Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet

[Lew Silverman]

That's not the only thing he needs to bring "home to America".

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Lew Silverman

That's not the only thing he needs to bring "home to America".

Lew,Lew,Lew. If they were made here the price would probably be triple the cost. What with EPA, ILGWU, fed and state taxes and permits.

[Ron Ortiz]

Ed, I can't begin to tell you how much I miss you and Jr down here in the tropics. You must schedule a short visit and you all will be entertained beyond imagination.

OK Lew, you asked for it. This here will be the rage on Class Racer.

Lets play a game. Check out the things we have in our homes and see where they are made. Today's search items will be;

Underwear
Toaster
Sheets
Light bulbs
Clock

Post your results here and Saturday we will have five new items to inspect their origin.

Ron Ortiz
made in Miami

[Ron Ortiz]

Underwear - Vietnam, Haiti.
Toaster - China
Sheets - India, China
Light bulbs - China, China, Assembled in USA with global components
Clock - China, USA (Grandfather clock)

Ron Ortiz

[Lew Silverman]

Here's mine, Ron -

Underwear - Costa Rica, Guatemala
Toaster - China
Sheets - China
Light bulbs - USA and China
Clock - Germany and China

And no surprises here! American companies found a way to have their products manufactured off-shore for less money and with less EPA, OSHA, DOL and DOJ regulations a long time ago. Paying some poor 12 to 14 year old 35 cents an hour to assemble your widgets is a heck of a lot more profitable than your American worker who, BY LAW, you have to pay a living wage and provide other benefits like health care and vacations. PLUS (and here's where it gets devilish), you can sell the item for well below what your altruistic competition can afford to, and because most folks only care about how much something costs, and not who makes it, you can drive him or her out of business!

(This is not a political statement, just an economic reality. The very real possibility is that the majority of the manufacturing that will be returning to the US will be done by robots, because that's what makes the companies more profits.)

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Lew Silverman

Here's mine, Ron -

Underwear - Costa Rica, Guatemala
Toaster - China
Sheets - China
Light bulbs - USA and China
Clock - Germany and China

And no surprises here! American companies found a way to have their products manufactured off-shore for less money and with less EPA, OSHA, DOL and DOJ regulations a long time ago. Paying some poor 12 to 14 year old 35 cents an hour to assemble your widgets is a heck of a lot more profitable than your American worker who, BY LAW, you have to pay a living wage and provide other benefits like health care and vacations. PLUS (and here's where it gets devilish), you can sell the item for well below what your altruistic competition can afford to, and because most folks only care about how much something costs, and not who makes it, you can drive him or her out of business!

(This is not a political statement, just an economic reality. The very real possibility is that the majority of the manufacturing that will be returning to the US will be done by robots, because that's what makes the companies more profits.)

Lew, if these companies weren't employing them they would be eating more dirt. Like it or not, US corporations fuel jobs and economies in these countries. If they didn't, you would have economic chaos around the world. Like the Kid from Brooklyn says "Think about it".

[Lew Silverman]

Originally Posted by Ed Fernandez

Lew, if these companies weren't employing them they would be eating more dirt. Like it or not, US corporations fuel jobs and economies in these countries. If they didn't, you would have economic chaos around the world. Like the Kid from Brooklyn says "Think about it".

And that's "globalization"! And as bad as I feel for those poor folks working in sweat-shops in places like Cambodia and Indonesia, wasn't the last election about bringing jobs "home"? We may eventually have to pay more for the things we purchase (because the idea is that the multi-national corporations who make everything aren't going to be "eating" the increased production costs!), but that's what the new economy is going to look like. And then we can go back to blaming the Chinese for the demise of Oldsmobile and Pontiac!

"Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true!"

[Pinballer]

I'll play.

Underwear: Hanes from Cambodia, Jockey from Vietnam
Light Bulbs: surprisingly from the USA
Sheets: India
Clock: USA, but it's as old as I am, so not surprised
Toaster: Proctor Silex, also from the dark ages, USA