Posted on 08/07/2003 6:44:00 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Ronnie Simmons draped an American flag over a home entertainment center, the last piece of furniture to be made at Hooker's downtown Kernersville plant.
Not even hugs and handshakes could console the burly worker on the last day of his 29-year career at the plant.
'It's all just hit me now, that this is it,' Simmons said Wednesday.
For Simmons and 259 other Hooker Furniture Corp. employees, the piece symbolized a casket that recognized and honored the death of another U.S. manufacturing plant - a scene that is being played out repeatedly across the country's manufacturing base.
Yesterday, Hooker completed the final production run at the plant that it has owned and operated since 1970. The plant was built in the late 1800s.
Hooker, which imports about 50 percent of its product line, decided to close the Kernersville plant because it is the oldest and smallest of the company's wood-production plants.
Hooker Furniture will continue to operate three wood furniture plants and four upholstery plants in North Carolina, and two plants in Virginia.
Though it is the first plant closing for Hooker Furniture, the Kernersville shutdown is far from the first for the region's furniture industry, which has been threatened by the growing tide of imports.
Nearly 3,000 people have lost their jobs in North Carolina this year as furniture manufacturers close plants and slash work forces, according to the state Employment Security Commission.
"It's like a death in the family," said Lewis Cantor, vice president of manufacturing for Hooker Furniture.
Hooker is providing workers with severance packages, said Jack Palmer, the vice president of human resources for Hooker. Hooker is paying the cost of the workers' health and dental insurance through August, and the workers will receive their Christmas bonus.
Under the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, the workers are expected to receive extended unemployment benefits and have up to 65 percent of its COBRA health-insurance premiums paid for by the federal government.
"We've got to grin and bear this day out,' Simmons said. "But we know things are going to get worse from here on out until our government wakes up to the realities of what imports are doing to the people it's supposed to be protecting."
the topic: PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN- What exactly does it mean?
Guest for the evening is Bill Murray of the Family Research Council
PLUS – A call from McClintock Campaign Headquarters!
Here in the Pacific NW the fruit farmers are suffering terribly due to the massive influx of South America fruit. I went to the "big city" today to do some shopping. In the shoe store I asked the guy helping me "are these shoes made in America"? He looked at me like I was speaking Greek. I asked again, where were the shoes made. He finally checked and said "Brazil". I said no thanks. I always ask, they always give me a funny look. We own a small manufacturing company, employs about 60 people. Believe me, made in USA in a big deal in our household.
If it's any consolation Willie Green, about 3 years ago we spent approx. 30K on new furniture, all made in North Carolina. Had to wait about 3 months for delivery but it was worth it.
Suppose someone wants to be able to put $1 in the pocket of a waitress. For a person to get enough money to have the waitress net $1, the person's employer has to spend more than $2. Of course, even after the waitress has the $1 in her pocket, much of it will still end up being grabbed by the government before ending up in someone else's pocket.
Taxes are strangling our economy. No two ways about it.
As always on or off this pind list let me know.
And that's the crux of it. No business ever survived by payout out more than it brought in. None. Ever.
And that's the crux of it. No business ever survived by payout out more than it brought in. None. Ever."
Same with countries. The only reason we can import stuff is because we export other stuff. Sometimes it is movies, sometimes education, sometime stock certificates, and sometimes software.
While our unemployment rate is around 6% and dropping, look at Europe which implements more restrictionist trade policies, and their unemployment rates are 8% - 15% and stable. Shall we join them in restricting trade and killing jobs? It has worked for them for over 20 years.... Double the unemployment line anyone?
Current account deficit hits record (Trade Deficit)
U.S. Trade Deficit 2nd Highest on Record
>Well, here are the facts:TRADE DEFICIT: Formally termed a balance of trade deficit, a condition in which a nation's imports are greater than exports. In other words, a country is buying more stuff for foreigners than foreigners are buying from domestic producers. A trade deficit is usually thought to be bad for a country. For this reason, some countries seek to reduce their trade deficit by--
- establishing trade barriers on imports,
- reducing the exchange rate (termed devaluation) such that exports are less expensive and imports more expensive, or
- invading foreign countries with sizable armies.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of the USA's output of goods and services, is calculated by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis using the following items:
The BEA News Release for FIRST QUARTER 2003 provides us with the following current data for these items. (Seasonally adjusted at annual rates)
Gross domestic product (GDP)............................. $10,697.7 billion Personal consumption expenditures.......................... 7,502.8 (70.13% of GDP) Gross private domestic investment.......................... 1,626.9 (15.21% of GDP) Net exports of goods and services........................... -485.7 (-4.54% of GDP) Government consumption expenditures and gross investment... 2,053.6 (19.20% of GDP)
The current BALANCE OF TRADE is in deficit, which is considered unfavorable.
It is SUBTRACTED from those items that comprise GDP.
And at historic highs, it diminishes our domestic economy by about 4½% - more than twice the normal variation. This is NOT insignificant.
I wonder how many of them shopped at Wal-Mart. Probably all of them.
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