Originally Posted By fkurucz "Yes, because the German people have the pride to buy German-made things even though they cost more" Its not Germans who buy German goods. The Germans are net exporters, big time.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>students can easily borrow so much that they have absolutley no reasonable chance of being able to pay it back<< Oh, but they will. Their wages will be garnished and there is no Chapter 7 escape hatch for student loans.
Originally Posted By fkurucz "I doubt it. We were self-sufficient when countries like China could barely supply their own needs and exported very little." Not everybody buys stuff because its cheap. What really gets to me is that higher end stuff that used to be made here has been offshored and the prices charged have not come down. Like quality shoes ($100+) which are now increasingly made in China. Same thing with expensive shirts, coats, etc. Name brand power tools, all kinds of pricey stuff. And to make matters worse the quality isn't there. There was an article the other day that documented the short lifespan of those HDTVs we all love. Apparently many are not even lasting 5 years. I call BS in that the savings are passed on to the customer. The savings are going to the company's bottom line. Companies will charge what the market will bear.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Its not Germans who buy German goods. The Germans are net exporters, big time.>> The Germans may export a lot, but they buy a lot of their own goods too. The 10 best selling cars in Germany: #1 VW Golf #2 VW Passat #3 BMW 3er #4 Audi A4 #5 Opel Astra #6 Opel Corsa #7 Mercedes C-Klasse #8 VW Polo #9 VW Touran #10 Audi A3 Source: <a href="http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f12/10-best-selling-cars-germany-62408/" target="_blank">http://www.gminsidenews.com/fo...y-62408/</a> Ten out of the top ten are German makes. I rest my case.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<The 10 best selling cars in Germany:>> America has a huge car industry too - but it's not our fault that they made crappy cars for so many years, and we switched to Japanese and German cars!!
Originally Posted By fkurucz >> #5 Opel Astra #6 Opel Corsa << BTW, these are GMs. The Astras are actually assembled in Brussels, Belgium. The Astra was briefky sold in the uSA under the Saturn nameplate.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>America has a huge car industry too - but it's not our fault that they made crappy cars for so many years<< Like management everywhere in Corporate America, the Big 3 couldn't see past the next quarter's numbers. The car biz proves that Americans are willing to pay more for quality. Even with heavy discounting the big 3 lost market share.
Originally Posted By Fe Maiden < >>students can easily borrow so much that they have absolutley no reasonable chance of being able to pay it back<< Oh, but they will. Their wages will be garnished and there is no Chapter 7 escape hatch for student loans.> And if they haven't paid it back by the time they retire, it will be taken from their social security benefits.
Originally Posted By Mr X K2M wrote "fkurucz, what do you see as the solution to our economic woes? What do you think it would take to right the ship again?" ***First of all, ditch "free trade" and globalization. We are pretty much the only chumps that play that game anyway. Everyone one else jealously protects their labor and markets. We actually give companies tax breaks for offshoring. We can be self sufficient, sure things will cost a little more, but incomes will be higher. We used to be self sufficient. We can do it again*** This. A million times THIS! I see the protectionism every day in Japan. Foreign goods are SHUNNED. The populace is strongly encouraged to "buy Japanese" at ever turn by the government. And if THAT'S not enough, the prices are too high to bother with anyway. The brainwashing is extreme, to the extent where Japanese people basically thing foreign goods are trash, without question. No other country besides the U.S. is so interested in screwing over their own citizens in search of profits for their own billionaires. It's amazing that the GOP manages to sucker so many poor and working poor into voting for them FOR THIS VERY REASON (I read a message from a right wing friend just today who was RAILING against any tax hikes for the wealthy because "that would be a disaster!", and "they deserve what they get, and they already pay too much!"...this friend, for the record, is a struggling carpenter who can barely make ends meet but HATES the Democrats with every fiber of his being).
Originally Posted By Mr X ***That is kind of like thinking the WDW of today could ever be the same as the WDW of 1982. Oops... bad example. Strangely enough there are many people at this site who think that might actually be possible also. I sure wish I had some of what they were smoking... ;-)*** Spirit has recently learned that WDW of 1982 is alive and well...in Japan. ;D <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/MsgBoard-T-117355-P-1.asp?c=1" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/Ms....asp?c=1</a> Gee, maybe he's on to something. Perhaps, just MAYBE, if we go back to doing things the RIGHT way (yeah, I know it's risky!), like OTHER countries are ACTUALLY DOING today, somehow maybe we'll do well. Just a thought.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Strangely enough there are many people at this site who think that might actually be possible also*** Disneyland fell into a truly HORRIBLE state of disrepair. I saw it with my own eyes and I was really shocked. They turned things around, and I saw THAT with my own eyes too (just prior to the 50th anniversary bash a few short years later). WDW can do it, too. America can do it, too.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>this friend, for the record, is a struggling carpenter who can barely make ends meet but HATES the Democrats with every fiber of his being<< Let me guess, he's a Protestant Fundamentalist.
Originally Posted By pecos bill The guy probably thinks only bloodsucking leeches collect unemployment benefits. The GOP is more cult than political party.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Let me guess, he's a Protestant Fundamentalist*** Oh yeah. He's a Deacon, in fact.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>***Let me guess, he's a Protestant Fundamentalist*** Oh yeah. He's a Deacon, in fact.<< Ugh! Does it not occur to him that starting wars is not Christ like?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip You have NO CLUE what drives their positions until you have lived among them like I have now for a year and a half. It is much deeper than what they hear at night on Fox News. Sure, that may reinforce their beliefs but it is not what formed them. I'm not saying their beliefs are correct or justified, but until people really understand what is behind them they will never be able to counter-act them. There is a strong belief in this area that those who are successful and wealthy are that way because God is rewarding them for their hard work and belief in Christ. To suggest that their wealth could in some way be undeserved to them is questioning what God has done. They have no problem with the wars we started and are currently engaged in. Unlike the official position of the U.S. they see it very much as a war between Christianity and Islam, and a war that is justified and a war that MUST be won. As I said, these beliefs are at the very core of their being. Beliefs like this created the Tea Party, not the other way around. You need to know the enemy you are facing, and frankly it seems to me that the Democrats have absolutely no clue.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***There is a strong belief in this area that those who are successful and wealthy are that way because God is rewarding them for their hard work and belief in Christ. To suggest that their wealth could in some way be undeserved to them is questioning what God has done*** And yet to the poverty stricken among them (like my friend, who has I think 4 or 5 kids to feed!), that's *also* "Gods will", somehow, and their situation is such for a very good reason. Those same folks (including my friend) look down upon the "other" poor, mostly minorities, for their shiftless ways and dependence on the government for "handouts". I can't speak for all, but in my friends case he claims to refuse any assistance (whether his kids need it or not). I can't say for sure whether or not he's lying about that, but I would imagine that they are taking advantage of at least SOME programs the government has to offer and just not admitting it. Perhaps not though, they are extremist and my friend mentioned at one time that he refused to even look into a census job because that would be "promoting big government". He did admit that such a position was "constitutional", but even so he thought it beyond the pale.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Beliefs like this created the Tea Party, not the other way around*** Rich Republicans created the Tea Party. The nuts just bought into it hook line and sinker. They are the pawns. ***You need to know the enemy you are facing, and frankly it seems to me that the Democrats have absolutely no clue*** Can't disagree with you there! I'm about done with the Democrats. And I'm extremely depressed to say that I'm pretty much done with the President as well. He passed some impressive stuff in his first two years, but honestly I don't think he cares that much about changing anything. Too much BuchCo still exists, and in fact some of it has been enhanced under Obama. Glad I'm living elsewhere (never thought I'd say that!).
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo sounds like the growth of another terrorist sect, but by another name.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>You have NO CLUE what drives their positions until you have lived among them like I have now for a year and a half.<< My three siblings fell for the "Prosperity Gospel". Then when they didn't get rich they moved on to next evangelical fad. I wish I had a dollar for everytime I heard one of them say "God doesn't want you to be poor." >>Glad I'm living elsewhere (never thought I'd say that!).<< We just had our health insurance switched to a high deductible plan at work. $1500 per person, $3000 total for the family. I expect to soon see 2000/4000, 3000/6000 and probably 5000/10000 before the decade is over. Canada is starting to look good.
