"jps" wrote in message
...
In article . net,
says...
Well Bass,
Bush got elected by a "questionable" 347 votes in Florida. I don't think
that will happen again.

I do think that a Mars/Moon program would provide massive jobs IF the
parts, software, and supplies and raw materials are "Made In USA"

Walmart/SUV mentality. It is really getting difficult to find
American Made products. Last night I was in Office Depot and saw this
nifty American Flag Stamp. In 2 colors and well detailed. I was about to
buy it until I turned it over and the sticker read "Made in China." I
looked on shelf after shelf and could not find even 1 item made in the
"good ole USA." I must admit, I was gloomy after shopping.

On to Best Buys, I reached for an RCA (Radio Corporation of America)
video camera, and lo and behold, it was made in Korea. So, I ended up
going home with out buying anything.

You see, my own way of protesting is not to buy foreign made products.

Regards,

Capt. Frank

Well done Frank. I wish someone would take this cause up for real.
While corporations have no legal responsibility (nor the moral cahones)
to support their own country, consumers do.

Yeah, let's do a total boycott of all foreign goods! Enjoy your
walk...'cause you will not find an automobile made in the U.S. from parts
made only in the U.S. While you're at it, you better sew your own
shoes...'cause I doubt you'll find a pair made in the U.S. from materials
made only in the U.S.

In article et,
says...

"jps" wrote in message
...
In article . net,
says...
Well Bass,
Bush got elected by a "questionable" 347 votes in Florida. I don't think
that will happen again.

I do think that a Mars/Moon program would provide massive jobs IF the
parts, software, and supplies and raw materials are "Made In USA"

Walmart/SUV mentality. It is really getting difficult to find
American Made products. Last night I was in Office Depot and saw this
nifty American Flag Stamp. In 2 colors and well detailed. I was about to
buy it until I turned it over and the sticker read "Made in China." I
looked on shelf after shelf and could not find even 1 item made in the
"good ole USA." I must admit, I was gloomy after shopping.

On to Best Buys, I reached for an RCA (Radio Corporation of America)
video camera, and lo and behold, it was made in Korea. So, I ended up
going home with out buying anything.

You see, my own way of protesting is not to buy foreign made products.

Regards,

Capt. Frank

Well done Frank. I wish someone would take this cause up for real.
While corporations have no legal responsibility (nor the moral cahones)
to support their own country, consumers do.

Yeah, let's do a total boycott of all foreign goods! Enjoy your
walk...'cause you will not find an automobile made in the U.S. from parts
made only in the U.S. While you're at it, you better sew your own
shoes...'cause I doubt you'll find a pair made in the U.S. from materials
made only in the U.S.

You are an extremist. More selectivity along with a clear campaign led
by consumer advocates might really help our current situation.

I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in fact
pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.

"jps" wrote in message
...


You are an extremist. More selectivity along with a clear campaign led
by consumer advocates might really help our current situation.

I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in fact
pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.

Here's a strange idea: Write letters to companies that listen. Paper
letters, in envelopes, with a stamps. I recently wrote one to LL Bean, and
got a phonecall back from some guy a week later, saying that they're getting
quite a bit of feedback about foreign-made items, particularly from men, who
are less likely than women to view clothing as 1-year throwaway items.
Unfortunately, this takes effort. Sometimes you have to pick up the phone
and ask for the CEO's name and the correct address for a paper letter. This
takes almost a minute sometimes.

"jps" wrote in message
...
In article et,
says...

"jps" wrote in message
...
In article . net,
says...
Well Bass,
Bush got elected by a "questionable" 347 votes in Florida. I don't
think
that will happen again.

I do think that a Mars/Moon program would provide massive jobs IF
the
parts, software, and supplies and raw materials are "Made In USA"

Walmart/SUV mentality. It is really getting difficult to find
American Made products. Last night I was in Office Depot and saw
this
nifty American Flag Stamp. In 2 colors and well detailed. I was
about to
buy it until I turned it over and the sticker read "Made in China."
I
looked on shelf after shelf and could not find even 1 item made in
the
"good ole USA." I must admit, I was gloomy after shopping.

On to Best Buys, I reached for an RCA (Radio Corporation of America)
video camera, and lo and behold, it was made in Korea. So, I ended
up
going home with out buying anything.

You see, my own way of protesting is not to buy foreign made
products.

Regards,

Capt. Frank

Well done Frank. I wish someone would take this cause up for real.
While corporations have no legal responsibility (nor the moral
cahones)
to support their own country, consumers do.

Yeah, let's do a total boycott of all foreign goods! Enjoy your
walk...'cause you will not find an automobile made in the U.S. from
parts
made only in the U.S. While you're at it, you better sew your own
shoes...'cause I doubt you'll find a pair made in the U.S. from
materials
made only in the U.S.

You are an extremist. More selectivity along with a clear campaign led
by consumer advocates might really help our current situation.

I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in fact
pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.

I would. However, historically, the answer has been "no". It's not just
corporations' profits driving corporations overseas...the consumer's desire
for the lowest priced good is driving 'em away.

"NOYB" wrote in message
k.net...


I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in fact
pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.

I would. However, historically, the answer has been "no". It's not just
corporations' profits driving corporations overseas...the consumer's
desire
for the lowest priced good is driving 'em away.

What do you suppose would happen if they knew that not all consumers are
looking for the lowest priced items at all times? You already know what
happens if the manufacturers DON'T have this information, right?

Or, I suppose you could take the Dave Hall approach and do nothing, because
your efforts might not work.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
news
"NOYB" wrote in message
k.net...


I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in
fact
pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.

I would. However, historically, the answer has been "no". It's not
just
corporations' profits driving corporations overseas...the consumer's
desire
for the lowest priced good is driving 'em away.

What do you suppose would happen if they knew that not all consumers are
looking for the lowest priced items at all times? You already know what
happens if the manufacturers DON'T have this information, right?

Or, I suppose you could take the Dave Hall approach and do nothing,
because
your efforts might not work.

I used to be under the belief that corporation's tax breaks and write-offs
ought to be set at a level that's indirectly proportional to the amount of
their product that is manufactured overseas. The higher the percentage of
goods made overseas, the lower the level of write-offs. For example, if 80%
of their product is made overseas, then they lose 80% of their usual
corporate write-offs. In order to make things "fair", the same rules would
have to apply to foreign corporations selling goods over here...but it'd
have to be done via a tariff...and that's the problem. Tariffs don't work.
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff was a disaster that only served to prolong the great
Depression.

It seems that the Dave Hall approach of "doing nothing" might be the only
answer. Sure, it's going to hurt in the short term...but I believe in the
long term, things will even out.

You know I would not be adverse to buying foreign goods if they were
playing on a level trading field. You have all these companies selling
their goods out of their home country for a great deal more then they
sell to the customer overseas. Some good examples of these are Honda,
Suzuki, Hyundai and Rolls Royce. And foreign traders are not the only
guilty parties. See our own drug industry. You can go to Canada and buy
the same, identical drug for up to 75% less then you pay here.

All the goods produced by these firms are sold overseas for much less
then the domestic price. The goods are dumped into the American consumer
pool and snapped up at "discount" prices.

What exactly is a "discount price"? Is the item worth less now then it
was last week or across the street? No at all. A discount price is
arbritary, as value is not absolute.

I wonder how many of you realize the markup from raw material to retail?
How much does it cost General Motors to make a $27,000.00 Chevy Impala?
How much does it cost to make a $10,000.00 1 carat diamond ring? How
much does it cost to make a $1.09 bottle of Coke? The answers will shock
you!

I will post them tomorrow after a short discussion.

Capt. Frank

NOYB wrote:

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
news
"NOYB" wrote in message
ink.net...


I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in

fact

pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.

I would. However, historically, the answer has been "no". It's not

just

corporations' profits driving corporations overseas...the consumer's

desire

for the lowest priced good is driving 'em away.

What do you suppose would happen if they knew that not all consumers are
looking for the lowest priced items at all times? You already know what
happens if the manufacturers DON'T have this information, right?

Or, I suppose you could take the Dave Hall approach and do nothing,

because

your efforts might not work.


I used to be under the belief that corporation's tax breaks and write-offs
ought to be set at a level that's indirectly proportional to the amount of
their product that is manufactured overseas. The higher the percentage of
goods made overseas, the lower the level of write-offs. For example, if 80%
of their product is made overseas, then they lose 80% of their usual
corporate write-offs. In order to make things "fair", the same rules would
have to apply to foreign corporations selling goods over here...but it'd
have to be done via a tariff...and that's the problem. Tariffs don't work.
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff was a disaster that only served to prolong the great
Depression.

It seems that the Dave Hall approach of "doing nothing" might be the only
answer. Sure, it's going to hurt in the short term...but I believe in the
long term, things will even out.

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 13:26:50 -0800, jps wrote:


Yeah, let's do a total boycott of all foreign goods! Enjoy your
walk...'cause you will not find an automobile made in the U.S. from parts
made only in the U.S. While you're at it, you better sew your own
shoes...'cause I doubt you'll find a pair made in the U.S. from materials
made only in the U.S.

You are an extremist. More selectivity along with a clear campaign led
by consumer advocates might really help our current situation.

I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in fact
pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.


Assuming that the American made product was not made by a union worker
who's under qualified for the job, and who's management can't fire
him. And if that worker was not on the rag about their favorite sports
team losing the night before, and adopting the "Hey, I'm not going to
buy this thing" attitude and other equally "creative" ways to get out
of putting in a full day's worth of QUALITY work for their overly
inflated wages. And if the cost difference was marginal, then I might
consider it.

Dave

"Dave Hall" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 13:26:50 -0800, jps wrote:


Yeah, let's do a total boycott of all foreign goods! Enjoy your
walk...'cause you will not find an automobile made in the U.S. from
parts
made only in the U.S. While you're at it, you better sew your own
shoes...'cause I doubt you'll find a pair made in the U.S. from
materials
made only in the U.S.

You are an extremist. More selectivity along with a clear campaign led
by consumer advocates might really help our current situation.

I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in fact
pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.


Assuming that the American made product was not made by a union worker
who's under qualified for the job, and who's management can't fire
him. And if that worker was not on the rag about their favorite sports
team losing the night before, and adopting the "Hey, I'm not going to
buy this thing" attitude and other equally "creative" ways to get out
of putting in a full day's worth of QUALITY work for their overly
inflated wages. And if the cost difference was marginal, then I might
consider it.

Dave

My friend Bob must be a sick man. He's a union butcher. He works 10 hour
days because he loves dealing with the public at the store I shop in. But,
he's probably the only union employee in the known universe who's like that.
Right, Dave?

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:09:24 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

"Dave Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 13:26:50 -0800, jps wrote:


Yeah, let's do a total boycott of all foreign goods! Enjoy your
walk...'cause you will not find an automobile made in the U.S. from
parts
made only in the U.S. While you're at it, you better sew your own
shoes...'cause I doubt you'll find a pair made in the U.S. from
materials
made only in the U.S.

You are an extremist. More selectivity along with a clear campaign led
by consumer advocates might really help our current situation.

I'm really curious if a large enough percentage of people would in fact
pay a little more for an American made product if that differentiation
were made evident.


Assuming that the American made product was not made by a union worker
who's under qualified for the job, and who's management can't fire
him. And if that worker was not on the rag about their favorite sports
team losing the night before, and adopting the "Hey, I'm not going to
buy this thing" attitude and other equally "creative" ways to get out
of putting in a full day's worth of QUALITY work for their overly
inflated wages. And if the cost difference was marginal, then I might
consider it.

Dave

My friend Bob must be a sick man. He's a union butcher. He works 10 hour
days because he loves dealing with the public at the store I shop in. But,
he's probably the only union employee in the known universe who's like that.
Right, Dave?

Use your head Doug. Union membership is MANDATORY in many businesses
(Gee, I wonder why?). Not all union members take advantage of the
system to slack off. But that does not negate the fact that a great
many do. Union rules are made to benefit those who don't aspire to be
the very best that they can be. In other words they are protectionist,
and foster an attitude of mediocrity. Not a good atmosphere if you
are trying to make a quality built product.
I worked with many of these people and had to deal with these policies
and attitudes when I had my first full time job in a factory, and was
a card carrying member of the UAW.

Dave