Outsourcing jobs empowers China.

This is why unions are playing a part in driving companies to do buisness out side of the US

http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...RTRUKOC_0_US-WORK-SCANNERS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Oh, no how could employers dream of tracking, labeling and controling their workforce during buisness hours while the employee is being paid. They cant do that, keep track of their employees. Whats next, making them to work.

 

Tariffs harm US citizens in every way.

 

Thanks.

 

No they don't, they help to even the playing field. You, yourself, admitted other countries don't have the environmental controls that we have here. They also don't have a lot of other government regulations like we have here, like Child Labor Laws, for one thing. So if a 9-year-old kid in China has to work for 10 cents an hour making plastic widgets, working a 14 hour work day, and the company can just dump the refuse of chemicals used to make the plastic into the river and pollute the river, can send chemical fumes into the air, (because that isn't regulated, either), and ship those plastic widgets over here so American consumers can pay $1.00, where an American plastic widget might cost $2.00 (to help defray all the gov't regs and abide by Child Labor Laws, EOE, etc), then just how does that help Americans, as you have suggested?

Tariffs offset what the import will sell for in America, leveling the playing field with all things being considered, and thus, if Americans are given a choice penny for penny between American and imports, most of the time they will chose American made. But if the choice is not penny per penny and there is a whopping difference between price of import versus Made in USA, of course, the import will be purchased before the domestic item.

It is the lack of tariffs that have contributed to our huge National Trade Deficit which is the largest it has ever been in US history.

The REAL reason our elected officials wanted to pass these free trade agreements, if the truth be known, is probably because most of them owned/own stock in these overseas companies - it really has nothing to do with benefitting American workers or creating American jobs or doing anything of benefit to the people who elected them.

 

Tariffs allow the goverment to over tax and over regulate US companies. Because they just offset the cost by increasing Tariffs on non-US goods. So the price of everything is higher and only the goverment wins.

Tariffs are taxes on American citizens. Also when we place Tariffs on non-US goods raising the price so American companies can compeat, Other countries put tariffs on US goods that already cost more the the goods make in said country. This makes it impossable to sell US goods anywhere but America.

Ok, I admit that Non-US countries have an advantage by useing 10 year olds and sweat shops. But America has an advantage because If we could put our unions in order we could resume making quality products.

Further if we would lower taxes and be reasonable on enviromental and other regulations. US companies could bring there price somewhat in line so they could compeat on their own.

I will pay %10 more for an American made good if the quality is the same. I will not pay %70 more and I certanly will not pay more if the quality is worse. Hear that Ford, Chevy.

Only one party benifits from Tariffs. The goverment, who is allowed to Over tax and level the playing field. Passing on the tariff to the consumer.

 

First elected officials deal with there stocks in a way that they dont know what they are buying. A broker handles that for them, just for this reason.

But even if that were not true. I dont blame them for buying overseas stocks. America is running their companies out of buissnes.

 

Pretty judgmental, don't you think? Have you ever been a part of the American production force? If you have, shame on you! If you haven't, let me mention some things you may not be aware of.

You blame Unions and infer that American manufacturers do not make quality products. I disagree. I have spent most of my working life operating metal cutting equipment such as engine lathes, in fact I operate a manual engine lathe at the place I work at now exclusively. I work ten and one-half hours a day five days a week and sometimes six hours on Saturday. Other than an unpaid thirty minute lunch break, we work ten hours a day, no breaks. The pay is about two-thirds of what it should be, mainly because of foreign competition. Your solution seems to be for the U.S. worker to be paid on an equal basis with that of foreign workers. Let me ask you, is your salary equal with that of others in your field say, in China?

One more thing, you blame the Unions for much of this problem. Although there is some validity to this, most products, by far, are not made in Union shops. In fact, Unions have been on the decline for decades. Even in industries such as the auto industry, which is heavily unionized, much of their products are outsourced to small non-union shops around the country.

I want you to know, that now it requires both my wife and I to work more than eight hours a day at our respective jobs in order for us to have any luxuries. Back in 1972, when we were married, we had more than we have now, and my wife did not work. These treaties, such as NAFTA, have done great harm to the American worker.

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/busines...6,0,4780693.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

How do so few people wield so much power?

Regards,
BiR

 

Europe has more union representation and higher wages then the U.S. Companies are very competitive. The tariffs are lower than ever. The profits of American companies are up. Many of the companies complain about the insurance rates. When a person in India gets hurt there is nobody to help the injured worker or their family. Is that what you would like here?

 

I place PART of the blame on unions.

First of all let me say that the unions have done great things for this country. When they were started they were needed to balance the interests of the company and the worker. It needed balance. Now the balance has shifted to far away from the company.

I come from union family in a union county (coal mines) my grandmothers brothers were put in detention camps for joining unions. The unions were needed and the principal is sound. But, even my very union family agrees, The unions have gone to far.

For example, you have workers that are found on drugs, or do not come to work or do not work when they are there. They can not easly be fired because they are union. The unions are not looking for balance between the worker and company. They are getting everything they can from the company and driving up the cost of buisness farther then the company can handle.

They are biting the hand that feeds.

 

http://www.starbucksunion.org/

Ever paid for a cup of coffee at starbucks?

 

Maybe you just dont understand. It would help if you said what does not make sense.

 

Companys in Europe not being competitive. I read several articals about how the companys can not compete because of the short work days, and long vacations. I will look for the articals.

I want a balance between company and worker. When the balance is off for the worker you have child labor, low/no pay, no insurance, and that is bad. When the balance if off for the company, you drive the company out of buisness or out of the country and the worker has no pay, no insurance, no job. Bad for the worker and country.

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04333/417837.stm

Sounds good but.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9996845/page/2/

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One more.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/14/AR2005061401340.html

 

I found this page interesting.

http://www.starbucksunion.org/node/980

Thanks for the link.

By the way, Starbucks (symbol is SBUX) announced their earnings today (saw the headline come across the ticker at work).
Here is a link for you:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070131/earns_starbucks.html?.v=8

Subtract 205 million from 174 milllion, then divide that number by 174 million.

The Starbucks union doesn't appear to be hurting the company, does it?

Regards,
BiR

 

I find it interesting that starbucks workers would consider it anything but a summer job for highschool kids. The thing is that it takes no skill, education or experiance to make coffee. A company could make the same quality product useing 16 year old kids. That means the value of the coffee employee is what only what it takes to keep kids making coffee.

Of course making coffee will not provide for a family of four and pay a morgage and two cars. And anyone who tries will find that they need to better themself and move on to another job. The answer to them is that you should better yourself with a career and not try to make coffee into your career.

It will hurt starbucks, they increased the price of coffee recently (what is it like $7.50 a cup now). When somebody opens another coffee shop and charges decent prices because they pay high school kids what high school kids make. If they can make there shops trendy like SBs then SBs will have to compete and they will not be able to because the SB union would rather see them out of buisness then pay the workers the $5 an hour that they are worth.

See Ford and Chevy and US steel for an example.