shopkeeper who can't move stuff as quickly as he'd like? the consumer who's forced to pay higher prices year-round? or the worker who ends up producing less due to reduced demand..
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Everyone is so caught up in "protecting" their special labor class or business interest that it hurts everyone.
I like Nords' comment:
We're kicking butt in the industry of dreaming up (or discovering) new concepts and finding ways to pay other country's workforces to execute them for us while we retain the lion's share of the margins. It's the ultimate outsourcing.
tho' you could replace "concepts" with "must-have trinkets" and cover a lot of it. The whole world aspires to have American-style "stuff". All we have to do is make sure we keep raising the bar and cashing in on the margins.
Plus, there are things worse than "services". What does Goldman Sachs provide if not a service? Only a few types of services can be easily outsourced; for instance, I hear there's big money to be made in the handyman biz!