Mum and Dad often used to speak of an "England" in Japan that used to produce products as "made in England" just after the 2nd war. This was the period when you'd get a tin toy and upon investigation find that it was made from Baby Powder tins etc turned inside out and re-pressed. Recycling at it's very earliest :) John
If a company can get a tool built in China to the same standards for half price then thats where they will shop. If the American worker cannot compete then who is at fault? As consumers, we all want the best for the least cost. Look at what the Japanese did to the automobile industry by giving consumers what they wanted at a price they were prepared to pay. There is a lesson there so learn from it rather than complain about it.
Such is life.
Oldun
Apprenticeships at Mercedes and Volkswagen factories are highly sought after. They create careers that the workers are very proud of. It shows in their products. The Japanese (Toyota/Honda etc) are the same way--->THEY do the training in the technical- and 'people'-skills. Here, speaking as an Americanadian, all you hear is: "Once I get my ass into that union!!" Where is that pride you hear so much about in the ads?
The educational system seems to work for those kids who WANT to get ahead. Too many expect to be spoon-fed a degree. The problems start at home. So do the solutions.
That's just a Rovian smoke-screen. It's called misdirection, magicians operate on that principle.
Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but you will have to pardon me if I roll my eyes when you say politicians are only a small part of the problem. Most industrial nations are more unionized than the US, and union membership, power and influence has been on a steady decline for a while now. Don't tell me you haven't noticed the intimate connection between unions and politicians. Our educational system is government run--politicians again. Your assessment of the American work ethic isn't born out by some easily verifiable facts. We have the highest productivity and the highest GDP/capita in the world. The honesty of our greedy, callous CEO's, as hard as it may be to believe, compares favorably to most other nations. I heard more than one financial analyst joke that the way Enron cooked their books was the rule not the exception in the far east.
You imply that unions are a smaller influence in the US and are on the decline. Then you say that the US ranks high in productivity and GDP. Could there be a connection: weaker unions more productivity?
A lot of the productivity gains are due to the penetration of better technology, not better workers.
Our education system is 90% run by teacher's unions and 10% run by government. The government asically just sends money. Then when the government and the citizenry demand some accountability (as the No Child Left behind program tries to introduce), the teachers sabotage it instead of embracing it. In fact, the whole reason it was introduce is because the teaching establishment has failed misreably and they think only they can fix it.
Regarding our work ethic -- I keep hearing that the illegal immigrants come here to do work Americans won't do. Is that work ethic?
immigrants
For some. Do you do, or want to do, stoop labor for barely over minimum wage? If you have never done that kind of labor, you don't know what you're missing (fortunately). Or would you like to work as a maid, putting in a dozen hours a day six or more days a week? People take those kinds of jobs, normally, only in the hope they can advance from them. The current illegal immigrant set up locks the illegals into that kind of work with little or no chance at advance. That needs changing.
Just for a lark, I read the origins of what was on my bench a few minutes ago. Milwaukee jigsaw...Made in Germany. Milwaukee 1 3/4 HP router.. "assembled" in USA Milwaukee 2 1/4HP router .. "assembled" in USA Hitachi 12MV router made in Malaysia.
I think the "assembled" in USA is somewhat like some chocolate bars as of late: MAY OR MAY NOT CONTAIN SOME OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
Ya figgur a lawyer dreamt that one up?.. I think the whole world is going to pot....which MAY OR MAY NOT CONTAIN SOME OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING......
We won't get into why a minimum wage should not exist (that'd be a whole new spirited thread....
Given that there is one, why would a person in need not work the minimum wage and take two jobs if necessary? Oh, is it because they can live off of welfare - the lazy way out?
Are you saying we need a system where illegals can advance? That is BS. They broke the law and the rule of law is important for society.
Wouldn't it be simpler to make it possible for illegals to get into the country legally as long as work was available that no one else would do? Let the beneficiaries (direct) of illegal labor spend some money sending recruiters to wherever these people come from, paying for safe transport, bringing them into clean and decent conditions...aw, shit, though, we can't do that. Price of green beans will go up.
Work two minimum wage jobs? I've known those who do it. It is rough, especially if they have kids to raise, but it can be done. What the hell. Put in 80 hours or more a week flipping burgers so your local Big Mac purveyor can clog some more arteries in the process of increasing the value of his investment.
So you work for 20 cents per hour?
What are the choices? 20 cents per hour or nothing?
You've got some good ideas there in the first paragraph.
Your second paragragh is incorrect: you're darn right you take as many jobs as needed to support the fruit of your loins. It is not my responsibility to support your sexual irresponsibility.
Yet Volkswagen quality has been at the bottom of the heap for many years now. Audi is mediocre at best, and speaking of Mercedes, you had better get something when money is no object. American cars are much better than they are given credit for, and not all Japanese cars are just like a Lexus in reliability. I find most of them to be soulless and insipid and most of the people who drive them treat you like an idiot if you don't agree with sending thousands of dollars to the perpetrators of the Bataan Death March. Asian-Americans almost always drive Japanese cars, yet what the Japanese did to Asia was as bad as what the Germans did to the Russians. According to human nature, everything imported is better, no matter how obvious it is that it isn't better. In England, some people actually drink Budweiser. That about floored me when I heard that.
Volkswagens are built to a price-point. Not a good idea. Not even those Volkswagens made in Mexico. Audis are a hyper bunch. Incredibly complex, incredibly agile. $1200.00 tune-ups. Worth it if you're into that kind of thing. Mercedes is highly overrated in my opinion. Ranks amongst the highest in 'one-time buyer' syndrome in the luxury market. Many don't buy a second one.
Some are better than average. Many 'Japanese' cars like Toyotas are built in North America. (Many BMW's are made in Georgia.)
Cheap Toyota Corollas are more reliable than the big models that Lexus sells. ( My nephew is a service advisor for a Toyota/Lexus dealership in Kansas.)
Incredibly boring. Suddenly 1200 dollar tune-ups don't seem so bad, eh?
Indeed.
Couldn't agree more. Here in Canada, we make some of the better beer in the world, but Budweiser is all the rage in some areas. Go figure. Budweiser in the UK...mmmmm warm too? If my information is correct, Aussies don't care much for Fosters either.
Anyway, I agree with many of your observations. What you did not touch on was the difference in workers' attitudes, and that was the point I was trying to make.
Respectfully,
Rob
I think the BMW's are made in South Carolina, not Georgia (but I could be wrong).
I actually kinda like Budweiser, but it gives me a headache that feels like a mule kicked me the next day, so I drink Bass instead (it's a good trade with the Brits who are drinking Buds.)
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
IIRC, Honda is manufactured in the US as well.
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
I stand (sit) corrected. It's all 'down South' to me, a Kanuckistani. You know.. warm, sometimes rainy, sometimes really frickin' windy?
Having said that, I sure hope I did't start anything.
If ya weren't one of those brown-haired friendly people from the GWN, I'd be wondering about what's beyond Damn Yankee. %-)
Dave in Fairfax
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