On Sun, 28 Dec 2014 15:08:49 -0800, mike wrote:

On 12/28/2014 1:18 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Sat, 27 Dec 2014 22:26:29 -0800, mike wrote:

On 12/27/2014 9:44 PM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Sat, 27 Dec 2014 02:08:54 -0800, "Howard Beal"
wrote:


"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

We'll see what happens. My guess is, like what happened in the 1930s,
the people of the United States are not going to let their lives be
ruined because free-market theorists think they're economic market
objects to be "cleared." It's not a settling thought.

Ed Huntress

Seems there is already a big push in many states to implement right
to work legislation, now that repbulicans have control in washington
i believe they will try to revise federal labor laws to benifit the job
creators. Depending on who becomes president in 2016 things could
get much worse for labor. Iggy is correct technology will replace
much of the unskilled labor we use today. For example in near future
people that depend on driving for thier income will become obsolete,
same thing will happen with the airline industry, pilotless planes are in
our future. If AI ever becomes a reality the entire global ecconomy
will change, even ecconomists will be unemployed. G

Best Regards
Tom.

Iggy is right about the direction in which things are going, absent
any policy changes. But I doubt if the American people are going to
ride that technology- and ideology-driven death train all the way to
the bottom.

There will be a populist revolt -- a political one, not a violent one.

I wouldn't count on that. Those "above the line" have no incentive to
help those below the line. It's easy to
picket for equality when it's funded by someone else.
Even the do-gooders run out of steam when
their desire to help others costs them personally.
Would you pay 20% more for the same goods manufactured in America?

Lots of people do. But it's not just 20%. Newp, I see many, many
American-made goods at twice the price of imports.

I can get a dozen import LED bulbs for the price of one American-made
bulb, and the American-made doesn't have the added features of the
import. I'll be replacing my import 75W and 100W incandescent bulbs
(which the US doesn't even make any more, and is phasing out) in my
outdoor fixtures with import 15W LEDs. Most of my indoor lightingis
already CFL and LED. I've had nothing but trouble from the FEIT brand
CFLs, and it's a US company. I bought a dozen Chinese ULA CFLs in
2004 and 7 are still running. Chinese SATCO CFLs have outlasted all my
Feits, too, and they're half the price from local sellers. I have
dozens of other examples to soothe my "import buying" guilt.


We know we should, but we're standing in line at WalMart on sale day.
Not too long from now, we'll be standing in line at the soup kitchen.

Hey, WalMart happens to be the largest employer in the USA, behind the
gov't.
http://corporate.walmart.com/global-...-manufacturing
"According to data from our suppliers, items that are made, sourced or
grown right here in America already account for about two-thirds of
what we spend to buy products at Walmart U.S. But there is room to do
more."
That's good news, but contrary to what you read on the web.

http://www.demos.org/publication/not...facturing-jobs

The whole article is worth a read. It's on the internet, so it must
be true...

1. Buying billions of goods that weren’t made in America.

The vast majority of merchandise Walmart sells in the U.S. is
manufactured abroad. The company searches the world for the cheapest
goods possible, and this usually means buying from low-wage factories
overseas. Walmart boasts of direct relationships with nearly 20,000
Chinese suppliers,[iv] and purchased $27 billion worth of Chinese-made
goods in 2006.[v] According to the Economic Policy Institute, Walmart’s
trade with China alone eliminated 133,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs
between 2001 and 2006 and accounted for 11.2 percent of the nation’s
total job loss due to trade.[vi] But China is hardly the only source of
Walmart goods: the company also imports from Bangladesh, Honduras,
Cambodia, and a host of other countries.


Those below the line have no clout other than violence.

Not true. Boycotting can work, too. That's non-violent.

How does that work? If you can't afford
the foreign stuff, what are you gonna boycott? And what will you
buy instead with the money you don't have?

The concept that Chinese goods are inherently cheap junk is silly. the
Chinese are as capable of producing good stuff if required.

Chinese art, for example, is well into the top end of the art market
with 1st, 2nd and 6th place in the top prices paid in 2011.

Cummins Diesel started producing some of their smaller 6 cylinder
engines in China in 1995 and produce engines that are as good as any
that they build anywhere. They also have a factory in India a country
not noted for excellency either :-)

The Walmart example above is largely at fault for the concept that all
Chinese goods are shoddy - "The company searches the world for the
cheapest goods possible". If your overwhelming requirement is "Cheap"
then it is highly unlikely that you will be purchasing "quality".
--
Cheers,

John B.