Does the United States Make Anything Anymore?

Does the United States Make Anything Anymore?

www.flatheadbeacon.com

WASHINGTON – It may seem like the country that used to make everything is on the brink of making nothing.

In January, 207,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982. Factory activity is hovering at a 28-year low. Even before the recession, plants were hemorrhaging work to foreign competitors with cheap labor. And some companies were moving production overseas.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Unlike many narrow minded people, of course I won't blame those that accept the jobs.

But if you want to put blame you can either chose maybe greedy unions or perhaps corporate execs.

But to blame those accepting the jobs is futile and nothing else.

looks like America will continue doing good in being the planet's Haliburton and perhaps that's about it.

Not too different from the fall of the soviet union.

What's next?

www.flatheadbeacon.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Yeah: mistakes, and lots of 'em.

This site I like to quote a lot from is great in information about the crisis going on in the nation.

So far this are the figures on US companies sold since 1978.

Total number of acquisitions: 16,613 Average amount of US companies sold to foreign acquirers per day as reported: $201,233,690

First acquisition date: 07/03/1978

Last acquisition date: 07/24/2008

The "Great American Sell Off" ticker is an up-to-date projection of the amount of money that foreign companies spend to acquire U.S. companies. Acquisition of companies by foreign entities diverts U.S. technology, jobs and ownership abroad.

The ticker is a projection based on the average amount of money spent per second on acquisitions in the 2007 fiscal year, which was $4,087.85 per second. Use the acquisition index below to see the most current data available on foreign acquisitions.

www.economyincrisis.org...

Foreign Ownership of US Domestic Industries

This data comes from IRS (Internal Revenue Service) - Current as of 2002 (latest data available).

Foreign ownership refers to ownership of assets of a particular industry by foreign controlled domestic U.S. Corporations (FDC) 50% or more owned by a foreign entity.

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF SELECTED U.S. INDUSTRIES

As you can see since 2002 the government has not updated its date, the reason perhaps no to cause panic in the nation.

www.economyincrisis.org...

The US makes dependents that are eagerly awaiting for their next handout. Sad to say but America has been on the selling block for the longest and the days of actually making a product are just about gone.

The United States seems to primarily manufacture and export debt. It's a shame. I really do hope our country turns itself back around.

CPU's. Intel is an American company and is still the top chip manufacturer in the world.

reply to post by marg6043


But you do have to wonder how many of those companies are owned by the same people just moving there head quarters to offshore banking to avoid taxes. I would say a lot of them are still owned by the same rich people who just moved to tax havens and offshore accounts.
Tax Haven Resources Services & Banking for the Cayman Islands

The United States is still the largest manufacturer of goods on the face of the earth...I don't know where someone got the idea that we don't make anything anymore.

JBA for decades that is how the wealthy gets away with anything and everything.

Now if I dare to afford a cayman Island account to avoid taxes, you bet will be fine and put in jail.

But we have a government that with all the scam running in the federal reserve at the expenses of tax payer they still seem to protect this type of corruption because you don't see anybody going to jail yet.

According to the department of commerce, U.S. export of goods and services actually increase by 13% for 2007. 2008 report should be out soon.
Dept. Commerce Report

warning. link goes to a PDF

America is a nation of lawyers and marriage counselors and investment bankers and wight loss clinic operators. Useless non-productive parasites.

What we need are engineers and factory workers and truck drivers and farmers. People that make things.

reply to post by marg6043


The people in government are the ones with the money in these accounts in order to hide deals that would be in conflict of interest. They just hide the ownership overseas account and donate tax payer money to the good cause overseas and drain money from corporations here while bailing them out with tax payer money and avoid taxes at the same time. win win for them.

The US manufactures little for the average European consumer. On reading the OP's post I made a quick inventory ... apart from Intel chips in my laptop, my sum total of US products amounts to ... my contact lenses, a carton of Florida orange juice and that's it.

I did have a Chrysler Neon once (once and never again).

Originally posted by tamusan
According to the department of commerce, U.S. export of goods and services actually increase by 13% for 2007. 2008 report should be out soon.

America trade deficit, I hope you understand what a trade deficit is and what it means.

A littler history of the American trade deficit

In 1975, U.S. exports had exceeded foreign imports by $12,400 million, but that would be the last trade surplus the United States would see in the 20th century. By 1987, the American trade deficit had swelled to $153,300 million. The trade gap began sinking in subsequent years as the dollar depreciated and economic growth in other countries led to increased demand for U.S. exports.

economics.about.com...

But the American trade deficit swelled again in the late 1990s. Once again, the U.S. economy was growing faster than the economies of America's major trading partners, and Americans consequently were buying foreign goods at a faster pace than people in other countries were buying American goods. What's more, the financial crisis in Asia sent currencies in that part of the world plummeting, making their goods relatively much cheaper than American goods. By 1997, the American trade deficit $110,000 million, and it was heading higher.

Trade deficit as Off July 2008

In January 2008 - we started tracking our trade with our NAFTA partners [sic]. In just January through July we have a trade deficit over $88,235,000,000.00 or 88.2 Billion USD.

look at the charts,

spofga.org...

National debt, You know how the national debt is linked to trade right, as America lost its industrial base our trade deficit shows that we in order to finance our government spending have to borrow money from foreign nations

National debt,

The estimated population of the United States is 305,690,802
so each citizen's share of this debt is $35,362.15.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.52 billion per day since September 28, 2007!

National debt clock, The Outstanding Public Debt as of 22 Feb 2009 at 03:37:43 AM GMT is:


www.brillig.com...

Do the math.

[edit on 21-2-2009 by marg6043]

[edit on 21-2-2009 by marg6043]

What are you guys talking about? Again, we are the largest manufacturer of goods on the planet. What about Cummings, Caterpillar, Boeing, Chicago Bridge and Iron, American Steel, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Delphi, General Electric...yeah, American doesn't make anything

I want us to make more, import less, and cut our debts, but let's not jump the gun...the U.S. is the largest manufacturing country in the world, China is second (though close).

[edit on 21-2-2009 by yellowcard]

reply to post by yellowcard


Is not that America doesn't make anything, but that Americas can not produce enough to compete with our trade partners we consume more than we produce.

Do you have an understanding of economics?

reply to post by marg6043

America trade deficit, I hope you understand what a trade deficit is and what it means.

Dept. Commerce Report

Did you even click my link to the Dept. of Commerce and take a look? The first bullet statement under the title "Export Overview" says "exports of U.S. good and services grew by 13.1%". Do you understand what the words "export of goods and services grew by" mean when used together? Not deficit.

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by yellowcard

 

Is not that America doesn't make anything, but that Americas can not produce enough to compete with our trade partners we consume more than we produce.

Do you have an understanding of economics?

Uhm, well I am an economic major going for a MBA in economics, so I'm sure I know a hell of a lot more than you do. Your statement, "but that Americas can not produce enough to compete with our," doesn't make any sense in regards to economics, so I don't think you should get too smug.