On 19 Jan 2006 01:10:42 -0800, "kurgan" wrote:


Cliff wrote:

Cell phones, computers - 1980 supercomputer processing in a laptop, GPS
systems in cars, cars that last longer than 100,000 miles, plasma TVs,
etc.

Some of the car sare partly made in the US.
But, due to the increases in productivity & cuts in real
wages & bennies, GM & Ford are almost bankrupt, right?




GM and Ford will eventually go belly up because their cars simply
aren't competitive.

But there's been so much productivity gain ...
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEIR PRODUCTS?

And that's what it's about in the global marketplace. Competition.

Someone on this group recently wrote an excellent post overviewing the
rise and fall and rise again of American machine tool companies. The
same type of thing is happening in all of our industries.

Falling, right?

Do you go to the doctor or is your health care provided in-house?

I used to G. Three of my great-uncles were doctors ...

You
probably go to the doctor because they are a more efficient provider of
health care.

http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-life.html
DALE life expectancy in years :

Japan, 74.5
Australia, 73.2
France, 73.1
Sweden, 73.0
Spain, 72.8
Italy, 72.7
Greece, 72.5
Switzerland, 72.5
Monaco, 72.4
Andorra, 72.3.

"The United States rated 24th under this system, or an average of 70.0 years
of healthy life for babies born in 1999."

Cuba, 68.4 years (sanctions on things like medicines probably take a toll
but they have a lower infant mortality than the US IIRC even after that))

It's the same thing internationally. China sells us labor intensive
goods. Japan sells us cars. Italy sells us high fashion and fast cars.

IIRC The standard of living in Japan & Italy compare with that in the US.
And, per the above, they live better & longer ....

We sell all of them movies, information, and military
weapons/aerospace. No sense for anyone doing it in-house when someone
else does it better or cheaper or both.

"Kill for peace" again?

Consider how much of the GDP in the US is spent/wasted on military
things: It's about 5% of the US GDP. More (in US dollars) thet the rest
of the world combined.
That 5% is compounded NEGATIVE on the GDP.
95%
90.5%
85.7%
.....

Compared to what otherwise might have been:
1.00
1.05
1.10
1.16 .....

That's not exact but you get the idea .... and I don't
think it covers military sales & freebies to other nations
and may not cover the various secret expenses ...
--
Cliff