Are You an American ? Are you.......

[Blue Tile Spook]

I don't really have a preference, one way or the other for Ford, Chevy, Dodge, etc., but I thought I would throw this out there.

(C)ranks
(H)ard
(E)very
(V)alve
(R)eleases
(O)il
(L)eaks
(E)very
(T)ime

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[RealtorWhoCarries]

When you get done busting the Unions then take out OSHA and do away with the rest of the Labor laws that we have fought so hard to get and we will be like China and your 5 year old can get a job for pennies per hour to help feed the family......................


I go out of my way to buy American and Union when I can

Thanks for modifying my text and making other viewers think i bolded in red and made it bigger. Good luck trying to scare everyone into thinking we'll be like China. And feel free to take a swing at everyone else on this thread who has said that same thing, but maybe just not as pointed. My dad always taught, don't be scared to state the ultra obvious.

 

[RealtorWhoCarries]

i buy the best product for my money. if they are the same price (or even close) and the quality is the same, i'll tip in favor of the local. otherwise i use basic econ 101 to make decisions. I buy what gives me the most utility (satisfaction) for the lowest price. Like a rational person.

These folks have the government (and themselves) to blame. withholding taxes (and SS and Medicare), union practices endorsed by politicians, local appeasements to "Big Employers" paid for by the taxpaying land owner and small businesses, laws to prevent competition and free markets has made these companies uncompetitive bloated and dependent upon government largess.

Real Americans do not support local communists just because they are local. Communism and its evil twin National Socialism are my enemies, foreign or DOMESTIC. Real Americans would have not voted for an abomination. Real Americans know this is the Land of the Free, not the Land of the Entitled, and not the Land of You have to buy my product because i'm your neighbor.

This country can make it, but only if people realize the only guy who is going to look after your family is YOU. Anyone else offering to do so has aims to make you a slave.

That is all.

Yeah!! What he said!!

 

[ATF Consumer]

Thanks for modifying my text and making other viewers think i bolded in red and made it bigger. Good luck trying to scare everyone into thinking we'll be like China. And feel free to take a swing at everyone else on this thread who has said that same thing, but maybe just not as pointed. My dad always taught, don't be scared to state the ultra obvious.

Why should we be scared of us operating like china? I mean...they are at least producing, not just placing several hundred thousand overpaid union workers on unemployment.

If the 5 year old in china wasn't producing items that the US is buying, then how would he feed his family?
What's wrong with making pennies per day? If the market can tolerate that type of business model, more power to them.

 

[Mr.Hoppes]

As a union child, I will say this.

Unions served a great purpose history. History.

The problem is / was they got too strong and in my personal experience were responsible for moving American jobs to Mexico. I know because they took the machines my father and his Friends worked on and moved them to Mexico, just over the border. The Union has demanded and the company finally met their demands, but less than 4 months later the doors were closing. That was in the 80' s when there was another economic slump, and the union just would not accept a modest raise it had to be what they asked for, no less. That company once had contracts for the craftsmen line of tools. American made tools that lasted.

Folks there is a time and a place to fight. The union has failed to understand that there are times for the very survival of the company the wages and benefits must remain the same.

That said I do support union made labels.

On the buy American line...

Why not go a step further and buy LOCAL. Try to buy all you buy if possible within a 100 miles of your home. I believe it is an investment in America as a whole and our very blood family in particular. If I buy XYZ from over there, and ZYX from another over there , how long till my children grow up, and move there to get the work. I pay extra for American, and more yet for Local.
For us it started wit food buying. 100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change We just took it a step further and decided to make it everything we buy. We also stay away from "box" stores and chain stores.

 

[CarmelHP]

For us it started wit food buying. 100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change We just took it a step further and decided to make it everything we buy. We also stay away from "box" stores and chain stores.

Serious question, who makes your shoes? I can barely find shoes made in the Western Hemisphere, how do you find them within 100 miles of your home?

 

[Arm America]

I just stepped back in from work Jennybird, thanks for asking.

Still have a couple of more months of taxes to pay before I can consider what I earn mine.
I must admit, I am shocked by what I'm reading.

Why is it that everyone stands for the singing of the Star Spangled Banner?
(this is a good question, think about it)
Is it because the guy next to you does?
At what point are you an American and the next, your supporting another's Country?

Buying into NAFTA,
buying fuel thats refined in terrorists Countries because its .2 cents cheaper,
The threat is where the profits go, flush it right on out of our economy,
right on over to China, South Korea, or worse yet, to some Arab Country that despises America and all it stands for.
We are the Worlds Keeper, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.
Who ever shall defeat us will rule the World, all will attempt.
Our Government is wanting to level the playing field thru imports and
unbalanced fair trade. Fair to who, certainly not me.

On another note, what would your wages be if the Unions had not
established our current fair wage.
There is record unemployment right here right now.
Again, the Unions have kept a fair wage for those that complain about them.
This is not rocket science folks.
To compete against the imports, try working 10 hrs a day at $ 2.00 bucks an hour.
Sounds great right?
Wait, now your not working for the employers, your working for the government.
Many will claim your slaved the government already.
Your not, you can quit Monday Morning..........
Get a better job, pick your own housing, send your kids to a private school.
We now have more people wanting to work than there are jobs. Am I wrong?
If you made $ 50,000.00 a year, I suspect we both know someone that would take it for $ 40,000. Well what happens when the bidding gets down to $ 20,000.
You going to quit? Where will you go? Ask for a raise and get replaced.

Bust the Unions and see what happens, thats right you lose all bargining power.
There will always be someone willing to work for less, but the Unions set the scale.

My intent in the original post was not to justify who bought what and for what reason.
Nor invoke the bashing of American products.

It was an effort to re-light a spark thats grown dim,

to encourage someone to help a neighbor thats down,
sponser a kid that can't afford to play a Spring Sport,
To help out a Fellow American, the guy next door.
Only we can change the direction our Country is going.

Can we count on Mexico or China to provide for us what we have given them?

It takes money, anything can be bought with money.
Lets just keep sending it to them, pretty soon they will own all of us.

 

[edsinger]

How can any red blooded American that is part of Manufacturing compete against any foreign made product. Thats right, we can't.

I have to disagree with this statement. We are the most efficient workers in the world bar none. We can and DO compete. It just depends on what industry.

I do not want any arguments, but in some cases the unions have destroyed from within.

We can compete, but we need a fair playing field.

We have a successful auto industry, its just not the big 3.

BTW, on only have owned GM products EVER, so I do buy American when I can.


EDIT: After reading a few more I would like to point out that in some cases the non-union employee gets paid MORE than his union counterpart. 75 years ago there was a need for a union, now not as much.

 

[Mr.Hoppes]

Serious question, who makes your shoes? I can barely find shoes made in the Western Hemisphere, how do you find them within 100 miles of your home?

Haven't found any yet.

Frankly my shoes are provided by the veterans administration because I am Diabetic and they are specially made for me.


There are things which just can not be found locally, but we try. Especially when it comes to food.

 

[theweakerbrother]

Serious question, who makes your shoes? I can barely find shoes made in the Western Hemisphere, how do you find them within 100 miles of your home?

Earth, Simple or New Balance. I believe I have all three brands with shoes made in the United States.

 

[beez1954]

Hey, While we're at it lets get some Embraer planes to replace our union made warplanes and maybe Russia can spare us some 1954 model tractors instead of using John Deere tractors so we can plant the food that we eat.

There's more to the UAW than the automobile industry and more to this thread than buying cheaper cars.

 

[infidel]

+1 for free trade. It brings us the highest quality product at the lowest price. If we can't economically compete with producing the product, find one that we can. If we didn't have NAFTA, I would guess we would see living expenses at least doubled.

 

[infidel]

Hey, While we're at it lets get some Embraer planes to replace our union made warplanes and maybe Russia can spare us some 1954 model tractors instead of using John Deere tractors so we can plant the food that we eat.

There's more to the UAW than the automobile industry and more to this thread than buying cheaper cars.

Could you please elaborate?

 

[HICKMAN]

The only thing made in America anymore is soldiers!

and they make less than EVERYONE...

 

[beez1954]

Embraer is made in Brazil-(Not Brazil, Indiana)
John Deere is made in Illinois.

John Deere is a UAW represented plant.

Most U.S. warplanes are made in union shops.

The A in UAW stands for Auto, Aerospace and Agriculture.

I just picked Embraer as an example as it is a foreign company that a UAW company supplies some of the engines for.

I also hear that there is a high failure rate on the testing that is required to gain employment at these UAW plants.

I'm just saying that there is an argument for quality as opposed to cheapness.

Don't get me wrong- My wife drives a Toyota and me a Pontiac (who Knew?) but I still grew up with a father who worked in management and who would do anything he could to buy American made cars.
He passed away without knowing that there would be American made cars with the profit going overseas but I still adhere to the lessons he taught me and try to do my best in purchasing products that the profit will benefit the American people totally.

I know, I know there will be some that say that "x" amount of parts were made in.... (fill in blank) but I am still reassured that the bottom line profits stay in this country.

To each his own as to his or her preference- that's just mine in automobiles. (BTW- I'm such a Belgian made Browning fan that I don't believe I just spent so much time writing this reply)

Bottom line- It's your hard-earned money so spend it as you please-
you only go around once in this life so enjoy.

Greg

 

[22lr]

Take economics and you will see free trade not only helps everyone, but it is vital to everyone's well being . The worst thing we could do right now is start restricting the imports just so a out of date company like GM can continue to make crappy cars for a few more years. Ya I drive a Pontiac, and love it, but American cars can hold a candle to the Imports for reliability. Heck Chrysler has the worst reliability rating of any car company according to Consumer Reports. I will continue to buy the best products that I can afford regardless of were it was made. For now im driving a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am GT, next car was going to be a new G8 but now that Pontiac got axed....

Bottom line is that if American companies cant compete then they should go out of business. They can control how much workers get paid, that argument is BS. I will buy from American Companies every chance I get but only if there product is better, and priced competitively.

That and since GM took the bail out I lost my strong GM loyalty, maybe its time for me to go Ford.

 

[Bull]

Thanks for modifying my text and making other viewers think i bolded in red and made it bigger. Good luck trying to scare everyone into thinking we'll be like China. And feel free to take a swing at everyone else on this thread who has said that same thing, but maybe just not as pointed. My dad always taught, don't be scared to state the ultra obvious.

Sorry I didn’t mean to make anyone think you posted in large red letters I just wanted everyone to know what my post was in reference to. If they read your original post they would know that.
It is wrong to lump all unions into one group and as far as union workers (UAW as referred to in some posts) breaking the companies, the company and union negotiate to come to an agreement on pay and benefits.
I am in a building trades union and work very hard to keep up with new products and applications in my field. It cuts me to the bone to hear someone talk about breaking something that our forefathers fought so hard to get.
When GE moved its factories from Bloomington to Mexico to build washing machines it did so to take advantage of the .35 per hour labor. How many people there at .35 cents per hour can afford to buy a washer? So they send them back here (and no import tax) to sell to the people they laid off when they moved the factories. They sell less so they raise the price to make up for it.

 

[Eisman]

I worked nearly twenty years for a non-union shop. One thing I know is that no company willingly give up more of a wage than it feels it can get away with. The companies ultimate goal is to pay as little for labor as it can get. To keep the unions out the company I worked for would match anything a union shop would get. "You don't need a union look at what we've given you." Union shop got a wage increase so did we, they got a benefit so did we. It may have not been as much but it was enough to keep the people happy.

When the unions started making concessions our non union shop started losing pay and benefits. If you don't think this won't happen to where your working think again. When Delphi filed for bankruptcy protection and got wage concessions from the unions Dana corp soon threatened the same thing. What is interesting is that Delphi's labor took a $10 per hour pay cut to bring them down to less than $20. Dana demanded the same scale of wage cuts. Dana however was already paying less than $20 an hour and wanted their labor cost to be around $10 an hour.

Even China does not escape the greed of the company. When the recent down turn went global Chinese companies started closing down, claiming high labor costs, and moving to cheaper labor markets in India.

If it were not for a Federally mandated minimum wage most companies would pay less than that if they could get away with it.

Is there abuses in the union labor system, yes, but the alternative is to be at the mercy of a "benevolent" company. Been there no thanks!

 

[edsinger]

I would say that some industries have shown how the 'old' model of unions is outdated. Look at Nucor and the Steel Industry, and they haven't laid off anyone!
As the company makes money, they make money. Its scalable. Unions need to be more employer friendly and they might have a chance of survival, but I highly doubt it.

 

[RealtorWhoCarries]

The bottom line is if you don't like what you're earning, eat some beans and rice and go get another skill. That's a beautiful thing about America.-Dave Ramsey.

I say the following with the utmost respect. Let's be honest-$30/hour for unskilled labor on the line, that's a business model that will go belly up. I have family working in Kokomo and had family at Visteon. I have family driving forklift for $25/hour at Allison. I built my business 4 years ago driving a forktruck on an open air loading dock for $11/hour. You know what, that job wasn't worth much more than that. And i knew it and admitted it. So the only way you can justify these crazy wages are if you're blinded by emotion, because everyone here seems way too smart for any other option. When i was a Teamster, workers played the system to their benefit, right down to trying to get me to beat up a manager in a trailer, knowing no one would say a word. I quit that job several weeks later. When i was an IATSE member in Nashville, some old guys backed me and 2 buddies into a private room and told us to slow down our work production, because we were making others look bad. What happend to the best person gets the job and realizing that the job is only worth so much? Raises should be given on merit, like improvement of job, new innovations or higher education, that benefits the company, be acquired. To give a raise for any other reason is again, a poor business model that will belly up. To list all of the other abuses here, would be overkill, but i easily could, and so could everyone else here, even those of you who are clouded by emotion. Let's walk into a gathering of uaw workers, buy some drinks get them comfortable and ask them how they have screwed the system and they will tell you tons of stories, and be proud of it. Lastly, if those guys thought that those conditions could exist indefinitely, i guess those guys sobering up later as opposed to never is a good thing.