Joined
·
4,072 Posts
Many still have their heads buried in the sand and fail to realize what’s happening around them.
Far too many and Far too deep…
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
Joined
·
3,777 Posts
Americans: We like cheap stuff, but we insist on high wages, lots of benefits, lots of OSHA and EPA regulations, labor unions, etc.
And we criticize China for not following our suit---but we continue to buy whatever is the cheapest stuff we can find.
And we criticize China for not following our suit---but we continue to buy whatever is the cheapest stuff we can find.
Joined
·
4,871 Posts
buy local
Joined
·
7,338 Posts
From a consumer standpoint, previous generations didn't have near the number of options. And quality isn't what it was.
Joined
·
7,338 Posts
I buy local when I can, myself. But I have my limits. I have to say, if I don't need it right away, I order parts from the likes of rockauto.com. Same brands at about half the cost. I like to shop local but I'm not a charity.
Joined
·
4,871 Posts
I agree and do the same.
Middle ground is key.
Joined
·
4,072 Posts
One of those plants is local… and 900 jobs will be lost.
Joined
·
4,871 Posts
That is too bad.
What I meant by local was small family farms as opposed to big corporations.
Joined
·
18,880 Posts
Previous generations didn't have the choice. The US Government was funded by tariffs and duties. This was done back when the federal government wanted to save US jobs. The most recent one that comes to my mind was the tariff on wool. Any wool or wool product that was imported had a tariff slapped on it. Then the money collected went to somehow subsidize sheep farmers, so they could afford to raise sheep. The price of wool stayed low, the price of meat stayed low, but the farmer could stay in business.
A couple hundred years ago, the English Empire had a plan to keep their subjects poor and make Britain wealthy. Simple plan. England imported raw materials and exported finished goods. Today, we know that as "value added". It didn't take long for the Colonies to see that if they sold their raw materials and bought just finished goods, they were like slaves. We took on the World's largest army to get out of that lopsided plan. Somehow, unlike the Colonies around the world, we were able to break free.
Sad that in just a few decades, we have managed to give that all away, to China. As an example, every tree in the US, west of the Continental Divide, is, at some point owned by a Chinese company. Logs leave the US to return as furniture.
Joined
·
3,777 Posts
I think it was President Nixon who announced that the US would no longer be a manufacturing country, but rather it would be a service country. That was about the time when all of the US steel mills and such were sold to China and shipped there. Nixon also was naive about China. He thought that if the US was nice to China, China would be nice to the US and that we could develop them as our ally.
Of course, when an American gets paid for providing a service to another American, the net national income is zero.
But when we make something and sell it to a foreign country it is a tiny boost in the net US economy. So ever since the US transitioned from being an exporter of goods to being an importer, our world economic status has declined.
And sadly, the few American billionaires care more about their own wealth than helping the nation. (I.e., they ship American jobs to China, India, Mexico, or wherever they can maximize their profit.)
Of course, when an American gets paid for providing a service to another American, the net national income is zero.
But when we make something and sell it to a foreign country it is a tiny boost in the net US economy. So ever since the US transitioned from being an exporter of goods to being an importer, our world economic status has declined.
And sadly, the few American billionaires care more about their own wealth than helping the nation. (I.e., they ship American jobs to China, India, Mexico, or wherever they can maximize their profit.)
Joined
·
3,777 Posts
Congress has been a player, too. They have delegated their responsibility for making laws and running the country to unelected Federal agencies that make laws, which they publish in the massive Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
OSHA, EPA, EEO, and all the other agencies make it more expensive and more difficult for a domestic US company to operate.
OSHA, EPA, EEO, and all the other agencies make it more expensive and more difficult for a domestic US company to operate.
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
