have you been noticing?

[mbouse]

Or is it just me? seems everyone is having a “last chance” save big sale lately. Getta T-shirt if you renew now.. get an extra 20% off if you act this week. Only 3 days left. Getta Free Hat. Our catalogue suppliers and internet sales contacts all seem to be weekly hitting us hard and heavy.

NOT good. I see that the Sturgis GM dealer has spaced his vehicles every other parking space to give the illusion of a full lot. The competing GM dealer in town lost his business the first of the year. I see the Coldwater GM dealer carrying Toyotas and Hondas in his used car lot for the first time I can ever recall. I drive past the Chrysler dealer in Coldwater near daily; their inventory never changes it seems. The “Little-Tikes” plastic blow mold factory here in town recently laid off over 150 workers. And the UPS panel truck builder on the south side of Sturgis just did the same thing a couple of weeks ago. I guess my purchase of the swing set, and my many parts deliveries via parcel post did little to keep those folks on the job.

I must be the only one stimulating the economy, cuz we sure aren’t feeling any major surge in buying from our customers at this shop either. Good to hear about Steelcase getting the Taco Bell account, that will return many laid off Michigan workers to their jobs. I’d love to know that this was new business, and not a shift from a supplier that just went under. One of the engineers here recently visited Borg-Warner to hear that they are losing an average of one vendor per week to bankruptcy.

My office seems to be busy quoting existing work that the buyers are anxiously looking to resource. Lots of quotes, and no action. Nothing new is being quoted. Purchasing agents seem to be feeling out every supplier and preparing an alternate source for all major inventory items. We are quoting the new Camaro bows for the convertible. But, in my opinion, the likelihood that this version of the car hitting the dealerships in this calendar year are extremely slim; and I am not certain that the hard top version will actually hit production either.

The most exciting thing to hit this shop in two years has been the new windmill parts. Alternative energy is getting huge tax breaks across the country, and our parts are going somewhere in Nevada. Unfortunately, volume is very low.

I am concerned about what I will be doing this summer. Might be that I have scads of time available to go Fiating…the rumor is that even without filing for bankruptcy, Detroit is bracing for a nine week summer shutdown, rather than the usual two week model changeover break. 15% of our business is non-automotive… but that still means that 85% of the already short list of workers here will be unneeded for two full months. Since I am barely busy for three hours/day, I can only begin to imagine how painfully bored I am gonna be on a daily basis this summer. I am gonna lobby hard for a short office work week.

At the same time, I am thanking God that my job is still intact, and has yet to be given to a rice paddy farmer somewhere in China. At least, for now. BUY American, save an American family. Boycott Wal-Mart and Harbor Freight. That pacific rim built crap is robbing us blind.

[Gunsmith]

I used to own a technology company that cabled large buildings or large groups of buildings for computers and telephones. I cabled countless Wal-Marts, Kmarts etc. and could hardly find anything in their distribution centers made on this Continent, they even shafted Mexico! Trying to find items made in the US can be almost impossible. I canceled my Browning dealership because I could never get product in a timely manner and with a little research basically found out that Browning imports almost everything from overseas so if it is not on the container shipment you have to wait months for the next container to arrive. When I questioned my Rep about it he said that's just the way it is. So even a company which you would assume would try and produce an American made product does nothing of the sort.

Of course trying to run a factory here in the US is nearly impossible so that's the way it is going to be for a long while I suppose.

My Chinese friends were going back to China for a visit and they wanted to know what they could bring me back from there. I told them to find me something over there made in the USA because it seems everything I own is already made in China.

[So Cal Mark]

they could bring back a Buick, since that seems to be the main market for that car. Since Ford and Chrysler build cars in Mexico, does that make them imports, and the Hondas, Kias and Toyotas from Tennessee are domestic cars?

[racydave]

We have been hit also. Anymore the work week is'nt. And my son still can't find employment...

[rlux4]

You're right Mike. Everywhere you look you see evidence of what I believe is a major shift in the world economy. I'm afraid that the US has lost it's leadership position as an exporter of goods. This could probably have been predicted. Consider China and India, both have huge, mostly poor populations. It only makes sense for those who manufacture goods to go where the labor is cheaper, which it is in these countries. Where the US is missing the boat is not positioning itself to be the leader in the next, most important commodity: technology. I don't see the emphasis placed on education it would take to be ready to be the leader in this field. The money it would take to have good (not just adequate) schools is being diverted by politicians for more pork.
I'm just glad that what I do can't be outsourced!
Ron

[pope]

Schools get enought money already. Some individual school districts waste their allotment.

In Michigan, they have had declining enrollment for a decade, and yet have kept all the schools open. The state just took over the Detroit schools district and will close 52 schools over the next two year, for a starter. Detroit schools had a $300 million deficit this past year.
You want to clean up schools...get rid of tenure.

[So Cal Mark]

them dumb kids don't need no edukation, they just gonna be diggin ditches anyway. Let's ban the teechers unions, cut theys pay to minimum wage like they deserve, and close them kollages too. This will be good for bizness too, cheep labor will make our produx more cheeper so's we can compeet with them chineeses

[rlux4]

I coulnldna sed that gooder.
Ron

[mbouse]

you are right, Ron. Major shifts were predictable... and we are not stepping up to the plate to replace the lost jobs.

i personally could care less who makes my hand tools, providing they are a one time purchase unit..meaning they have sufficient quality to last my lifetime AND my society collectively has the economic strength to support itself while importing.

eventually, i expect all hand tools to be made "Over there". makes economic sense, when they don't care about pollution and the health of their people. But... We gotta have work here too. what have we replaced that work with?

you can have all the HArbor Freights you desire AFTER you provide work alternatives for me and my co-workers here in the USA. Don't forget who your friends and relatives are. Don't expect Kuang Lee to attend your next birthday party. but, be sure he will celebrate your unemployment.

[wengr]

In my business, I interface with alot of young people. All great kids, but without exception the most intellectually advanced, socially adept, and just plain nice to work with are the home schooled kids. Here in Northeast PA. the typical public school teacher starts at 1.5 times the average salary for this area. Due to a powerful and out of control union, those that have have been around awhile earn up to 3 times the average salary. Factor in the almost 3 month vacation and the disparity is even greater. At present the FBI is here investigating the very long rumoured idea that prospective new applicants pay for the jobs. Nepotism here is also rampant. And the result of all this excess? Ever rising property taxes and declining test scores. Pope is correct. Tenure should be banned. Mark, in the event that you are a sole proprietor, then I would assume you actually have to get up and go to work each day in order to get paid. Also, is your job\income security not tied to the quality of your performance? Is your income (like it or not) somewhat tied to the customer base's ability to pay? Why should a teacher or anyone else be any different. If you are truly concerned about the quality of education, you should be very concerned about unaccountable teachers with questionable motives.

[wengr]

you can have all the HArbor Freights you desire AFTER you provide work alternatives for me and my co-workers here in the USA. Don't forget who your friends and relatives are. Don't expect Kuang Lee to attend your next birthday party. but, be sure he will celebrate your unemployment.

I wonder who is the "you" in AFTER you provide work alternatives? The government? who? I do not have a Michigan newspaper, but even now on the downside of an economic cycle, I bet there are some work alternatives in the classifieds? Or maybe you mean alternatives more to your liking? the point is that sustainable jobs are a natural by product of a healthy free market economy. they can not and should not be manufactured or guaranteed by the government. sometimes the answer to who is responsible for your work alternatives is in the mirror.

[mbouse]

as of the end of March, Michigan's unemployment rate was above 12%, verses the national average of 9%. Both are dismal figures, to be sure; especially when the Michigan number ignores anyone actively seeking work but have run out of their alloted 26 weeks of govt subsidy.

all good questions. Who? What? We, or them?

"Sustainable jobs" and "Healthy free market" my questions in reply are: do those things naturally occur when the government takes controlling interest of corporations like General Motors?? or, does a "Healthy free market" allow General Motors to fail and file Chapter 7 ?? does that "Healthy free market" include Federal dictation of LLC to partner with Fiat? i think not. i believe we've collectively given up on a "Healthy free market" environment.

i am not an advocate of the current interventions of what used to be purely capitalistic, for profit decisions. this society has lost the concept of paying the concequences of one's decisions. we as a whole are no longer held accountable for our actions. Which i maintain includes our decisions to buy Chinese verses buy American....there are concequences to those decisions. our government is a machine that feeds on itself, and us; growing larger and larger as we abdicate our personal responsibilites to be self supporting.

i don't even know where a Harbor Freight store is in my area. i know they exist. i certainly know where the Craftsman department is in every Sears store in driving distance of my house. i do my utmost best to buy American, knowing that i consume some products made overseas. it is not possible to exclusively buy Amercan anymore. however...i believe i am in the minority.

Harbor Freight has become my personal icon in protest of our collective mindset to ignore our responsibilities to our society. less government, not more. MORE personal accountability, not less. i believe that answers your questions of me.

[radiopilot]

It's kind of hard to say 'buy American' when you're driving a foreign car with replacement parts made in Europe or Asian countries. The way I look at it we have two choices: buy whatever items are still made here in America that cannot be made outside the U.S., or buy those items made outside the U.S. with the realization that either we sustain their economy by buying their products which in turn keeps their workers working or we give billions of dollars in aid which in turn does not provide anything for us in terms of imports, etc.

There are thousands of American jobs dependant on these foreign companies whether we wish to buy those products or not. The company I work for now produces rocket/missile components and not one single part can be made using materials outside the U.S. based on strategic initiatives by the Pentagon/military... yet these items can be sold to other countries... sounds like a double standard to me, but it keeps jobs here.

I wish we could get back to getting more manufacturing done here but that is pure folly, those days are gone and the economy we see today are the result of overzealous bean counters/CEO's in their quest to give the bottom line for it's investors, workers mean nothing in the overall scheme of things.

Nick

[wengr]

all good questions. Who? What? We, or them?

"Sustainable jobs" and "Healthy free market" my questions in reply are: do those things naturally occur when the government takes controlling interest of corporations like General Motors?? or, does a "Healthy free market" allow General Motors to fail and file Chapter 7 ?? does that "Healthy free market" include Federal dictation of LLC to partner with Fiat? i think not. i believe we've collectively given up on a "Healthy free market" environment.

i am not an advocate of the current interventions of what used to be purely capitalistic, for profit decisions. this society has lost the concept of paying the concequences of one's decisions. we as a whole are no longer held accountable for our actions. Which i maintain includes our decisions to buy Chinese verses buy American....there are concequences to those decisions. our government is a machine that feeds on itself, and us; growing larger and larger as we abdicate our personal responsibilites to be self supporting.

Yes a healthy free market allows GM to fail, possibly to reform in a much more viable model. Also I agree that federal meddling in merger\marketing\executive decisions is outrageous. However socialism is a slippery slope, often causing problems requiring more socialism. Maybe most politicians have given up on the free market concept but not I. You make many points here that I completly agree with. and we suffer every day with the results of the gradual erosion of personal responsibility.
as to Harbor freight, it's is simply one of thousands of retailors that do the same thing. While some of the sockets and wrenches as at sears are US made, the vast percentage of stuff in sears is not. Same for the biggest retailer, Walmart and most others. However many of the people buying imported pots and pans at walmart would not have a pot if the chinese option was removed due to protectionism. This is unacceptable to me. The problem is - when I do a cost vs quality evaluation, the sensible choice for me is often imported goods. Real examples - I have a craftsman valve spring compressor. It's flimsy junk, barely useable. No better than chinese so why pay more. I got a bad chinese micrometer recently. the replacement works well so far and is the appropriate cost for something I'll use a few times in my life. If I was a pro it would be different, but I am not. Anyway, my point is, I do not feel a personal responsibility to buy american while:
1 quality often is not consistant with the exhorbitant price
2 upper management compensation is out of control
3 union extorsion creates unsustainable cost to the company
4 as far as cars go, there are a multitude of reasons why I will likely not buy domestic again( not like they are really domestic anyway).
We both speak of personal responsibility. I feel that the big three management has repeatedly failed in their responsibilty to innovate and try and grow the business thru better engineering. they chose instead to focus on cost down engineering and marketing gimmicks that insult our intelligence. I feel company employees have a responsibility to accept a more reasonable compensation package if they want job security. We are all here because of a shared interest in an imported product, that we try our best to maintain using imported parts. I see nothing wrong in that.

[Kevin1]

Even Chinese goods aren't going to be cheap for too long. As more and more Chinese workers move into industrial jobs they will expect their standard of living to rise accordingly. And accordingly, they will start to realize they have power in numbers, demand better wages and working conditions, and the cycle will repeat itself. They will have to start charging more and more to cover their escalating costs. Prices for their goods will go up. Consumers paying these prices will expect better quality. That will call for expensive tooling and training to improve their processes. . . and the price goes up to cover thecosts.
Eventually, the manufacturing will move elsewhere (Southeast Asia? India? Africa?) where labor is cheaper, and the Chinese will be pissing and moaning about THOSE PEOPLE stealing their good paying blue collar jobs.
I don't have any answers because from where I am sitting world looks like one big set of problems. Sadly, I admit being unable to see is how these jobs we are losing can ever come back here, when there is a whole planet full of trainable, cheap labor just waiting for their turn to make a better living for themselves. Cheap labor - it's like a drug the CEO's can't get enough of.
The aspect that chaps me the most, though, is the fact that many of the companies that moved their manufacturing "offshore" were granted tax breaks when they did so over the past 15 years. In a way, the very government (ours) that is now harping about job creation and the need for middle class employment is the very same government that actually (with our tax dollars) subsidized those jobs going overseas.
They've got us coming and going. Soon, so many Americans will be dependent on government handouts that it will bring about a shift in the perception of social policy. By that, I mean that people will be trained to be dependent instead of independent, and complacent instead of ambitious.