In article . net,
Maxprop wrote:

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..
In article et,
Maxprop wrote:

America has sold herself out by not having the foresight to change
with the changing world.

America can compete nicely with just about anyone, but some changes are
necessary. To compete with one's competitors, one must at the very least
emulate them. Better yet one should create a cost advantage for the same
quality, or create a quality advantage for the same cost. The US is
capable
of doing either, or both.

Yeah, but you don't. Instead you try to either convince your market
that an inferior prodict is somehow better via clever advertising,

No one with even a modicum of intelligence is buying that anymore. That's
why the companies building such products are struggling.

Some of the power tools coming out of China really aren't too bad for
the price. I bought a 4 1/2" angle grinder for $25. It vibrates a bit
more than my 5" Metabo but that one cost 10X the price. Ditto with
circular saws - I bought a cheapie to use with a metal cutting blade. I
figured I'd destroy the bearings on the job and I did. Better a $59 saw
than my good $200 one. Besides the cheapie had a 2 year home handyman
warranty so I just took it back & got another one. I was upfront on
what I'd being using it for; the shop guy said the distributor just
replaces them without question. That gives me some idea of the markup
between manufacturer and me.

There's a place for lower quality stuff provided the price reflects it.
You're right tho - people have woken up to the advertising cons.

And CEOs and other top-level execs are going to have to face the fact
that
multi-million dollar annual salaries and golden parachutes aren't
compatible
with the world economic markets of the day.

Yeah, I agree. The cost of screwing up a business needs to be brought
home to those responsible. At the moment it seems that the stock
holders lose, and employees lose, but senior management are immune due
to their payment structures.

It only takes a few years at $20 million per, plus a golden parachute to
feather one's nest rather plushly. Again, it sucks, but what's a mother to
do?

Make misfeasance a civil offence and strip them of the protection of
bankruptcy laws. You could apply a floor so that the law only applied
to people running companies with more than $X capitalisation and in
receipt of more than $Y salary/bonuses/stock options.

Possibly pay them in stock options exercisable only 5 years after they
leave the company.

Lots of possibilities to concentrate their minds.......

My take? Neither side will give an inch before the whole thing collapses
into a ruined American economy. I hope to be sailing somewhere in the
Caribbean with my money in offshore banks by then.

I plan on being in a nice 3rd World country with a good climate.
Fortunately for me NZ is only a week's sailing away. OTOH right where I
am is pretty good, too.

I bought a piece of just-off-the-beachfront land on a small island a year
ago. You have to understand that in the Caribbean, the higher up on the
hill, the more expensive and desirable the property. So mine is at the
bottom of the food chain, so to speak. But a small dwelling with a good,
solid roof will do me fine. And a boat--gotta have a boat.

This is why I returned to Oz from Arizona. Got my waterfront place on a
few acres, got a small boat and a bigger one is on the list. Moderate
sized nice city with good facilities is 30 minute drive away. Modern
large city is 1 hour flying time - Melbourne - or 2 hours flying time
to Sydney.

I built my own house and a big shed/barn for all the tools is next.

PDW