Here is the downside to cheaper prices, as reported on the ABC News website:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-3...ctices/5126652
Labor costs in the US are very low compared to Australia, which is one of the main inputs into any business. I was offered a job in the US, doing pretty much what I do now, and when told what I would earn in an hour, I just stared at them in disbelief.
We pay higher prices because of higher wages, high rents and higher Government compliant costs. Buying off shore and sending our money off shore is going to hurt local business and ultimate hurt us, as is the case in the US.
I am simply torn between going after the best price and ensuring local support, as at the end of the day, if we don't buy locally, we won't have jobs, and going after the cheapest price won't matter, because we simply won't be able to afford it anyway. And we cannot think that everything will be ok because we have social security benefits to fall back on, as we will end up like the US that has little in the way of social security benefits, simply because they cannot afford it, Australia is doing well at the moment, but we cannot be complacent and think it will remain that way.
Ultimately, we may have to expect a lower standard of living in Australia, if our money keeps going off shore, so I think the Government doesn't have much of a choice but to introduce a tax on all imports, and they will just add higher clearance costs to reflect the cost of collecting the tax. We lose either way.