Post #3099 J
- Why I Unsubscribed to Liberty Pen on Youtube. Let's be clear: I don't expect people to agree with all my political positions or even most of them. I think I am different from most people; during my undergraduate days I was more of a political liberal (who was pro-life and fiscally conservative), while my folks were more social and military conservatives; during my graduate studies starting with the MBA I become more of a laissez-faire conservative, as I grew ever more skeptical at the government's meddling with the economy. I maintained my Democrat registration during this period, but the writing was on the walls as progressives dominated politics nationally. As a military brat, I had been supportive of a strong military and American leadership in global affairs. However, I did have some reservations, e.g., over our involvement in Vietnam. I had my doubts over Bush's interventions but gave him the benefit of the doubt as having better information than I had access to. But then a Woodward biography of Bush's post-invasion policy, not to mention Bush's massive deficits and dysfunctional leadership during the 2008 economic tsunami made it clear my faith in politicians was misplaced. To give a policy example: whereas I had always favored immigration, I had been more focused on the zero-sum politics of quotas, e.g., the displacement of merit-based immigrants, vs. the concept of quotas themselves. Thus, in a number of ways, I independently migrated to a more libertarian perspective. I certainly had not followed other people with similar views; if so, I would never have left the groupthink of academic progressivism. Do I have strong views? Yes. Might they change in the future? Perhaps, although I don't see myself embracing an authoritarian Statist perspective. On certain issues, like my pro-life and fiscal conservatism, I have remained consistent my whole life. When I have modified my views, it's usually the result of having educated myself on the issues. The University of Houston did not preach a conservative perspective; in fact, I don't recall ever hearing an academic there, including my economics profs, sharing his political beliefs. In many ways, I was embracing a more consistent political philosophy along with an increasingly critical perspective on the State.
When I hear some argue that I am "close-minded", I have to laugh. It's usually just a typical ad hominem argument by someone losing the debate. For example, two of my best friends happen to be pro-abort. At least 2 of my closest relatives voted for Trump. I've shifted my original view on a number of issues and topics over the years (e.g., Lincoln, the atom bombs at the end of WWII) based on the evidence.
This being said,Victor Davis Hanson, a registered conservative Democrat, former classics professor and columnist (often featured on National Review). Enter LibertyPen, a Youtube content provider I've long subscribed to, even before I started this blog. I've probably embedded dozens, if not hundreds of Liberty Pen over the life of the blog. However, recently Liberty Pen released two clips featuring the work of Hanson: the first involved Hanson's rants on "illegal" Mexican immigration drawing on his California roots and the "need" to restrict it.; the second I didn't even bother listening to, but from context Hanson seemed to find inspiration in how the mainstream media seem to have gone ballistic in response in the just-begun Trump Administration. I was unnerved by Liberty Pen featuring an anti-immigrant rant which is anything but pro-liberty. (I responded with a critical comment and found myself being harassed by anti-immigrant Know Nothings.) Then when Liberty Pen featured a clip praising the authoritarian-leaning Trump, spitting out Executive Orders like a candy dispenser, it was a step too far. I sent the group moderator a note explaining my decision to unsubscribe. Here is their response:
"LibertyPen is primarily an Objectivist channel uses a libertarian perspective as a starting point. We don't aim to please the narrow audience of true libertarian believers. Instead, we seek to present worthwhile messages for consideration. In our view, reality sometimes gets in the way of tight libertarian doctrine. Sorry to see you go. Perhaps you will be back if your paradigm expands. Also, LibertyPen does not support/endorse/promote Hanson or any other presented speaker per se. We only endorse the messages. That is why you will find all range of speakers on LibertyPen. Truth is truth whether uttered from a hero or a scoundrel. Best wishes."
This is full of hubris. My issue was not a personal one with Hanson, who was solidly behind Bush's interventionist policies (among other positions I disagree with). It was precisely because of the messages, which I feel contradict the very thesis of liberty. Note that I don't mind honest debate, but xenophobic or right-fascist perspectives are ably presented by other media and I find it incongruous that a purported pro-liberty site is promoting them. The moderator suggests that I'm a close-minded, extremist libertarian; in fact, as a minarchist, I find myself under attack by right-anarchists as a heretic for allowing the State a minimal foothold. I am also pro-life, which is a position supported by maybe a third of libertarians. Arguing that a pro-liberty perspective is too limiting for popular appeal or inconsistent with reality is rather curious, and the moderator was defensive and didn't seem all that motivated to address my concerns. I am not ruling out embedding future clips from LibertyPen, but they will no longer serve as one of my primary feeds.
“I’m going to get Apple to start making their computers and their iPhones on our land, not in China,” Mr. Trump said in March, a theme he repeated throughout his campaign. “How does it help us when they make it in China?”
Trump has a very naive understanding of modern manufacturing and economics and seems to be unduly fixated on final assembly. First of all, by some estimates, Apple has a gross profit margin of about 40% on a $600 iPhone. Its assembly cost in China is in the range of about $8/phone. It's not just about saving maybe $50/phone in assembly costs vs. the US. A lot of the components are sourced to other Asian companies (in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, etc.), and others (like computer chips) (America). Since most of its supply chain is in Asia, it is much more efficient and effective to assemble near the supply chain. There simply isn't a comparable supply chain in the US, and Apple would face an enormous logistics problem in coordinating with Asian suppliers. Second, even if Trump tried to target China for assembling phones, Apple could easily shift assembly to a different Asian country (say, Vietnam), so Trump would be playing Whac-a-Mole, unless he starts a trade war with all of Asia. Third, in many cases, the Asian economies are very competitive. In one case, Steve Jobs made a design change but had a tight production window of a few months; US suppliers argued the window was infeasible. Their Asian competitors promised they could make it happen and did. Experts also point out that China has a larger supply of available production engineers and can deploy a large supply of relocatable workers on demand.
In the highly competitive market of smartphones, Apple must deliver on timely product cycles. Yes, it wants its labor costs under control, But to remain competitive, it needs to push out improved products on accelerated schedules, and local suppliers can't deliver it on them. American-based supply chains must reach more of critical mass to drive local assembly, and that's more of a long-term competitive response. Trump can facilitate the process, not by bullying Apple and other companies, but by lowering taxes and the regulatory burden.
