O/T: IRS Rebate Check

[B A R R Y]

Remember "Shop Class?"

[J. Clarke]

So what? Your contention seems to be that one nation accumulating wealth results in the destruction of another. Do you have _one_ case in which a nation conquered a superpower by buying it?

The total value of all publicly tradeded securities is ten times the value of all the gold in the world, so what does gold have to do with anything?

Yes, the Chinese are accumulating wealth. So what? They should manage their economy so that it becomes smaller every year? The question is whether they can accumulate US assets faster than the US can produce them. Since 1945 the Chinese have managed to accumulate

3.5 percent of the outstanding US government debt. In that time the US GDP has increased more than 600 percent. So far the Chinese, if, for some reason they should want to buy control of the US, are not coming at all close.

Why mention it at all in a woodworking newsgroup?

So Exxon and Monsanto and Pfizer and Intel and Microsoft aren't selling "profitable items" and all that income they are reporting is the result of cooking the books?

I dropped my subscription to the Courant decades ago when the rabbit died and I didn't need to to line his cage anymore.

But I have no idea what you believe your point to be--Connecticut is an obvious place to advertise for casino workers, considering that Connecticut has the largest casino in the Western Hemisphere (or perhaps you forgot about that?).

Why retrain machinists as "casino dealers"? Why not train them to be doctors or lawyers or accountants or paralegals or nurses or medical technicians? If everybody in Connecticut is out of work then who's buying all the Hummers I see on the street? And if nobody in Connecticut has disposable income then who is frequenting that casino?

Sorry, sounds to me like your machinist job went away and you don't have the job-hunting skills to find another job that you like so rather than blaming yourself for your own shortcomings instead you're trying to scapegoat the Chinese.

[J. Clarke]

One problem he might be having is that the government of the state of Connecticut, despite decades of lip service to creating a climate conducive to attracting new business, has nonethelese managed to put Connecticut 39th on the list of desirable locations to start a business.

[Charlie Self]

Friend or enemey, makes little or no difference. This whole discussion has already taken place, with the Japanese as the buy-up villains, maybe 15 years ago, 20 or so. We don't hear much of that any more.

China may seek to buy up U.S. businesses, but I'm inclined to doubt they'll succeed. If not, when things get too far along, it's a simple matter for our goverment to expropriate all foreign-owned businesses necessary to U.S. defense against terrorism, or whatever other excuse works that day.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Why not ask the guys that have been laid off from Electric Boat? The skilled welders. ironworkers, etc. that went from $30 an hour to $5 casino dealers. Or from many of the industries that have closed and moved jobs to Mexico and China. Maybe one of them can be your doctor.

Never was a machinist. I'm still at the same job for the past 19 years and plan to stay another 19 or so. I'm very well paid and like my work so I have no plans to retire, thank you.

[Lew Hodgett]

Actually, no.

Back in those days "shop" wasn't considered a prereq for engineering school; however, Latin was.

Think I would have rather had the "shop" classes than Latin.

Lew

[B A R R Y]

Same here. I had shop in 7th and 8th grade public school, but the Catholic high school I attended, like so many public schools today, didn't offer shop.

FWIW, My Catholic high school turned out a Governor of CT, and two mayors of a CT city. All three guys ended up in prison. =8^0

The Gov. and one mayor were simply corrupt. Mayor #2 hired hookers and told them to bring their kids! I played high school football with mayor #2.

[Lew Hodgett]

I was fortunate enough to attend a public school in a small, liberal arts, college town.

Needless to say, there was a serious focus on academics.

My kids recieved their education at Catholic schools in a large metropolitan area.

IMHO, didn't get fair value for the tuiton paid when compared to what I received.

Lew

[J. Clarke]

So let's see, those workers, who were making twice the national average for machinists, got laid off because the US government is now buying nuclear submarines from Mexico and China?

As for "casino dealers", how about they go for the 89 percent of jobs in casinos that pay _more_ than "dealer", which is one of the lowest paid jobs in that particular industry (it pays about half as much as "locker room attendant")? Mean hourly for casino workers is about $12.10, a pay cut from the $16.60 mean for machinists but not that much of one.

You're the one who's on about retraining as "casino dealers" instead of for some other occupation, like "casino dealer" is the _only_ occupation that exists. What's _wrong_ with a machinist becoming a doctor? Do you think that they're too _stupid_ or something?

So what's your problem? Or do you just like to whine?

[Robatoy]

May I introduce to you: Kettle, Pot...Pot, Kettle. . . . . . sorry guys, my filter had a leak.

*fixed*

[Mark & Juanita]

Didn't have to take Latin, but I really wished I'd have taken drafting in High School. That EDEE class was a killer for somebody who hadn't done orthographic projections before.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Nah, just like to get you cranked up. Worked again.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Ranking may have changed, but when we lived in Philly, the Catholic school systems was ranked in the top 5 in the country while the public school systems was ranked in the bottom five. When we moved we put our kids in the Catholic school here and realized it was a mixtake. The public shoool was much better, but still not nearly as good as what we had in Philly.

The current trend is to just throm money at it rather than try to truly fix the problems. Teachers are not allowed to discipline, parents mostly won't and the kids don't give a damn.

[F F]

I was going to give to the Arabs,but Yard Sales sounds like a good idea.

Thank You.

[Lew Hodgett]

I'm convinced living in a town of less than 20,000 in a very profitable farm community that had a liberal arts college owning 1/4 of the city incorporated area created a rather unique situation.

Many of the college faculty were very active in helping to form public school policy.

About 10 years ago, they built a new high school.

We were given a tour during a class renunion.

You needed a GPS to navigate your way around the place.

Lew

[JimR]

[snip]

It's already happened -- the Chinese refrigerator and appliance company Haier has a manufacturing plant next to I-95 in South Carolina -- (not too far away from the BMW and Michelin plants near Greenville) --

[Hank]

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:zRvRj.7739$ [e-mail]:

Ewin, You are both correct and incorrect. JC brought back gold that that was taken by conquest (didn't mine it, refine it etc.). He also brought back slaves (worth a pretty sesterce (sp?). and much other plunder. Selling this stuff paid his army (actually the army was well paid without this) a bonus.

[Hank]

"J. Clarke" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

New York must be 50th.

[Hank]

"J. Clarke" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Didn't the UK at one time refuse to honor it's debt (bonds)?

[Hank]

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in news:4VcRj.601$PY5.324 @trnddc01:

Don't remember. Was moving off shore.