Made in China!!!!

[eglideic]

 The poblem is wth the CEOs. They close doiwn a US plant and open up in CHINA and give each other 10 or 100 million dollar bonuses for doing such a great job of cutting costs.
If they would just be satsfid with making a fair wage there wouldnt be a problem.
A good while back I saw a report on Lincoln Welders where the CEO made no more than 100 times what the lowest paid employee made.
And he didn't have a private office.
His desk was in the middle of the big room with the desks of all the other executives, and he ate in the cafeteria wth eveyone else, and he traveled coach, and drove his own car.
At the end of profitable years everyone got an equally divided bonus check in proportion to their work history.
There was a waiting list of people trying to get hired.
I wonder if the company is still structured like that.

[FLTRI]

"I wonder if the company is still structured like that."
Wonder if they are still made in America.

[PoorUB]

Guess if we put tariffs on Chinese goods they could call the note due, but what would they get?

I don't even want to think about tha answer to the question!
What happens when China owns over 50% of the debt? A simple monetary take over of the USA? It would not surprise me a bit that in a few years we loose control of our own country to the Chineese!

[JamLazyAss]

....And ya really can't even get pissed at the Chineese.
It's us screwing us! That goes for the USA & CANADA!

WAKE UP AMERICA

[FLTRI]

....And ya really can't even get pissed at the Chineese.
It's us screwing us! That goes for the USA & CANADA!

WAKE UP AMERICA

OK, we're awake! What can we do about it? I believe we need our government to wake up? Or is that what you meant when you say WAKE UP AMERICA?

[JamLazyAss]

I believe we need our government to wake up? Or is that what you meant when you say WAKE UP AMERICA?

Sure, but how is the 64 dollar question.

Incoming products:

Remember when R. Reagan imposed the tarriff on Japanese motorcycles?
Did it help? You betcha.

How was the tarriff imposed so timely, what was the process, who or what group leveraged it?
Would the same logic be effective if applied to all Chineese goods?

Outgoing jobs:
Can we lobby for a law to make it illegal for US &/or Canadian industries (large and small) to move out of the country?
When corporate America/Canada throws workers/jobs under the bus to China, they are actually throwing their people, their families, their country, under the bus.
Greed is the obvious root of the economic mess.
So if we recognize this, let's give it to the government TO REGULATE.
Sounds a little crazy, but WTF.
Government wants to regulate everything else. Give them a try. Can't do any worse then the private sector has done.

We must be able to survive in a global economy, and we will.

As with anything else, identify the issue(s). Identify the goal(s).
Create an action plan to achieve it.

I agree with you, we're awake.
We need to get off our asses and take action now to bring back some sense of normality for our kids sake and that of all future generations.

I don't claim to have the answers, but it just doesn't seem to be that dificult.

Greed is the enemy here.
Not management, not union.

FOLLOW THE MONEY AND IT WILL SHOW YOU THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

[Deye76]

Remember the fall of the Roman empire. Greed.

[HV]

Simple solution ... move UAW to  all Chinese industry's... pay goes to triple any other workers... and cost of their products triple... making them undesirable... ..the only reason any one uses them as manufactures is CHEAP Labor ..... if worker #1 wants more $$$ they fire him and get one of the other 4,000,000 waiting for his job to work for less ...unions would stop this.. 

[FLH124]

Everytime I purchase any item, I will take the time to find out if it is made in China. I will try to buy the alternative product. It is very difficult, but am successful doing it. Yes I pay a little more, surprisingly the quality is better for a stronger price. But I do not support the Chinese in any way I can. It is kind of my way of "Boycotting". After all they are communists who want to rule the world. F*** UM
my opinioin

[FLH124]

Lets do the simple math based on population here as of July 2007.
USA population was a total of 301,139,947  Unknown percentage of this is employed some how. If US/China immigration lightened up the borders from China to US, like all others (IE:Mexico) and with a Chinese population total of 1,321,851,888 (2007 stats) The Chinese can replace every man, woman , child here today and be left over of 1,020,711,941 BILLION  looking for a job. Thanks to our freetrade agreements opening up the capitalists dinner plate, we as Free America of yesteryear have a questionable future and we should fear greatly.
Aside are own US greed, someone mentioned it is not the Chinese fault and is partially correct,  ON foreign affairs history of implanting and yes planting of Chinese CE Os, Management teams and various other leaders in administrative, manufacturing and government sector IE: Philipines, Vietnam to name a few. When in position they only hire their own and leaving the indigonous population to starve.  Some of you may not believe, but the facts are clear in reading the boring stuff. The Chinese culture has tested time and survived. For world domination they have learned "how to eat the elephant by one bite at a time".  and we are the main course !
Make the effort,don't buy their goods.
I apologize for the rant.
Steve
College educated, Vietnam Veteran and proud American.

[Shadowdog]

Hi Folks,

A lot of people pointing a lot of fingers at almost every thing. Detailed horror stories aside, want to stop the greed:


     A. Strict limits on moving cash off shore.
     B. Return to the graduated tax structure. (little income, little tax, big income big tax.)
     C. Long prison terms for white collar crimes.

Income tax theory is to redistribute the wealth, irregardless of what loud mouth politicians and the conservative press would like you to believe.

Reinstate graduated short term capitol gains tax. (Stop the speculators, force long term investment in our future.) Never allow self regulation of an industry, it doesn't work.

Allow same day buy and sell up to the median number of outstanding options (partial payment with stock the day the company goes public. Sweat equity in a start up company.). This will allow new companies to attract good employees and have their performance tied directly to their ability and give them an incentive to make a go of it. To qualify, they need to be forbidden from moving any part of their operation off shore.

Oh well, one can dream. . .

Best to all,

Shadowdog

[boooby1744]

the  '07110 cvo heads were cast in china..........................ya get what ya pay for.

[Flat Dog]

All the more reason to buy a used Evo or previous bike, and restore it via your indie.

[05 Ultra]

This is a few years old but tells you what they think of us.
http://www.atom.com/funny_videos/haha_america/

[Flat Dog]

Chinese Dog...



[attachment removed after 60 days by system]

[JamLazyAss]

THAT VIDEO IS SO FK'ING LAME.
LOOKS LIKE SOME GRAMMER SCHOOL KIDS MADE IT.

[China twin 88]

I currently live in china and u may have seen my post under "general" about the new HDs coming to the police department in Beijing....and to those who wonder if there are HDs in china.. more than u think... from authorized dealers to the"black" shops as the dealers call them all the way to the motorcycle markets.. in Tianjin...and to the poster that has said the Chinese hare hit hard during the economic crisis .. truth ... the difference is that China has money .. from all the cheap labor ..most of u have mention before...and that they will put those folks to work in a Hooverisk infrastructure plan....but the middle class will be hurt as they cannot just take the Manuel labor jobs.. and with the multitudes of grads coming home from overseas unis...well Tuff times are ahead...the funny thing is even though they produce HD products here in china .. often in one of the unauthorized shops .. or markets .. u can find HD stuff... same stuff.. but without the price tag and the authorized shop...case in point.. recently I bought a Harley buckle off the internet... wings design...which had HD made in china on the back...and about a week later for my birthday...my ex gave me the same buckle in bronze.. wit ht he same lettering on the back... except it had a parts number also forged underneath the HD made in china lettering that it shared with the other one...
I too had to leave due to rising cost and the offer of a better job overseas.. and would like to return home ..but as always .. .I go where the job is.. and things are cheap here in china.. and the money goes a long way..except for the Harley Davidson motorcycles.. which cost twice what they do in the states and are hard to licence... so most Harley's are bought off the markets and then just driven without tags... which i they way .. I go also...good luck to those seeking employment and lets hope this is soon over..but you wouldnt beleave how often I am walking down the street and a tourist comes to me .. and ask me .. hey where can I find the cheap harley jackets.. which are made here and are often sold on the market for a 1/3 of the HD shop....

[HDRDR]

 

[Dennis The Menace]

HV, your earlier post inst that far off.

Our businesses have moved America from a protected economy to a global economy.  Share the wealth strategy, so to speak.  The problem is we have offshored.outsourced many of our core manufaturing jobs to other countries.  Even blue and white collar services-based jobs have been outsourced to other countries, and not just Inida and China.

The benefit to American business is cheaper labor and product costs, and lower prices for American consumers.  For awhile.  But as we are seeing in other countries, especially in India, there is a rapid increase in cost of living and the wages are rising almost triple digits....and will soon make India an undesirable labor market to outsource too, as the costs for that labor wont be much unlike in our own country.  We have already seen this in other countries with the devalued dollar against other currencies.  Only if the dollar rises above these other currencies will using labor in some countries cost effective fro American businesses.

Instead, what we will see is geographical areas of expertise, which a global market will tap.  India will likely become a technical services market that much of the rest of the world will look to for products and services.  China's strength is factory production, so its likely the world will get a lot of manufactured parts and products from China.  HD, as well as other companies 'worlwide' are already doing this.

The question that academia and our government struggle with, however, is what will America provide to the rest of the world?  We are becoming more and more consumers of products and services, and produce less and less.  One can argue that we have th most advanced healthcare research in the world.  So, we have that to offer--train physicians from around the world.

But, what else?  Auto manufacturing needs to go the same approach other compnaies have done...produce  products for each local but global market, and not try to be the number 1 auto maker on one continent.  If you cant sell your product outside your own country, you will get put out of business.  Even MoCo gets this and this explains why they are pushing into other countries--grow their brand outside the US, and not rely only on the US economy for their business.  Otherwise, when the economy goes south, like now, they would suffer so badly they would likely go out of business.

Instead, with a global economy the reality now and in the future, businesses must think beyond the US in order to survive.  Its the new era of business, whether we like it or not.  And, the Big 3 need to focus on that and spend a lot of that bailout money to prop up their products in the other countries.  The American market is limited, especially now.

menace

[Lowrider]

Have you driven a domestic automobile manufactured car lately?  Or is America still sleeping?  The southern GOP Senators opposed to the 14 billion dollar auto loan still believe that union is a nasty word from the Civil War and are still upset at Abraham Lincoln for saying "thank God for Michigan" when Michigan was one of the first to send troops to quell the Confederacy!  Maybe our nation is being divided again and it is not due to China.  One Nation under God?  Father forgive them for they know not what they do.  Selfish greed is what has placed the nails in our coffin.  United we stand, divided we fall.  All for one and one for all.  Class warfare is real.  How do we compete with slave labor?

[FLTRI]

menace,
Very well put and, even though I am not an economist, what you say makes a lot of sense. I also believe we are a dumb nation and will rise to whatever occasion is necessary for our survival. We just need the correct direction to be laid out for us. There will be those who do not benefit from the change, but they will have the opportunity to change if they opt for it. Otherwise they will go by the wayside, passed by those who are ready and willing.

Lowrider,
"How do we compete with slave labor?"
Not sure if it still "slave" labor we are talking about. As someone else mentioned there are simply not enough jobs....yet for the Chinese works but there is certainly a lot of competition for the job that are available... this is not slave labor. These employed, not beaten, people are successfully putting food on their table and providing for their families. It seems they are willing to bust their arses for less than we are? One case in point is the comparison of Japanese auto workers wages/benefits vs US auto workers.
Just my own and probably ignorant opinion,
Bob

[harborjohn]

I ride a Harley and own several American cars. I also vacation in America. Dont blame me when there is no more USA, im doing my small part.

WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!

[vans24]

I don't  wear Harley "Potty mouth" anyways . Riding a Harley is all the  advertising  I will ever  give them . I will be dammed  if I will let myself be raped  just to wear Harley clothes advertising a company that treats their customers like fools.. and act like we are bothering them when we go in to buy parts .Then  nickle and dime us on the parts. that are over priced . and made in china! at least at Walmart the prices reflect the  were  the stuff is made. just my opinion

[hudsonxo]

I spend a lot of time working in China (for myself). four years ago my "job" ,with an international company, moved to Mexico for 2 years and then to China, and then after a year there I was "let go". I spent enough time offshore that now i can make a half-assed living working in and out of China....that or go on the soup line before being old enough to retire. Not a hard decision to make when your ability to survive is at stake.

There is still a lot of misconception about the "mass slave labor" in China. China, at the expense of the rest of the world has produced a rising middle class that works in all forms of employment just like the US. They make enough money to buy cars, homes, pay for medical bills, & college just like we do.with 1.3 billion+ population there are millions in terrible poverty and there are millions that are OK middle class and millions that are upper class moneyed folks.

Each year 20 million new workers join the work force. (think about that)  It takes a minimum of 8% economic growth to absorb that many new workers in China. Their growth has exceeded that over the last several years. China is experiencing the same slowdown issues we are. Unemployment is a problem. The difference is that China has vast amounts of cash while the US has turned into a debtor nation. China is injecting billions into new money supply for business, home, car, etc, loans so credit worthy companies and individuals can survive. In other words an economic shot in the arm. They have the cash for that, the US is borrowing to do the same thing. Capitalism is moving very fast in China, it is a "Communist" government, but I think less than 80 million of 1.3 billion people belong to the Communist Party. Lot's of us think of China as it was 30 years ago when the government owned and managed everything....that China is long gone. Now they worry about companies moving from China to other lower cost areas...India, Vietnam, and sooner or later I think Africa will have their turn...

[eglideic]

WE USED TO BE PROUD TO MAKE AND PURCHASE OUR OWN GOODS.  WHAT HAPPENED?

Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6 a.m. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day, Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV ! (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in.....AMERICA.....