Not Made in the USA

The Final Eight Weeks

2009-08-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

No links, pretty pictures, or screaming obscenities from the rooftops today. Just a somber, straightforward glimpse of the future of our Nation, should we not reclaim it within the next Eight Weeks.

Eight Weeks from today, it's entirely possible that we will have lost and that our country will be well down the path to an irrecoverable socialist/fascist/monotheocratic mess.

This is precisely the Plan envisioned by Obama and his progressive thugery backers like ACORN (soon to be known as "AMERICORN"). If you'd like some insight into where the healthcare plan will lead, look no further than our "Czar" in charge of the "regulatory" controls which lay out exactly how the 1,000-page+ bills are to be enforced. Regarding government's role, and in his own words:

"In what sense is the money in our pockets and bank accounts fully ‘ours’? Did we earn it by our own autonomous efforts? Could we have inherited it without the assistance of probate courts? Do we save it without the support of bank regulators? Could we spend it if there were no public officials to coordinate the efforts and pool the resources of the community in which we live?… Without taxes there would be no liberty. Without taxes there would be no property. Without taxes, few of us would have any assets worth defending. [It is] a dim fiction that some people enjoy and exercise their rights without placing any burden whatsoever on the public fisc. … There is no liberty without dependency."

"There is no liberty without dependency.” Wow, words fail me…

But even more scary, regarding his considered and published musings on health care, old folks, and animal rights: just google "Sunstein eugenics"..............what you find WILL BLOW YOUR MIND. He has it all figured out--- right down to how a healthy animal has more intrinsic societal value than a retarded 10 year old child might. this man is extremely dangerous, because his views, like the other czars, are essentially Obama's own. Not only that, but the person in charge of REGULATORY CONTROL is arguably the most powerful man in the country-- probably having even more impact on the future of the Nation than 'Bama Himself.

Eight Weeks. I'll be counting down in this space. Week Seven begins August 16.

Unemployment, according to the One

2009-07-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

“This will be another jobless recovery,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We may get positive economic growth driven largely by federal spending, but people on the street will say, ‘Where are the jobs?"
Hmmm: "Jobless recovery" = "positive economic growth"? Is it possible? Sadly, perhaps......................

For Wachovia, as one of the banks now reporting to the Government Czar on "bucks", this was about as honest a soundbite as we're likely to get. It actually sounds like that promised Recovery is a comin'. If you listen hard, though, you'll hear the truth buried in that statement: "jobless recovery" can occur only if it isn't "job LOSS". Yes, according to the Communist Manifesto list of requirements, "economic growth driven largely by government spending" can nudge SOME of the tracking statistics in an upward direction-- as long as the money holds out, jobs DON'T decline, and the One doesn't permit hyperinflation to develop.............

Of course, He may really, truly be THAT SMART: some of the other remaining developing nations are also watching hyperinflation move towards THEM.

Is this Obama's true vision?

1. Allow U.S. unemployment to climb upwards of 15%. More folks need "programs".

2. Print plenty of money to fund our move to Statism (because the longer other governments print more of their own money they'll experience hyperinflation as well), creating a GLOBALLY-HYPERINFLATED SITUATION.

3. Pronounce His recovery complete, as we will have spent enough not-yet hyperinflated dollars to get His programs all passed into law during nights, weekends and Holidays to show the necessary improvement in GDP????

If this is what He is doing, He is far more intelligent and certainly more devious and clever than many have given Him credit for until now. Think about it-- he'll have moved us from a Republic to Statism, used money that He printed for that purpose AND SPENT IT QUICKLY ENOUGH TO MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN BEFORE hyperinflation kicked in! How brilliant is THAT??!

When, Folks?

2009-06-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

These are OBAMA'S words....remember: "words matter". The next link is HIS WORDS:

http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=e46U2Gnzpr

"When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal…under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket…even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas…you name it…whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations.
That will cost money…they will pass that money on to the consumers."

Tell me: how stupid are we, or perhaps a more fair descriptor would be "disinterested", to let this man push his extreme left-wing agenda though our system of checks and balances over 4 months????

One more HUGE step: and I hope SOMEONE agrees--- HUGE STEP: towards the completion of the Communist Manifesto 10 requirements outlined above. There is only complete control of the masses via welfare entitlements (health care) and the final removal of our civil liberty to a free vote system (Card Check) left to accomplish.

Don't tell me that I am a pessimist. I'm sick of the "if I (we) ignore this stuff, it'll all blow over" approach. I'll bet Rosetta Stone is out of stock on Russian and Madarin Chinese very soon.

The Communist Manifesto, and how it affects you. TODAY.

2009-06-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

These are the 10 conditions for transition to communism, as described in the book "The Communist Manifesto" (long considered the "bible of communism"). My very brief comments follow each of the 10 laws in red text. I thought the color was quite appropriate......... and no: I'm not making this up. Google Communist Manifesto and see for yourself:
"10 Conditions For Transition To Communism"

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. Government seizure of private goods for public use or redistribution. Hello.........
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. Will be enacted during Obama's reign. He knows it and, in fact, has made most parts of it public already.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. Redistribution of wealth. Yet again.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. Same as #1. Point is: little or no PRIVATE possessions; they are forfeit to the public good.
5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. The government has already taken over the banking system. TARP?
6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. Auto industry already taken. Amtrak lives at the pleasure of the federal gov't.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; goodbye private enterprise--can you say BAIL OUTS? the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. Stringent EPA/DEP regulatory controls to further impede success of a shrinking private sector. (a private sector being one that isn't run by the government, and/or funded by bailout money...... RoHS/WEEE/ISO14001
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. As an aside: did you know that every time a military draft was instituted, a Democrat was president???
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equal distribution of the population over the country. Exactly what has happened over the past 3 decades.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.

According to the Communist Manifesto, all these were prior conditions for a transition from capitalism to communism, but Marx and Engels later expressed a desire to modernize this passage.......
And no mention of public healthcare. Why? It's a given. With no private sector, all goods and services must be supplied by the government. No need to waste words talking about it.

Michelle's Shameful Silence on Letterman

2009-06-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

Eerily similar to the shameful silence of her husband on the Iranian crisis, we wonder where Michelle Obama's voice can be heard denouncing the nasty shots fired by Letterman at the Palin females.

"One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game," Letterman said, "during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
The backlash was almost immediate, with Palin's supporters denouncing the CBS host for making jokes that many said were sexist and for what they called an unfair attack on the governor and her family.
"I think that calling the former vice presidential candidate a slut or saying that her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez, I think everyone can agree that’s over the line," Washington Examiner correspondent Byron York told FOX News’ Greta Von Susteren.
So, we wonder, why wouldn't the First Missus be the first maam out there setting the media straight? Even a simple statement about how young women in our new world of "just words" should not be joked about in that manner, how it demeans, ridicules and embarrasses all girls--- even Republicans? Better yet: how it was simply inappropriate, hurtful, not funny, and should be immediately retracted with personal apologies to both the Governor and her 14 year old daughter??
Where is the First Lady on this one? There's no political danger in standing up for women.........or is that only applicable to SOME women?

"You're getting more tired, sleepier, listen to the sound of my voice....."

2009-06-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

My intent was to pick up where we left off on the union matter, but my attention has been drawn to the current (meaning today) insanity. If someone can refute any of the following observations, please do:

1. Barach Obama: "our children will be out of bounds....".
Except for the children of conservatives: they, of course, are fair game. But hey-- it's humor, right? Asked why he doesn't do "humor" on BHO, Letterman replied that there's no material to work with! (perhaps the 58 States comment alone would have supported 6 months-worth of George Bush fodder.)

2. BSO: ""My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it."

3. No one was permitted to even whisper BHO's middle name during the election, remember?? Interesting how the Man Himself uses it in speeches in the Middle East, his favorite speech-giving part of the planet.

4. Our "new tone" seems to be working miracles. The U.S. has put Israel's leadership in an amazingly impossible situation. The posturing, and apologising, by our administration has had wonderful successes: Iran is completely rogue, and soon likely to make some insane move, North Korea just keeps slapping the USA upside the 'ol head firing missles, rockets, warhead testing, and putting our "spies" at work in hard labor for 12 years.

5. We have been busy tossing out our long-standing alliances with Britain and Isreal, while trying to improve our DISCUSSIONS with Al-Jazeera's audience.

I know that some people actually honestly believe this is the right path, that a better future will emerge. Well, here's your opportunity. Explain why we needed to move so far from a Nation based on individual rights, to one that shares the "collectivism" mindset.

BHO is moving quickly- the American masses have no idea what is truly happening. He has an agenda, and he is focused. So does Osama Bin Laden, so did Karl Marx......................

Aren't we just about "talked out" yet??? Appeasement does not work, never has, never will. It may make you FEEL a little better looking through those rose-colored specs, but when you remove them you may see how the U.S. has relinquished their world-leadership position by abdicating strength and power to Iran, N. Korea, Russia, and China.

They don't Get it

2009-06-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

“Once again Governor Corzine has let state worker unions dictate the terms while middle class taxpayers continue to suffer,” DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic, said. “This deal, which contains job protection for state workers beyond the governor’s current term, is a boon for the public worker unions who fund election efforts of Governor Corzine and his Democratic allies."

I have dozens of personal anecdotes involving unions in NJ. Today we'll discuss of of mine- a medium-sized company story. Tomorrow we'll move on to the story of a self-employed guy whom I know well.

Is That a great Union Logo, or what?! I actually love it!

Christie Whitman actually issued an Executive Order permitting companies to use a contractor of their choice to complete project work the company wished to do. Our good friend Jim McGreevey promptly not only rescinded and replaced her order with one requiring unions be involved in all public or State projects, but requires all Agencies that know of any work being contemplated by a private company immediately NOTIFY the NJ unions of said project!

So what?? Well, there I was on Monday morning ready to observe the beginning of activity at a project site I am responsible for-- and who was there before me? And before the contractor hired to begin the work? Yep: New York City-based Laborers Local 78 "representatives". Now understand: they knew the DETAILS of a Contract that had been signed by my company only 1 working day prior! Thanks, McGreevey. Interestingly, their approach is "all or nothing". The employees onsite ALREADY belonged to Local 78! But they insisted that ALL persons hired to do this work must come from a union-certified firm. So rather than keep SOME of their men working this job, they chose to keep their guys in the union hall making signs. Good, common sense approach......???

They also sent "representatives" to the corporate office, AND to the offices of other management staffers in an attempt to muscle or embarrass them to hire only union workers.

OK, why didn't any of the general contractors quote this job using all union labor? You only need to know how to operate a calculator to figure that out: their Bids would not have been competitive.

That is precisely why manufacturing has left this Country: we are not competitive in a global economy. But don't take my word for it: ask the ex-paint room worker at GM (who recently lost his $190,000/yr job).

Manufacturing and Unions

2009-06-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

My sister recommended we consider the topic of unions today. Since this is an intense issue presently, with much of the remaining manufacturing base in the Country at stake due to Obama's "card-check" initiative, let's take a few consecutive days to did a little deeper. This one will run a little long: the next 6 days will not:

If you decide to read only one sentence of this post, consider this (no disrespect intended):

General motors UAW Contract required the company to pay a Janitor $94.80/hour, including benefits. The highly-skilled riveter made close to $130/hr. It's very hard to accept, but the numbers are out there if you care to do some research.

Interestingly, union membership AND ENROLLMENT in labor unions has been on a steady decline: more than one-third of employed people belonged to unions in 1945, union membership fell to 24.1 percent of the U.S. work force in 1979 and to 13.9 percent in 1998 representing over a 200% drop. The original premise of collective bargaining is that by representing all employees a union can negotiate a better collective contract than each worker could get through individual negotiations. As well, the unions were useful forcing employers to increase safety awareness, leading to the institution of the large and powerful government agency know popularly as OSHA. In the manufacturing economy of the 1930s, this worked reasonably well. An employee's unique talents and skills made little difference on the assembly line.

INDIVIDUALISM ERODED
In today's knowledge economy, however, collective representation makes little sense. Machines perform most of the repetitive manufacturing tasks of yesteryear, or associated jobs have simply been moved off-shore to help employers escape the ever-increasing bureaucratic red-tape, government regulation, and increasing pressure to provide goods at the lowest cost.

One liberal writer may have gotten this part correct:

"The fastest-growing occupations over the past quarter-century have been professional, technical, and managerial in nature. The jobs of the future include Web designers, interior decorators, and public-relations specialists,among others."

Jobs such as these, if the writer was correct defining them, certainly would not be well-served by a union structure. The REAL problem is that the jobs the liberal sees as the future are almost completely service-based: NO MANUFACTURING!!

Deregulation and free trade have increased competition, (from non-US companies) but this suggests that unions cannot win above-market wages through collective bargaining. Companies no longer have the profits necessary to afford those inflated wages and benefit packages that often continue well past employment.

Coming topics include teachers, the public sector, Obama's card-check program, trickle-down consequences, and the true future of manufacturing in the United States. Thanks, Sis!

Manufacturing again: sort of............

2009-06-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today in Cairo our President gave the next speech on his "world apology tour", speaking to over a billion muslims about the kinder, more gentle U.S. attitude toward--well--manufacturing. (he was referring, unfortunately, to the manufacturing involved in building nuclear power systems by any and all nations of the world. Obama said Iran should have access to peaceful atomic power, but it must adhere to nuclear non-proliferation............ I wonder when they have ever agreed to meet THAT hurdle? or any other, for that matter. This writer doesn't believe that any form of appeasement, regardless of how eloquently read from the teleprompter, will detract Iran from hurling a nuke right into Jerusalem if that's what they want to do.

He sure didn't broach the subject of what a power for good the good 'ol U.S. of A. has been over the decades. He offered few specifics on democracy, rule of law and human rights in the Arab world, issues many hoped he would spell out.

"He should have been outspoken about democracy and the universal principles of human rights," said Syrian lawyer Mohannad al-Hassani. HELLO......!!! Even a Syrian lawyer gets it.

But what am I complaining about? Manufacturing is, after all, manufacturing. Perhaps GE or Westinghouse will land one of Iran's orders for nuclear power plant equipment. Heaven knows nuclear power should by now be supplying at minimum 40% of our own energy requirements. Oh yes: when was the drilling supposed to start? And I'm certainly glad we had those thousands of "shovel-ready" projects just waiting to reduce the ranks of the unemployed!

We're a Muslim Nation now?

2009-06-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

While our founders decided more than two centuries ago that we, as a nation, have no state religion, we have always been considered a Judeo-Christian culture. Now, less than four months into his term, Obama has relabeled us.

"In an interview with Laura Haim on Canal Plus, a French television station, Mr. Obama noted that the United States also could be considered as “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.”

Is this comment scary to anyone besides the handful of conservative bloggers that picked it up? It should be.

Not just manufacturing

2009-06-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

While the intent of this blog is to focus on the plight of our manufacturing decline, with the ever unforseen and unintended consequences that accompany most everything initiated by our "leaders" for our own good, this financial mess is hitting people from all walks of life:

"John Carbonaro was let go as a floor clerk by Bank of America in January 2009, and despite his job-hunting efforts, remains a "Mr. Mom." Joe Morrone, a laid-off trading clerk from Prudential, has been unemployed for two years and struggles to support his daughters and grandson. He has had stints as a deli worker, a doorman and a bouncer. "I used to have three cars," Mr. Morrone says. "Now I share one."

The result is an unlikely stream of erstwhile Wall Street pros needing help.

Only in America: When in Doubt.........SUE!

Seems a patron at a strip bar was "injured" during a visit. Now, depending on how you read the story, the wounded gentleman may or may not have slapped the young lady on the backside, perhaps prompting the reflexive reaction. But hey-- when in doubt: SUE!

In case you think what "happens in the USA stays in the USA"

The EU Countries are also facing increasing unemployment, brought on by the monetary policies of our own Fed. InSpain, for instance, decreasing manufacturing has led to the collapse of the industrial and construction markets leaving behind an unexployment rate of 18.8%! I surely hope our foray into government-run private enterprise doesn't lead our Nation into those waters. Ah--why worry? They've done a fine job running Medicare, Social Security, Environmental Overkill, Oil reserve management, the U.S. Postal Service....... what would make one stop and think how efficiently they would run a national healthcare program, or our auto industy?

Recall yesterday's post about the REAL shaker running GM?

The guy really DOESN'T have any manufacturing, much less automotive, executive experience under his belt. Here's a mini-explanation of his highly-qualified resume':

"So what does this guy's resume look like? It should be impressive, considering he's managing America's $458,000 per day involuntary investment. Deese grew up in a Boston suburb, the son of a political science professor at Boston College. He moved to Vermont and attended Middlebury College, where he studied political science and also took time to host a campus radio show called "Bedknobs and Beatniks," described in one write-up as "a format of music, news, discussion and banter." What should be more than a little scary for GM, much less the American people, is that however smart Deese may be, he has literally no private sector experience; he is not formally trained in economics or business; and, according to The Times, he "never spent much time flipping through the endless studies about the nature of the American and Japanese auto industries."

In fact, until a few months ago, the closest Deese came to an automobile plant, was sleeping in a GM parking lot, where Pontiac G5s have been made since the plant's 1960s heyday.

With only one out of five Americans supporting the auto bailout in the first place; I wonder what kind of support there is for the inexperienced Brian Deese to tinker with the auto industry and change capitalism? I'm not an economist, but, unlike Deese, I did do post-grad studies in economics. So I guess that makes me "uniquely qualified" to take a guess at the number: zero!

I run Companies: where did they go?

2009-06-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

This blog will be dedicated to exposing truths, and fictions, relative to the ongoing manufacturing decline in the USA, with the oft-unconsidered consequences and their impact on our personal, and the Country's, future. I encourage you to follow along, and comment when you wish. Beginning this week, appropriate links to references will be included so that you can more easily traverse this slippery slope at your convenience. However, since this is the introductory post, links seem unnessary.

I run companies. That's what I do. It's what I have been trained for, perhaps even born for. Started my career as a production whippersnapper supervisor in the plastics industry, and have since had occasion to expand into electronics manufacture, metals processing, and associated semi-technical industries. With the enthusiasm of youth and implicit faith in the economic culture of our People and our Nation, I decided to make business management my career and subsequently advanced through the ranks from Supervisor through Plant Manager level to President/GM for a subsidiary of a publicly-traded corporation. I don't necessarily intend this blog to be self-serving, but this background is a fair summary of why I believe I am as qualified as anyone to comment on what is obviously the beginning of the end-game for products "Made in the USA".

I run companies, you may be an auto worker, or own a fast-food franchise in Lake Placid NY. Perhaps you drive a truck for a living, or are one of the farmers who were "encouraged" to forego their lucrative corn crops in favor of ethanol fuel technology. Let's look at these individually for a moment:

I run companies. The number of manufacturing-related companies has been on a fast, steady decline since 1986. During the period 1990-2000, approximately 85% of all new business ventures failed within the first 3 years. The percentage of US-based manufacturing firms expanding production capability into Mexico, China and India alone rose from 6% in 1990, to 37% in 2000......... it's possibly as high as 70% presently! Therefore, the work that requires General Management has largely been relocated offshore, resulting in vast numbers of "plant closings", decreasing requirements for my profession by an incalcuable amount.

You're an auto worker. With a 31-year old Obama appointee leading your business, this is such a complicated subject presently that it will wait for future blogs. Needless to say, however, your prospects for a reasonable financial future are better in a pre-Hitler economy than many others. (Unions, government workers, and teachers may be among the safest of us for the short term).

Finally, you're the McDonald's guy in Lake Placid. Since history tells us, dozens of times over, that a service-based economy cannot be viable, it's a matter of time--and not much time.

As sson as hyper-inflation causes that "Big Meal" to cost $18.99, only the union member or government worker will be able to afford it!