Posted on 08/01/2013 11:00:25 AM PDT by bkopto
Copper is such a hot commodity that thieves are going after the metal anywhere they can find it: an electrical power station in Wichita, Kan., or half a dozen middle-class homes in Morris Township, N.J. Even on a Utah highway construction site, crooks managed to abscond with six miles of copper wire.
Those are just a handful of recent targets across the U.S. in the $1 billion business of copper theft.
SNIP
The five leading states for the thefts are Ohio, Texas, Georgia, California and Illinois, the NICB said.
SNIP
Copper wire was stolen from a substation of Kansas-based Westar Energy in April, knocking out power in south Wichita and causing more than a $150,000 in damage. Westar officials said there have been more than 50 copper thefts at area substations this year, versus four in 2012.
"It's been like an epidemic this spring, and we couldn't keep up with the thefts," said Pat VanSyoc, director of substation maintenance for Westar.
"The damage can be quite extensive," he said. "It costs anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 for us to repair the substations, plus there's the loss of energy for our customers."
VanSyoc said thieves have no idea of the danger —for themselves and the company's repair crews—when they try to steal copper from power outlets.
"They can easily get electrocuted trying to steal copper wiring, and if we have to dig deep to find what they've stolen, it puts our repair people in danger as well," he said.
Police in some states, including West Virginia and Kansas, have reported deaths from suspected copper heists gone wrong, finding electrocuted victims carrying flashlights and bolt cutters next to power lines.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
I see the problem.
If you were a normal business a 4% increase in toilet cleaning services would be spread out over thousands of products and have a negligible impact.
But your firm only has one product and that’s crap. Every year you produce just one big pile of crap. Therefore an increase in toilet cleaning services has a direct tangible effect on your price.
Where does this hurt the economy to keep government small mentality come from? Seriously!!!?
If you raise tariffs to 15% and cut the income taxes by an amount equal to the intial impact on tariffs, it will be tax neutral to consumers. And it will also be tax neutral to government.
The only way government then benefits is if unemployment Americans go back to work.
But if unemployed Americans go back to work, government will have even greater revenues from the income tax and even lower safety net payments. The Horrors!!! And some of those workers might join a union. Gasp!!! Better to leave Americans unemployed than risk increasing government or unions. /s
In fact, why don't we make import tariffs negative, thus supplementing tariffs. That will put more Americans out of work, further reducing government revenues. And the negative tariff will drain the money government has to spend. /s
And then of course you forgot that ALL businesses will have an unfunded mandate via your idiotic tax and need to pass that along. And as such businesses will see all manner of services they buy and contract for increase (Just like what happens when gas prices increase) You believe this increase will happen in a vacuum which can not be further from the truth.
That is the problem with your simplistic thinking you haven't a f***ing clue how the system works and that your remedy will cause all manner of unintended consequences.
hahahahahahahaha cut taxes....
hahahahahah
OK sparky you just keep on talking cuz really that is ALL you are good at...
And you apparently assume 25% of Americans on the public dole happens in a vacuum and you aren't already paying for that.
Products that are not imported would not see a significant increase. Products that are could see an increase up to the amount of the tariff.
If importers could raise prices without inviting competition they already would have. So some imports may simply take a smaller profit margin. That's a win for us, and a loss for them.
Then once Americans start producing, competition between American firms will further limit the price increase.
And you apparently assume 25% of Americans on the public dole happens in a vacuum and you aren't already paying for that.
Products that are not imported would not see a significant increase. Products that are could see an increase up to the amount of the tariff.
If importers could raise prices without inviting competition they already would have. So some imports may simply take a smaller profit margin. That's a win for us, and a loss for them.
Then once Americans start producing, competition between American firms will further limit the price increase.
By the way, if you did cut income taxes by an dollar amount equal to the tariff increase, that cut doesn’t happen in a vacuum either.
I’m in good company. Our founding fathers gave Congress the duty to regulate international trade. Did they lose their faith in free enterprise. No they understood the difference between international trade and free enterprise and were determined to protect free enterprise here in America.
I’m in good company. Our founding fathers gave Congress the duty to regulate international trade. Did they lose their faith in free enterprise. No they understood the difference between international trade and free enterprise and were determined to protect free enterprise here in America.
Which is deliciously ironic when you consider that your proposal has about the same value to the public in general as would winged bovine soaring across America's skies.
With a long criminal record which keeps them from getting a decent job.
No profanity, please.
No, my solution is to not do more of the same s**t that got us here which is EXACTLY what you are proposing.
When the government meddles in the market they (pardons in advance to the Robinsons) F*** THINGS UP!
Repeal the tax increases on Business, the EPA, OSHA, THE DEPT. of INTERIOR, DEPT OF HHS, OBAMaCARE, the DEPT. of EDUCATION, THE IRS, and your Conservative Credentials and we will have an economic boom in the USA that will send you Unionistas and the Liberals into the political backwaters forever..
(To Admin Mod: Acceptable?)
We've not had protective tariffs for the last 40 years which is what got us here. I want to restore them to their historical norm.
And while your have offered a more detailed plan for cuts than most have put forward it's got some major issues. But more importantly, even getting rid of all of that will not make us competitive against $2/day ($0.17/hour) communist chinese labor. That'll reduce the debt and eventually the tax burden, but it does nothing to make a $17.00 an hour manufacturing laborer competitive against a Chinamen willing to work for $0.17/hour ($2/day, 12hrs/day)
You want to do the following:
"Repeal the tax increases on Business, the EPA, OSHA, THE DEPT. of INTERIOR, DEPT OF HHS, OBAMaCARE, the DEPT. of EDUCATION, THE IRS, and your Conservative Credentials and we will have an economic boom in the USA that will send you Unionistas and the Liberals into the political backwaters forever.."
But how much of that is realistic? You're repealing only the tax increases, so the burden of compliance with the tax regulation stays the same, only the rate changes.
You want to repeal EPA and OSHA but it's not politically feasible. I'd like to see both have more controls and administrative courts done away with or at least put under control of the judiciary. But I wouldn't vote for completely dismantling either. I remember when you couldn't swim in a public body of water. I remember when there were places that weren't safe to work at and the employers didn't care. And if I, with my conservative credentials, won't vote for them, you'll never get enough GOP and democrats to pass them.
THE DEPT. of INTERIOR,
So I guess you're going to sell off the 507 million acres,the 476 dams and 388 national parks.
We don't need Indian affairs, regardless of whatever promises we've made in the past. We can just break those.
And who needs a patent office, when it's all on the internet and China's copying everything anyway.
We don't need a U.S. Geological service. They aren't that good at forecasting earthquakes anyway.
"DEPT OF HHS"
Who needs medicare and medicaid? Screw the seniors and the poor. Let them die and decrease the surplus population.
OBAMaCARE
I'm fine with repealing this. Congress should really read the bills it passes.
the DEPT. of EDUCATION
I'm fine with killing this too. Obama is using it to promote gaydom, so kill it.
THE IRS
Who's going to collect taxes? You didn't repeal all business and income taxes. You only repealed increases on business. So you need to rethink this and go with one or the other.
Bottom line, some of that is okay, some is neither wise nor politically viable. All of it together wouldn't make us competitive again, or stop the drain of industries to china.
I think what’s funny about this thread, is that you think you can judge what is “realistic,” or not. So a tariff increase, coupled with an income tax decrease magically becomes “realistic” (and “revenue neutral”), but dialing back some agencies and their onerous regulations? OMG WE CAN’T DO THAT!!1!1!
The tariff increase and income tax increase is easy to implement. All the structure already exists, we're just talking about a rate change.
And don't get me wrong, I'm fine with identifying waste and eliminating it from any government agency. But certain agencies need to continue their functions. The Patent Office is a perfect example.
He called for eliminating the Interior Department, which includes the Patent Office. Well that deserves a "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!"
His plan is like everyone else who thinks eliminating taxes and regulations would somehow be enough to compete against $0.17/hour wages in China. He has not thought through what can realistically be cut. He's just naming whole departments without a clue about what they do.
See again your problem is you think what people make an hour in China is the issue.
This proves you are clueless.
Its about risk vs. reward.
China at anytime can change the deal over there they can Nationalize any factory they wish. YET some businesses will still locate there because the risk/reward ratio is better than dealing with the crap the American Government foists on American business.
Remove the obstacles the government places on business and China's workers can offer to pay to work in factories and it won't matter. The economic boom in the USA would dwarf anything China could do.
"All of it together wouldn't make us competitive again, or stop the drain of industries to china."
See again you are clueless. It is exactly these things that weigh down Business. The price of labor is NOT the reason businesses choose to go to China or Mexico. That is just icing on the cake.
Its because when a business proposes to build a factory in these countries they go "Yeah OK, build it over there." In America we go Hold it. First are you endangering any protected species like the 3-toed mosquito rat or the ruby-throated spork weasel? We need a site study first. Oh and an American Indian once thought about building a hut here so we need to clear the with the Dept. Of Interior.
Oh yeah and OSHA sez you need to build wheel chair access for the scaffolding tower the window washers use and you need to post braille instructions in the paint finish inspection room so you can be in compliance with the Americans with disabilities act.
And as far as eliminating those programs and Depts I mentioned all are useless AND drain resources away from the country and put it in the pockets of politicians and their minions. But THAT is for another discussion.
Yes, it is about risk vs reward. But the risk is not that you have to deal with a little bureaucracy here in the U.S.. The risk is that your competitor reduces their labor cost first. And if they do that, then you are out of business with no reward.
But if you go to China and reduce your labor cost first, then you make a nice short term profit for which you will be rewarded. And you have a nice chance to steal market share. And if you're lucky China won't copy your product for a few years.
Yeah, you'll have sold out your company and your product to the Chinese and put American workers out of work. But did you really have a choice? If you didn't your competition would. No you didn't have a choice. That's why government's role is important in regulating international trade.
It's very similar to hiring illegal workers in the U.S.. As long as government doesn't enforce it, the company that does it wins. The lawbreaking firm that reduces their labor cost, drives the law abiding firm out of business.
The only difference is that it's legal to outsouce to China, it's illegal to hire the alien. Both hurt the U.S. and leave Americans without jobs.
And my guess is that you want the government to intervene against the companies hiring illegal aliens, but think government is interfering with freedom if it should take steps to make it unprofitable for companies to offshore their products.
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