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Does the United States Make Anything Anymore?

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posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 02:58 PM
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reply to post by SLAYER69
 



Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how can I forget about that littler piece of information, I actually did a thread a year ago about that same problem as US companies working in China were not very careful on how they used secret information. kind of difficult as you can not have somebody doing a manufacturing job for you without telling them what is for.



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 03:06 PM
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Found a link to a story about the production base.


U.S. Industrial Production Falls 1.8%
Manufacturing drops 2.5%
Feb. 18, 2009



"Eighteen of the 20 major manufacturing industries declined in January. Another way to put the severity of this manufacturing recession in perspective is that in the last 12 months, from January 2008 to January 2009, manufacturing industrial production declined 12.9% -- this 12-month decline is the worst since June 1975 when production was off 13.7% in a 12-month period," said Daniel J. Meckstroth, Chief Economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. "A major inventory realignment is underway in manufacturing as firms shed formerly scarce commodities that have collapsed in prices and struggle to convert excess inventory into scarce cash reserves. The next few months will unquestionably be difficult, but the end result of inventory destocking we feel."


www.industryweek.com...

Interesting that I just figure out that in production energy and energy related goods are counted as part of it.



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 03:33 PM
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Could this also be the evolution of our country?

I am an economic amateur to the max.

While other countries are having "industrial" revolutions, we are leaving ours and hitting the age of high end technology. If you are not in that field (in regards to these two jobs), you will be left behind.

While others will build cars and such for cheap labor, we will have to sell the high end technological equipment for the the equivalent of the money we would normally bring in.

If everybody knew how to build a computer from scratch, you think they would be worth as much? Maybe it is time for us to continue on to "newer" projects (such as Airplanes for one example)?

Now, regardless of all of that - we ARE being hit economically by the loss of jobs here in the USA. But as I just asked - is it part of our evolving country?



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 03:38 PM
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reply to post by FritosBBQTwist
 


Well you remember that we were supposed to replace industrialization for technology right? to become the most technologically advance nation in the planet and to stay one step ahead of the developing countries that were starting their industrial revolution.

But what happen? well while we are still indeed very much into consumerism of electronics our technology was out sourced along with the industrial base.

Interesting that thanks to that our secrets were been shipped away also.

As you know when it comes to technology we have been no only out sourced but in sourced as well by the reminding companies in the nation.



[edit on 23-2-2009 by marg6043]



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 03:44 PM
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Originally posted by FritosBBQTwist
Could this also be the evolution of our country?


I don't think there's anyone who doubts the 'times are changing'. The dispute is whether it's for the better or not.


Originally posted by FritosBBQTwist
If everybody knew how to build a computer from scratch, you think they would be worth as much?


Nope, you're right. If it were easy/able to be copied, it would be cheap. Food is prime example.


Originally posted by FritosBBQTwist
Maybe it is time for us to continue on to "newer" projects (such as Airplanes for one example)?


Problem is new things that are tech based required at least tech-level employees. Do you think we could get a construction worker to engineer an new airplane? He'd need the college degree before anyone would hire him/her. Personally I'm all for getting her/him through college for the better salary, but what do you say to the ones who enjoy construction?
Money isn't always a person's goal.


Originally posted by FritosBBQTwist
Now, regardless of all of that - we ARE being hit economically by the loss of jobs here in the USA. But as I just asked - is it part of our evolving country?


Whenever we get 'hit', it makes us look like we don't know what we're doing, hence the panic. Is the panic justifed? Or just 'part of the process' as you're suggesting? I don't know...nor know of any person that does.



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 03:49 PM
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reply to post by SLAYER69
 


And the interminable conflict between nation-states continues... The kind of bigotry exemplified of U.S. national politics in this video is the cause of the world's poverty and the deprivation of the quality of life for many millions of people living on this planet. I understand that nation-states need to maintain a competitive advantage against one another so as to stock up on the capital necessary for the preferential sustenance of its own tax payers, but this inevitably results in doing the opposite to the citizens of other nation-states in direct conflict. This is the nepotism of state nationalism at work. It's remarkable how the interviewer takes this all for granted. I love how Americans today attempt to emulate Adam Smith's moral philosophy with unrivaled enthusiasm, but only up until the point where competition actually starts to affect them personally for the worse (when it comes to intellectual property rights in this instance). Then we go all out and spend all our treasury money on subsidizing military and other industries to return to our normal level of competitive advantage, which we happen to finance with an ever increasing global debt (I'm still unsure why the world pays for it). So it appears the propensity of nation-states to fend for themselves primarily through unfair (subsidized) competition isn't at all reflective of Smith's moral philosophy, but rather is a symptom of the dichotomy produced between the desire for a capitalist world system and the ability to select favorite industries so that our tax base remains well sustained.


Problem is new things that are tech based required at least tech-level employees. Do you think we could get a construction worker to engineer an new airplane? He'd need the college degree before anyone would hire him/her. Personally I'm all for getting her/him through college for the better salary, but what do you say to the ones who enjoy construction? Money isn't always a person's goal.


And we'll struggle with that question for a long time to come. I don't believe it will be reconciled in our lifetime. By the time people get to do what they want, when they want, instead of being born into a world that demands personal plasticity in shaping our interests, capitalism as a system where people are actually involved in it would be irrelevant. Early socialist thinkers, such as Marx made the mistake that Utopia could be found before actually engaging in the work required to get there. He thought society could move to that point with sheer will alone, instead of building the technological foundation for such an existence over time, which is what we're all doing right now. Hell, if I could quit my job and enjoy the same quality of life I do now then I'd be all for it, but I know that's not realistic. The way I see the organization of the world in its present form is that it's just a stepping stone in the pursuit of political and economic freedom. None of what we do really matters, except for what we intrinsically enjoy. I work so I can live a sociable relationship with my kids, so that I can play the guitar in the evenings, so that I can treat my wife to dinner... One of my favorite quotes from John Adams, founding father of the United States, is as follows:

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."

I believe all thermodynamic civilizations (those which must consume to remain living, whether alien or human) are destined to reach this point at some time or another, and develop new modes of conscious existence. However, in order to achieve conscious immortality, millions of generations will have to do the hard work and sacrifice their own ambitions and fantasies of the future.

I could probably define my personal moral philosophy as a combination of asceticism and ruthlessly unhindered competitiveness. I think the world would do better to take these qualities into consideration. All I can say is that the U.S. and its tax payers deserve what the Chinese are doing to them, because their attempts to one-up their competitors have historically speaking been unfair. We've been in an artificially created position of dominance since the beginning and now they must catch up to feed their own citizens. We've set up a zero-sum game with the creation of nationhood. By virtue of nature alone, the players will always play their best response. Since we've given them one option, what else can we all expect?

[edit on 23-2-2009 by cognoscente]



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 05:34 PM
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I don't think we do. Look at Coca-Cola, they scam the hell outta us by saying it's bottled in the USA. It is bottled in the USA, but the syrup stuff that gets mixed with water is made in some foreign place(can't recall).

Not to mention so much is done with machines now, soon humans will hardly be needed.



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 06:01 PM
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Of course they do.

They make debt..
They make war..
etc.



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 06:05 PM
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reply to post by ModernAcademia
 


The US still makes more than most other countries.
There are two things driving this

1. Everybody wants cheaper stuff and don't care where it comes
from.

2. Companies want to make more profit and compete against their
rival already making goods in China.

The outcome is Inevitable and totally predictable, governments could
have halted this practice ages ago, but the genie is out of the bottle now.



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 06:09 PM
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reply to post by saint4God
 


Well - you somewhat reiterated my point.

Since the intelligence of the world is constantly rising (some may argue that
), things that were once big boomer's for a country are no longer.
We got rising countries over in the east, that while are not on our level of doing things to say, are not far behind.

What they do best is mass manufacture products such as cars. But, it only makes sense that as we evolve as a society, that we will go from "easy" jobs (an understatement), to highly technological fields requiring college just to get into the field.

If you would work for a place in the 1500's, you would be considered a genius.

Now, I do not want to put myself in the light as saying the OUT SOURCING is good. Surely enough, we could keep these jobs over here, but as some of you said - you must be able to compete on some level internationally against a rising country where this could be one of their main focuses.

Yes this is a free world, and yes, money does not make everyone happy. But I do know being bound down by money can make a lot of peoples life's suck. My point is that we must continue trying to be ahead of the game technology wise. The implementation of a clean energy USA alone would make a crap load of jobs. After that is the next thing, whatever it may be. Just an example.

To sum it all up. We can and should also have our companies producing over here, but as the competition rises, one can not expect to make a boat load of money when others are doing it for nothing. That is why, we must go in a direction of development that others can not follow so directly. Maybe in the ancient day, being a secluded nation sounds peaceful, but we are so tied up with other countries that it seems to me no longer possible to work on a pace that "we want".

American Cars? Pff...who needs em? American Jetpacks is where its at!



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 06:41 PM
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We make the world's best whore mongering, thieving, self serving public servants in the world. No doubt about it.



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 06:51 PM
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The US rules high tech. We own the internet. Once Americans finally realize the true depths of slave labor, which is why China and most of Asia make things so cheaply, then manufacturing will return big time....in about 20 years.

"Bodies" exhibit anyone? Cmon, theres nothing like an "educational" display of executed political prisoners from China passing itself off as legitimate long enough for it to tour most of the country before some doctors noticed that none of the cadavers on display had a normal cause of death.

If its made in China...I dont need it.



posted on Feb, 23 2009 @ 08:30 PM
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well, we still make the usual, you know... bombs, planes, guns.

That's enough to make this country powerful.



posted on Feb, 24 2009 @ 07:50 AM
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Originally posted by FritosBBQTwist
American Cars? Pff...who needs em? American Jetpacks is where its at!


Staying 'the innovator', I get ya. Sure, hey, who isn't for a more exciting future?



posted on Feb, 24 2009 @ 10:37 AM
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Originally posted by cognoscente
reply to post by SLAYER69
 


"(I'm still unsure why the world pays for it). So it appears the propensity of nation-states to fend for themselves primarily through unfair (subsidized) competition isn't at all reflective of Smith's moral philosophy, but rather is a symptom of the dichotomy produced between the desire for a capitalist world system and the ability to select favorite industries so that our tax base remains well sustained."


"Early socialist thinkers, such as Marx made the mistake that Utopia could be found before actually engaging in the work required to get there. He thought society could move to that point with sheer will alone,"


"I work so I can live a sociable relationship with my kids, so that I can play the guitar in the evenings, so that I can treat my wife to dinner..."


Well firstly whether the world likes it or not or even if they don't want to admit it that fact is the US is still the big dog and is hard wired so to speak into all levels of global development.

At this moment in time people talk of globalization but when the US says something everybody pretty much listens even with the wars and the titanic economic tsunami whether they want to admit it or not. Good, Bad, or Indifferent The US is the mover and shaker.

The global community can complain about how this crises was brought about by mismanagement and start to point out all that is wrong with the US all day long but the fact of the matter is that presently the US needs to get the ball rolling so that people in China and India can get back to work so that they can put food on their tables. Lets get the ball rolling then later when things are a bit more stable we then can go about fixing things and address the issues that we have let fester. that's why they "pay for it"

Secondly Marxism is awesome on paper but in the real world it falls apart.
"Anything dreamed of by man is inherently flawed by mans own short comings"

You will always have greed and corruption the only way to deal with it is through very tight control and transparency in business and government. Good luck with that.


And lastly I also enjoy evenings with my loved ones after a hard days work Isn't it great to have something to do or a place to go to actually make a living?



posted on Feb, 25 2009 @ 03:49 AM
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Here is a nifty little clip on the U.S. Gross product toxicology report based on harmful chemistry. democracynow.blip.tv...

Unfortunately this will effect our industrial creditability but allow the U.S. to
to take a productive step back.



posted on Feb, 26 2009 @ 03:26 PM
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Well, I work in manufacturing in the US...Not getting rich, but doing ok. My biggest beef is that my employer can't afford to give an insurance benefit, and also can't pay me enough for me to afford my own insurance. Oh well, what are you gonna do!




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