Posted on 12/02/2007 4:53:00 AM PST by Zakeet
I was laughing at the made-in-America. I don’t have hard data but I’ll bet zero Dell laptops are made in America. For desktops that may be assembled here, their cheaper ones will use mostly foreign components. The more expensive desktops and their servers will use some Intel CPU’s made here, and some from overseas.
The ceo of Airbus was whining they can not compete with Boeing because of the low dollar. He was just making excuses for their failed policy. 55% of all commercial aircraft in the world are made by Boeing. That is a big deal! Bigger than a big mac.
The last time I was in Europe the only place to eat at 2:00 a.m. was a McDonald’s.
GOOD GRIEF that sounded ignorantly like a Pat Buchanan comment.
“Which “U.S. goods?””
Well, there are the books I write for Osprey, Ltd. The contract is written in pounds sterling and paid in US dollars. The drop in the dollar added a fat chunk of change to my last paycheck. Additionally, they like contracting with US authors because our expenses are pegged in dollars. Since I get stuff in the US, my expenses have kept constant in dollars, which means they have dropped against the pound.
They want two, maybe three or four more books, from me in 2008. That’s enough to pay my son’s college expenses for a year. And I am getting about 20% more than I was two years ago thanks to the drop in the dollar against the pound.
Admittedly it may not be a big effect on the national economy, not like what Boeing does with the jets they sell overseas. But it is a hell of a positive effect on my personal economy. Sucks to be importing, but this is boom times for exporters.
What % of your budget is food & energy? Combined it’s about 12-18% of mine depending on the month. We need more included besides those 2 things whether you like it or not.
Democrats love the national debt.
Libertarians love the trade deficit.
What we’re seeing is a fed that is pushing an inflationary policy by printing more money that the market can bear, resulting in a weaker dollar.
More dollars chasing the same amount of goods = inflation.
Yet, at the same time, economic factors such as the housing bubble and a high international demand for commodities like metals and oil are acting as a brake to slow our economy down.
Thus we get a stagnate economy with inflation, ie - stagflation (1970’s flashback!)
Bush is, economically speaking, turning into the Republican version of Carter.
Gag!
So, instead of labeling my comment “ignorant” why don’t you weigh in with some facts?
Cowardly? Intellectually ill-equipped?
Now quit being so rude!
OK....so we have seattle and witchita taken care of....how about the rest of America????
Ghost of America’s future, I fear thee most of all. Or put another way “It’s the inflation, stupid.”
- I live in rural SC. The company I work for manufactures industrial equipment for welding & cutting. Our exports are booming.
- A half mile down the road from us, GE manufactures the magnets for MRI machines. Exports are booming.
- Three miles down the road Honda manufactures ATV's and personal watercraft. Exports are booming.
- 5 miles up the road a small company is manufacturing the cabs used on Caterpillar tractors. Their business is booming.
All of these primary equipment manufacturers use local vendors and contractors, they can't keep up with our orders.
I recently attended the Fabrication Technology (FabTech) trade show in Chicago. It is sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the American Welding Society. There were thousands of manufacturers there and they were all singing the same tune.
Thank you.
This is the type of response we need around here.
Do you believe the falling dollar is contributing to the level of business?
I know it is, at least on our products. We used to sell our superior products against inferior local goods in many of these foreign markets. We usually had to overcome a large price differential. Right now, a company in Poland can buy our superior US built equipment at a price that is very close to (usually not less then) the inferior local products.
For the first time in a long time, we have been able to raise our export prices (in dollars) and we are using the additional cash to upgrade our facilities and equipment and to hire & train new people. This is significant, because the average age of our equipment and our people were both getting pretty high.
You and I signed up within a month of each other. Threads used to be a lot shorter, but seem to contain more "content".
I was a cost accountant from 1982 to 1994.....
I worked for 5 companies, all manufacturers, during that time....all but one is out of business today.
Maybe you missed this headline:
Pfizer: Mulls Outsourcing 30% Of Manufacturing; Much To Asia
The domestic content of Boeing's new 787 is also slated to be less than 40%.
It will take the decades to rebuild America's manufacturing base that were spent losing it.
bttt
I know it is, at least on our products. We used to sell our superior products against inferior local goods in many of these foreign markets. We usually had to overcome a large price differential. Right now, a company in Poland can buy our superior US built equipment at a price that is very close to (usually not less then) the inferior local products.
For the first time in a long time, we have been able to raise our export prices (in dollars) and we are using the additional cash to upgrade our facilities and equipment and to hire & train new people. This is significant, because the average age of our equipment and our people were both getting pretty high.
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You think these countries are going to keep their tariffs low out of good will and love for the United States?
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