U.S. manufacturing jobs fading away fast

Yahoo/USA Today ^ | Fri Dec 13, 7:48 AM ET | Barbara Hagenbaugh

[JimVT]

This week I received a shipment of Christmas gifts ordered from that American icon of mail order retailing, L.L. Bean.

Every GD item was MADE IN CHINA!

I sent an e-mail saying, in essence, that I checked their catalog before buying and a few items said "imported" but nothing said "made in China" and that, if it had, I wouldn't have bought it.

I got a piece of corporate crap back about how all their suppliers were leaving the country and the Chinks, and everybody else, had to adhere to their high standards.

BS.

LLB has seen the last of me.

[RLK]

More like 10X.... I said at least 3X, but you maybe right about the 10X for certain type of work. The Chinese are slaves? We are all slaves to our desires, like eating, clothing, medicines,.... In the USA however, I believe that we have gone far beyond the necessities of life, we as a people have become somewhat greedy, best illustrated by actions of most unionized labor.

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Don't attempt to try to bullcrap me with metaphor and abstract poetry. I notice the salesman and the manufactorer have no objection when a working person making $20.00 an hour walks in to buy a new refrigerator or automobile. I also notice the economy turns to dung when laboring people don't have that money. If you move industries out of the country there will be no market for goods. There must be an equilibrium between wages and imvestment/managent for an economy to function. That equilibrium was the source of the longest economic boom in history between 1947 and about 1970. In disturbing that equilibrium we are destroying this nation. Got it?

[Mortimer Snavely]

The notion of equilibrium between wages and investment is entirely too complicated a notion for many folks to understand.

[RnMomof7]

LLB has seen the last of me.

I ordered from LLBean too..the wholesome "all American" company...but I fear if we wear only made in America we will be wearing leaves

[desertcry]

Those are low level tech jobs. Writing software codes are not high level tech jobs in my book(20 years IBM Research experience). Here's the long term problem of the USA: The quality of our education is nearly at rock bottom level. If this continues, and we stop immigration of highly educated people from overseas, then like Rome we Americans will be nothing more than spectators of modern gladiators(football, car racing....)sports. A society in decline.

[RnMomof7]

Don't attempt to try to bullcrap me with metaphor and abstract poetry. I notice the salesman and the manufactorer have no objection when a working person making $20.00 an hour walks in to buy a new refrigerator or automobile. I also notice the economy turns to dung when laboring people don't have that money. If you move industries out of the country there will be no market for goods. There must be an equilibrium between wages and imvestment/managent for an economy to function. That equilibrium was the source of the longest economic boom in history between 1947 and about 1970. In disturbing that equilibrium we are destroying this nation. Got it?

You said it all..that is WHY we are heading for deflation

[bvw]

You litigate after a product and you have thousands, millions potentially harmed. Litigate against a service, and the one individual who served is the point man, so to speak. You have to show a widespread pattern, or a use of a known or documented process to show harm beyond the one poor sod of a server who made some mistake.

I think your insight is stronger than mine. As you say .. An overgrowth in litigation has driven away the state-side making of goods in large numbers because litigation greatly favors a service economy and penalizes a mass-manufacture one.

My own offering was that the burden of regs and litigation came about because owners and workers were so busy laying out their own turf and fighting along that owner-versus-worker axis to pay attention and counteract it.

[RLK]

The notion of equilibrium between wages and investment is entirely too complicated a notion for many folks to understand.

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Well, they'd better get off their God damned slogans and crackpot economic theories and begin understanding it or there are going to be a lot of angry people living in tents in a destroyed economy. This nation is being set up for a desperate Marxist revolution and goofs here and elsewhere are too enthusiastic over their slogans and mindless idolotry of George Bush to see or care about it.

[RnMomof7]

DC you do not seem to get it..our tec jobs are being moved to India and China, not because Americans are dumb..but because the 3rd world works 60 hours a week for slave labor wages..

Computers now mean a business can hire a girl in Ireland to do data entry . And the high end is just as easily moved...

When steel went, when autos went all the educated said it is not my problem..,.ahhhhh but it is now...

[Chemist_Geek]

Digital camera are great for composing and can attach directly to a PC for distribution, but they do not take better pictures than film cameras.

That depends on what "better" means. Also, please remember that 'perfect' is the enemy of 'good enough'.

[arete]

then like Rome we Americans will be nothing more than spectators of modern gladiators(football, car racing....)sports. A society in decline.

Expect a bunch of military interventions and plain old fashioned imperialism before the "barbarians" come and get us. Reserves are being called up to active duty now.

Richard W.

[RnMomof7]

An overgrowth in litigation has driven away the state-side making of goods in large numbers because litigation greatly favors a service economy and penalizes a mass-manufacture one.

Straight from the New World Order office of propaganda

[bvw]

Don't understand. What is from the NWO propaganda office?

[varon]

We have the most powerful, most productive economy ever seen on the planet..........

So, exactly what are we producing besides "paper profits"? How long will we continue to remain "the most powerful, most productive economy" when the work force will consist of government employees, trial attorneys and hamburger flippers? ;-)

[Chemist_Geek]

Film resolution is limited by "Grain". So in effect you still have a dots/inch resolution.

Yeah, but a film molecule is a heck of a lot smaller than a CCD element. However, as long as they're both near the bottom end of the human eye's resolution range, what's the difference?

[Nuke'm Glowing]

I agree with you when it comes to items like disposable cameras. My fear is that we are also outsourcing items which are crucial to the survival of the nation. Colt, Ruger and other firearm manufacturers are threatening to move out of this nation due to the absurd lawsuits they are facing. Add the loss of steel manufacturing, and other potential "critical" industries required if we end up in a long term conflict and we would become hostages to the former client states of the industrialists. I don't like this path. There are some industries which are critical to a nation's survival. And there are some jobs which can not be "auctioned" off to the lowest bidder or overseas concern. If you don't believe me, ask any remaining officials of the Roman Empire.

[desertcry]

to bullcrap me.... I sense a tremendous anger in you, and this discussions have turn to acid, a sign of frustration on your part. Hence, I see no point in continuing it. Maybe when you cool down a bit, and have regain your wit we can continue to as you say "Bullcrap"?

[RLK]

Yeah, but a film molecule is a heck of a lot smaller than a CCD element. However, as long as they're both near the bottom end of the human eye's resolution range, what's the difference?

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It makes a hell of a difference if you want to enlarge an image and have detail.

[VOA]

''There's nothing made here anymore,'' the former Eastman Kodak employee says

Three years ago my brother came to visit and brought along a Kodak digital camera.
It was probably in the upper tier of their product line of digital cameras.

Klunky, bulky, and akward are about the only words that come to mind in describing
this Kodak product.

It depressed me to see that an American company would produce such an item.
They must have never gone to a camera shop to see what competitive models
from Nikon, Canon, Olympus, etc. were like.

All they needed to do was imitate those and they'd have sold lots of cameras.

It's a very sad situation. But I guess Kodak forgot that there are lots of
competitors out there. And failed to respond.

[RLK]

I sense a tremendous anger in you, and this discussions have turn to acid, a sign of frustration on your part. Hence, I see no point in continuing it. Maybe when you cool down a bit, and have regain your wit we can continue to as you say "Bullcrap"?

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The anger you sense is very God damned real. What I see is a bunch of spoiled brats destroying this country. I'm not about to cool down about it.

If you think I'm angry here, you ought to meet me in person. Blandness is not securely rooted in my family.