Thread: Video_ Buy, Buy, American Pie

Originally Posted by Sailor

...As long as people in the western democracies demand cheaper items, companies keep producing them where they can make it cheapest. It goes all down to you and me my friend.

Yes, this is part of my argument. There are a variety of reasons that Americans (and "westerners" in general) bristle at the glut of imported goods in our stores. Some see it as a loss of jobs, while others see it as exporting human misery. Many of us see it as both.

This goes to the heart of Straight razor shaving. The idea that "durable" goods can be made more cheaply by finding the cheapest labor and manufacturing them with the cheapest materials really just leads down the slippery slope to disposable goods. Shaving is the best example. We all know that a quality razor will last several decades. Sure it costs $150, but it'll outlive our children. I'd rather pay an artisan a fair wage for quality (whether his shop's in Solingen, St. Louis, or Shanghai) than dump money into an enterprise that makes future landfill on the backs of desperately poor people.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Good luck. That's never a joyous event.

Phew! Glad that's over...

Actually, my meeting was surprisingly pleasant. In the past couple of months I've had several meetings with the IRS and come away very impressed by how courteous and professional they've been. It's actually been almost nice to deal with them. Almost.

Until last year Canada was a bigger trade partner with the US than China.
I never hear anyone complain about outsourcing to Canada...

Foreign products and services account for a small fraction of the US GDP. That fraction is on the rise, but it's still less than 11%. Trade with China is just over 2% of GDP.

International Trade Administration for all the foreign trade statistics you want.

Originally Posted by JMS

Maybe I'm just getting to be an old fuddy duddy but I find no humor in it. We as Americans are all in the middle of this crap and here you have a group idiots making themselves feel superior by making fun.

That's all.

As Bruno said, we only have ourselves to blame, we voted for the a-holes who have sold us out, Ike got rid of the watch factories, Johnson brought in Toyota and Datsun in the late -60s, Tricky Dick gave our electronics industry to Japan, Carter gave away the Panama canal and Slick Willy gave everything including the nuke secrets to China. BTW, remember the AWACS jet Bush Jr. gave them. Left or right, the politicians have sold us out. Remember that in November when you have the chance to vote Independent of the two party system. May God bless America, in spite of ourselves.


PS. During the debate on Nafta, 85% of all phone calls, emails and letters from the American Public to Capital Hill were against Free Trade, the Corporations won despite the odds, but I have to ask you, who does own your government. It wasnt we the people.

It's because the U.S is terrified of China. One false move and they come to Washington and demand their debt paid in full so we will never demand or insist anything of them.

One day people here will wake up and realize this country is owned lock stock and barrel by those who hold our debt.

40 years from now we will be making cheap products to export to the world powers-which won't be us.

That could be here down under ! We have now become major importers of food, it seems we are no longer self sufficient, it stinks.

Originally Posted by heelerau

That could be here down under ! We have now become major importers of food, it seems we are no longer self sufficient, it stinks.

That depends on whether you export as well. You can't be good at producing everything, if only because of climatological reasons. There is no shame in importing stuff as long as you export enough other stuff so that it balances out.

Originally Posted by Bruno

That depends on whether you export as well. You can't be good at producing everything, if only because of climatological reasons. There is no shame in importing stuff as long as you export enough other stuff so that it balances out.

Here is an example of what I consider admirable nationalism and protectionism. In the '60s and '70s, and maybe still, Campagnolo of Italy made the finest professional bicycle racing components. Reynolds of England made the finest tubing for bicycle frames. No matter the country, Britain, USA or wherever on high end pro level bikes those were the components used. Except for France. The top of the line pro Peugeot was made entirely of French made components from top to bottom and end to end.

They provided their workers and manufacturers with jobs and the hell with the rest of the world. In the USA greedy entrepreneurs have killed the goose that laid the golden egg for filthy lucre. Offshoring jobs to pay slave wages with no regulatory agencies to constrain them from abusing their workers with poor and many times unhealthy or unsafe working conditions.

Right now China has a growth rate of 12% and here in the USA people are asking why the stimulus didn't work. If there is nobody making anything that you can smell, taste or touch there is no growth. A consumer based economy can't last forever and ours is down the tubes. If you're not as old as I am you won't remember when a man could support his family, have a home, a car or two and send his kids to college while simultaneously saving for retirement on one job. It used to be that people didn't need two or three jobs to make ends meet.

Thanks Jimmy I agree. There are many of us who still believe that campy has the best components and reynolds is one of the best steels, but Dedacciai is funner to say
Actuallky lately I've moved to smaller boutique type companies for my components and most are American. I go that way for many reasons, but mostly because I can request specific retooling from these guys without too much fuss.
I find myself living primarily off of artisans and boutique manufacturers whenever possible. It becomes difficult when/if they go out of business or if they get too big for themselves. Occasionally though I do have to rely on droids for certain items; if my chickens don't lay enough or I can't afford home baked bread from my pastor. But let me tell you that my eggs are better than store bought (although smaller), and my pastors bread is way better than the preservative laced bricks of processed flour available from our local droid-mart.

-G

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

In the USA greedy entrepreneurs have killed the goose that laid the golden egg for filthy lucre.

Entreprenuers are the goose that lays the golden egg. No on gets a factory job if there is no factory.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Offshoring jobs to pay slave wages with no regulatory agencies to constrain them from abusing their workers with poor and many times unhealthy or unsafe working conditions.

We bring in more jobs than we outsource. The jobs that we take from foreign countries are higher paying as well. There are probably people in China complaining about how all of the good jobs are being sent to the United States.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Right now China has a growth rate of 12% and here in the USA people are asking why the stimulus didn't work.

The stimulus not working doesn't have anything to do with outsourcing of American jobs. The two aren't at all related.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If there is nobody making anything that you can smell, taste or touch there is no growth. A consumer based economy can't last forever and ours is down the tubes.

A consumer based economy requires the consumed goods to come from somewhere... Remember that nearly 90% of our goods and services are produced here. Of the remaining 10%, we do have a trade deficit, but after you account for exports (=American jobs) the trade deficit is roughly 3% of GDP.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If you're not as old as I am you won't remember when a man could support his family, have a home, a car or two and send his kids to college while simultaneously saving for retirement on one job. It used to be that people didn't need two or three jobs to make ends meet.

The tax rates used to be much lower and people didn't have as much debt. In the era that you grew up, people didn't buy nearly as much on credit as they do today. People didn't have the same spending habits that we do today.