Posted on 10/18/2002 3:58:43 PM PDT by ozone1
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:08:26 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) A last-ditch attempt to save the nation's last major shirt manufacturing plant ran out of steam as sewing machines came to a halt Friday at the plant whose shirts were made world-famous by the man-with-an-eyepatch logo.
C.F. Hathaway, which has been making shirts in Maine for 165 years, will go the way of Arrow and Van Heusen, once strong competitors whose shirts are now being made overseas.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Me thinks your ladder is disappearing from under your feet. The Sock industry is very American, as American as sweaty feet. There is little positive about competing with unfair competators that do not hold the same standards to it's employees. Slave labor is not competetion. If those same companies upheld half the standards we did there would be NO competetion whatsoever, but there is not a level playing field here. BTW, the local ladder industry went south a few years ago too.
I don't guarantee anything. I never claimed a guarantee.
But I have researched and it is my opinion. That's all.
Further, the decreases in price on NEW goods will be felt overseas - thereby increasing our exports.
Prices of NEW goods domestically would remain stable after tax - with one big difference - folks would have no federal deductions from their paychecks... so they'd have more $ to save or spend.
That being said, the market for USED goods will be positively affected... cars, houses, machinery etc. If not new, their prices WILL reduce by around 30% IMO.
I know you've never looked into this, lewis. Your position is one of denying any change to your beloved income tax.
If you would look into it, you would see that the very things you espouse are promoted by the national retail sales tax... fairness to all, no regressivity. Those who spend more discretionary funds pay more tax.
If you save or invest, no tax.
When you buy necessities of life, no tax.
When you inherit a hard-earned company or investment, no tax.
If I worked in a sweat sock shop, I'd be conducting a serious career inventory and formulating a plan to upgrade my marketable skill offering right about now.
If you care about your family, financial security and retirement needs you need to take your job very, very seriously.
I guess that if advantageous Arne will jump the ship and move to the other country. There will be another ladder for him.
So all businesses were created with shareholders in mind?...Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Hewlett Packard, Steve Jobs/Wozniak ( who built Apple computer from their garage with shareholders in mind) , stereos, TV, Radio etc.?
Strike that, you need to take your CAREER very, very seriously. That's a bigger project.
Yes. Financial reward is the reason for the innovations we have experienced since the founding of this nation. Economic opportunity... that which is being taken away from us when labor and capital flee overseas.
Labor and capital will always flow to the most economically friendly locale. That's why you hear, everyday (and this article is just one more example), of more labor and capital leaving the US... because we are no longer the friendliest to labor and capital.
I'd be humiliated to confess that I ... born in the richest, safest, healthiest and most prosperous free and entreprenurial society in human history .... can't offer a single benefit to an employer that trumps the offerings of an uneducated, poor and Spanish speaking Mexican fresh over the border.
That's a disgrace. Your pissing away your blessing from God.
yes, a beautiful place for paying high taxes...
First off, there is no "sweat shops" here whatsoever. You need to get out of the stone age. Tech jobs people wear nice clothes and work on highly computerised machs. They are programed via complex programs that you design upon computers and load via ports on the machine. Your degrading look upon American industry is very telling to say the least. Thank God our town's fight is above your turn tail approach of running from any challange and labling it as "sweat shop" labor unworthy of fighting for. The labor here is very skilled and that is the reason for the sock industry staying here. (there was a Wall Street Journal article 4 months ago on the sock industry and how the technical aspect was the reason it was still here).
Second, I don't work in that field, but half my fellow church members do. Textile anyway, there is still some Carpet factory jobs around also. But I don't have the same zeal you have of promoting unfair labor situations. Not only does NAFTA unfairly treat American worker/owners but it also does little to uplift foreign workers standards. As stated previously, if they would achieve half the standards we provided we could compete. Thus far that has yet to be shown. The only benefit I can see is those owners/stockowners that have no vices with slave labor. Very unAmerican in my opinion. The idea of uplifting foreign workers standards is only obtained under this method by saturating the work market over there and America can ill afford employ every foreign citizen in every nation.
Ahhhh Laurie. I hear ya!
I wrote to her awhile back, and the following is the answer I received:
Yes, one-third of all Individual Income Taxes (total is $1.2 billion so 1/3 is $400 million) are paid by the wealthiest 2% of Maine's people (10,000 people). These people are highly invested in the stock market and when the market dropped from $12.7 trillion to $8.8 trillion, their capital gains dried up - as did our tax revenues. Since they don't withhold for taxes on this income - we didn't know the extent of their loses until April 15th (or thereabouts) when they filed for refunds instead of making payments. That's it in a nutshell. I hope that's helpful.
Laurie
We already have a "free" market, subject to a common set or rules, regulations and standards as defined by the jurisdictional limits of our Constitution. To extend the privilege of participation in that domestic free market to foreign entities not bound by an equivalent set of rules, regulations and standards is to undermine our own domestic enterprises and citizenry, and ultimately, our economic stability, national security and the Constitution itself.
Running a pushbutton cash register is a computer skill??!? Damn. That's sad.
Why are they still coming over the border when NAFTA sent all their low-skill jobs to Mexico? Our economy isn't doing too well but we aren't seeing any reverse immigration. Could be the welfare benefits beat out those NAFTA jobs.
You have no bitch, you have no excuse, you have noone to blame but yourself if you miss the boat. This irks me mightily, you make socks and you feel a seige from abroad. Knocking tube socks off the line isn't an American journey.
You're severely underachieving pal. Nobody who has the awareness and interest to patronize this forum should be anything but motivated, professional and thankful. Smart and systematic too.
It's Saturday before noon, there's a library near your house, head over there, sit on one of those really hard chairs and ponder your future. Have you talked to your boss about your future there? Believe it or not, he/she does care about that.
I'm no Market Research guru, but my take on future of the sweat sock industry is very, very bearish. Your town better open a casino or brothel quick like.
The people coming accross the border for work will be ceaseless until the available jobs are filled. A guy pounding nails on a house frame who makes $9 an hour here, and $4 a day there, will come here. Period.
No Americans will take that 60 hour work week at $9 an hour. The jobs are there, they don't meet our demands. Meet Juan, he says "gracias amigo". Saturday and Sunday are just additional income opportunities for these guys. The houses get built, bought and furnished with quality and speed. That's a payday for many many in our community.
There is always some group out there trying to stick it to us at every turn. I am totally fed up!
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