Panos for Progress: Thoughts and Selections

  It is possible. It'll take over a decade, and in today's values, it'll likely cost about $3,500 for a basic model  or about three times the current iPhone -Made-in-China price, as explained below. 1. In a recent interview, Apple's CEO Tim Cook said that manufacturing in China has nothing to do with cheap labor. That ended ten years ago. He stressed the tooling engineering expertise needed for such a powerful and miniature device. If I called for a meeting of suitable tooling engineers in the US, he said, I'd fill up a room. If I did the same in China, I'd fill up a stadium. 2. WSJ's Nicole Nguyen explained more:  Let’s talk assembly first…putting together the different components of the iPhone. This is very complex. Electronics manufacturing at scale has been perfected in China over a generation. The U.S. would need hundreds of thousands of skilled workers it doesn’t have, not to mention the facilities. Analysts say it would take many billions of dollars...

Eight updates on tariffs.   "The Trumpers, in addition to not knowing what they’re doing, don’t even know what they want." -- P Krugman Trump's tariffs are "highly likely" to reignite inflation, Fed chair Powell said on April 16. Broad based 10% tariffs will boost manufacturing employment by 100,000 jobs and decrease employment overall by five times as much, roughly 500,000 jobs. This is a normal case forecast that does not include a possible recession. --Goldman Sachs report on Axios China’s government has suspended exports of rare earth minerals and magnets, both critical to many modern industries and the military. Chinese airlines had plans to buy 29 Boeing aircraft in 2025. China halted imports of American jets. Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s top trade official, reportedly has "struggled to determine America’s aims." The travel industry was worth $1.3 trillion in 2024, and supported 15 million U.S. jobs, per the U.S. Travel Association. Too soon to tell,...

  The F-150 is the top selling vehicle in the US, with 732,139 units sold in 2024. Paul Krugman: Trump has slapped high tariffs on Canadian aluminum, which is cheap because smelting uses lots of electricity, and Canada has abundant hydropower. Yet Trump somehow thinks Canada is exploiting us by offering us a key industrial input at a good price.” WSJ: Ford’s F-150 trucks, one of the company’s biggest profit generators, are among the most aluminum-intensive vehicles on the market. The company a decade ago converted the trucks to a mostly aluminum exterior, including the hood, doors and truck bed, to save weight and enhance fuel efficiency.

This 5-point news brief by the CATO Institute is a must read. Excerpts below to whet your appetite. 1. “ We are a sovereign currency, we can print all the money we want to serve the people whom we serve .” By Former House Budget Committee chair John Yarmuth (D‑KY), testifying to Congress on October 19, 2023 CATO : Ignoring the threats posed by our ever-increasing debt will only exacerbate problems for future generations, burdening them with slower economic growth, runaway inflation, and higher interest rates. Panos : for a decade now, China and Russia are trying to dethrone the US$ as the main world currency, with some limited success. This will be huge help to them. Recall that up to WWII the British sterling was the leading currency. 2. “ It is time to scrap the cap, expand benefits, and fully fund Social Security .” By Senator Bernie Sanders (I‑VT) CATO : Despite the dismal outlook, leaders on both the left and right have failed to offer realistic solutions, while some law...