Last time I looked the common brands of lawn tractors, Murray, MTD etc were still made in America. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
Buy an AMERICAN made riding lawnmower and cut your own grass.

 

I know there are people with disablilities, not able due to work, too old to cut their own grass, etc... I had to get help when I was working out of state a few years ago... keep it local, hire a neighborhood kiddo...

 

we call it china mart

 

I know there are people with disablilities, not able due to work, too old to cut their own grass, etc... I had to get help when I was working out of state a few years ago... keep it local, hire a neighborhood kiddo...

I pay the neighbor kid 5 bucks more than what I would have paid an illegal to mow my yard, and I do the weedeating cause he cuts it too short no matter how many times I show him haha. it all started one evening after work and I was about to mow and the neighbor kid was about to finish his and i was dog tired, I hollered over there "hey man I'll give you 20 bucks to do mine" and he's been at it for a year now, and when he ain't mowing, he's cleaning my gutters, he even washed my truck for 10 bucks one day after school cause he was short on his moms birthday present. He knows that when he needs a few bucks I always have a chore that I've been putting off. I'm gonna try to get him to be my shovel operator and help me dig up and then build up the stones around my backyard doorway as they trap water and were not designed too good for drainage but thats next weekends project. He's a good kid, works hard for his money, and isn't afraid to ring the doorbell and ask if there is anything I need done. His mom can't afford a whole lot and the kids dad is a deadbeat, so he truly earns what he has and at 12 years old and skinny little nerdy kid he does real good for himself.

 

Left leaning statements!

Cheap labor has been Americas weak spot since the begining. The pursuit of more consumer goods and an easier lifestyle by employing/enslaving others that we can exploit. We live like kings based on the labor of the Chinese and Mexicans.

Another vote for Clinton and Obama, they also think that the worlds problems start and end with Americans other than themselves.

Capitalism is the engine that powers this country, if you do not like Wal-Mart then spend your money some where else, you see the power of this country and its economy give us that privilege.
We can buy cheap and we can also buy the best the world has to offer no matter where it is made, it depends upon a persons means and not the moral attitude of others.

Ranger Bob

 

...if you do not like Wal-Mart then spend your money some where else...

that's exactly what i do.

 

Capitalism rules. Heck I love living like a king. The problem is China is beating us at our own game. We are losing massive numbers of manufacturing jobs to them. They keep their currency devalued so their exported goods are cheaper which makes it impossible to compete with them. In addition their energy needs are subsidize by their govt to the tune of roughly half of what it would cost on the open market. Bottom line, its not a level playing field and our reliance on inexpensive imported goods today will bite us in the butt in the long run.
BTW Im a huge McCain fan. One of the only politicians I've ever actually liked. Usually it's a choice between the lessor of two evils

 

China will undrgo some huge changes from internal pressures. They cannot continue as they are going.

Capitalism rules. Heck I love living like a king. The problem is China is beating us at our own game. We are losing massive numbers of manufacturing jobs to them. They keep their currency devalued so their exported goods are cheaper which makes it impossible to compete with them. In addition their energy needs are subsidize by their govt to the tune of roughly half of what it would cost on the open market. Bottom line, its not a level playing field and our reliance on inexpensive imported goods today will bite us in the butt in the long run.
BTW Im a huge McCain fan. One of the only politicians I've ever actually liked. Usually it's a choice between the lessor of two evils

 

Capitalism is the engine that powers this country

Ranger Bob

No, Capitalism is what powers our Corporations. If you ask people, they would rather have the jobs here, the money here and the goods made here.

Small family owned businesses need a profit but they also consider the "people factor". They want their employees to be happy and to be able to provide for their familes. Large faceless corportations remove the "people factor" and only want a larger bottom line profit. If cutting jobs and sending them overseas will give their stock more value and keep their bonus up, then you can bank on the jobs going overseas.

This didn't happen overnight. It has been a slow moving trend the past 50+ years. For a long time we as Americans have enjoyed the results but it has now caught up to us. It used to be the same or close to the same quality products shipped in from overseas just at a cheaper price, now it's mostly cheap junk, quality is gone. We have relied on them to tell us if the products are safe and we paid the price with our pets a couple years ago. At some point we will pay the price with American lives.

 

bill's right. whenever at all possible, i try to spend my money locally at the locally owned retailer, and i do my best to stay out of the wal-marts and the home depots - even if it costs me a dollar or two more.

i hate to say it, but i feel that everytime you set foot in wal-mart you are doing a disservice to your country.

china is not our problem. we are our own worst enemy. china only sends the junk here - americans buy that junk.

 

Most of the shoppers I see in the walmart parking lots aren't Americans. Walmart sux.

 

I was wondering the other day what the percentage of goods sold at Walmart were made in China? I bet the percentage would be staggering. Remeber way back in da day when they proudly advertised that they would always try to sell goods that were made in America?
Cheap labor has been Americas weak spot since the begining. The pursuit of more consumer goods and an easier lifestyle by employing/enslaving others that we can exploit. We live like kings based on the labor of the Chinese and Mexicans. Great cheap electronics and everthing else imaginable. Beautiful well maintained yards and cheap labor. Open borders and the loss of manufacturing jobs.
Short sighted as hell.

Yeah, America is a mean country, just like Michelle Obama says.

 

Rosey future huhh

No capitalism is the driving force.
It is the reason we can buy junk or we can buy the best.

Take that away and live like China and Russia have during our life time.
Take away the ability that made it possible to win two world wars.

Selling goods and the changes from with in will be the stone that breaks that governments back. Not being able to feed its people and keep up militarily broke the Russians and it will do the same in China.
If not, yes more Americans will pay the price.

Yes we are our own worst enemies but we are not enslavers of the world, we do not pay attention to who we send to Washington and what they do when they get there, that is the burden we all bare.

I can see not wanting to buy foreign but the thing is do we pay three times the price because it was made here and no foreign competitors who make the same product more economically are not allowed to compete in this market, as far as jobs, well look around we have more jobs than we have people and that is driving wages up, capitalism at work.

I agree with the lesser of two evils statement.
I also see where the highest profile and most powerful CEO job in the world pays the least of all. Think about why the best talent is never in line to be president when those with no real experience in making a dollar or a job and those with no credibility run at will and have support.

Ranger Bob

 

I heard in the news a few weeks ago that ATT was pulling some jobs back from India and had a hard time finding qualified local people to fill the jobs. I wonder why most of us on this board, who certainly would qualify, would not want those jobs ? We always expect quality service but seems few want to do the service jobs that do help people directly ? Ohh, yea, true, they do not pay!!!

Yeaaa we americans deserve low cost quality services and goods we can AFFORD!
Noooo we americans do not want those jobs, because they pay little to afford us those fancy goodies my neighbors have!
Yeaa, you, you, not me, should take these service jobs and provide the quality service because I paid $40 a month for it.

 

I don't think Wally world could stock the whole store with all American made products even if they wanted to. Cheaper labor. lax environmental regulations and cheaper raw materials is why all these businesses are going overseas. Don't worry China will be taking these companys jumping ship going over there, all these plants that they are going into joint ventures with the government will soon become solely chinas once the plants are set up and enough of the locals are trained to run it. Just like the middle east, get the oil business established then boot out the infidels

 

This whole conversation means nothings without cheap energy to drive the economy.

Our cheap energy has run out and its only going to get worse. We are running out of oil!!!!!!! Actually the US ran out years ago, but now its happening on a global scale.

Until we start figuring out what the hell we are going to do to provide the energy to get us moving, whether or not we buy lawn chairs from Walmart, China, or Farmer Bob doesnt mean a **** thing.

 

Think about it this way. I'll use your favorite rod as an example. Even though many of them have very American sounding names, they aren't really manufactured here. But does that really matter when you look at the whole picture?

A company gets an idea for a new product. The people running the company are here. The people that come up with the design are here. The people who fly to China to broker the deal are from here. The product is built in China for far less than could be accomplished if it were built in the US. It is then shipped via container to the US where it is unloaded at a port manned by people from here. American truckers then deliver the goods to the distribution point where people from here send it out to retailers via another US trucker. The retailer who owns the store is here and the sales clerk who waits on you and then takes your money is here.

Given all of the above, the actual manufacturing of a product is a very, very small piece of a very large pie. The rest of the pie (money) goes into American pockets and is spent in America. It isn't as if you just paid $100 for a rod and it all went to China. Truth be known, a very small percentage of that $100 ended up overseas. The rest went to the owner of the company, the employees of the company, the broker who set up the deal, the dock workers, the truckers, the sales reps,the marketing firms, the magazines where the ads are placed, the store owner, and the employees of the store...all of which make substantially more than the Chinese dude who wrapped the eyes and glued the cork.

I could go even further down the pyramid and include the employees of the company that built the truck, the clerk at the gas station where the fuel to transport the goods to market was purchased, the waitress and short order cook who fixed the trucker's breakfast, etc, etc, etc.

You see, it is all one big chain of events.

 

I am not the smartest guy in the world but here is the way i look at it. It is all about quantity whomever can buy the most can sell at a cheaper rate. If you think Walmart is the only company buying over sea's then you are wrong. i would like to know how many of you buy clothes american made? I just looked on my Magellan shirt and it said made in Hondurus. How many of you wear Columbia shirts? Well they are made in Thailand. How many of you have Garmin GPS? Well they are made in Taiwan. How many use Shimano reels? Made in Japan How many use Abu Garcia? Made in Korea. So if you use any of the following products I dont see where you can degrade Walmart for their low prices. Oh yeah where do we get most of our oil for gas?

 

Vlasic

 

I also see where the highest profile and most powerful CEO job in the world pays the least of all. Think about why the best talent is never in line to be president when those with no real experience in making a dollar or a job and those with no credibility run at will and have support.

Agree 100%. We need a CPA with Fortune 500 experience as the President. Trust me, it would be awesome.

 

Ross for Boss . I wonder how the course of our nation would have been different if we had elected Ross Perot 16 years ago ?

I still remember him saying he only needed 1 term. " If I cant fix it in 4 years I cant fix it in 40 " I loved that zany little dude.

 

This thread is funny because you all typed your comments and hate on a computer, keyboard, modem, cables, that were all NOT MADE IN AMERICA!!! The shoes you are wearing, the shirt you are wearing, the car you drove, the cellphone you talked on this morning....yup all not made in America. And even if made in America most all the parts that make it are not American.

Our trade deficit with China is actually heading south, see the latest article.

U.S. narrows trade gap


Updated May 9, 2008 10:42:03 AM


Alan Field / The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE





The United States in March saw its trade deficit shrink to as trade in goods and services totaled $58.2 billion, or 4.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, from $61.7 billion in February.

The deficit in goods trade was $68.6 billion, down from $72.1 billion in February.

Imports in March dropped by 2.9 percent to $206.7 billion, the highest monthly rate of decline since December 2001. Imports of crude oil fell even as the average price for the month jumped to a record $89.85 a barrel, because the volume of petroleum imports was the lowest since February 2007.

Total exports decreased by 1.7 percent to $148.5 billion, driven by a decline in sales of commercial aircraft, autos and petroleum products. It was the first monthly decline since February 2007. But U.S. exports for March reached the second-highest monthly total ever, following a record high of $151.1 billion in February.

Petroleum products, China imports and automotive products combined for about 98 percent of the total trade deficit. Petroleum products accounted for $30.4 billion of the monthly trade gap, compared to $32.2 billion in February.

The trade deficit with China was $16.1 billion in March, down from $18.4 billion in February, and the lowest since March 2006.

The trade gap with the European Union grew by 9.1 percent to $7.5 billion during the month and increased slightly with Canada to $6.5 billion

 

This thread is funny because you all typed your comments and hate on a computer, keyboard, modem, cables, that were all NOT MADE IN AMERICA!!! The shoes you are wearing, the shirt you are wearing, the car you drove, the cellphone you talked on this morning....yup all not made in America. And even if made in America most all the parts that make it are not American.

Our trade deficit with China is actually heading south, see the latest article.

U.S. narrows trade gap

Updated May 9, 2008 10:42:03 AM

Alan Field / The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE

The United States in March saw its trade deficit shrink to as trade in goods and services totaled $58.2 billion, or 4.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, from $61.7 billion in February.

The deficit in goods trade was $68.6 billion, down from $72.1 billion in February.

Imports in March dropped by 2.9 percent to $206.7 billion, the highest monthly rate of decline since December 2001. Imports of crude oil fell even as the average price for the month jumped to a record $89.85 a barrel, because the volume of petroleum imports was the lowest since February 2007.

Total exports decreased by 1.7 percent to $148.5 billion, driven by a decline in sales of commercial aircraft, autos and petroleum products. It was the first monthly decline since February 2007. But U.S. exports for March reached the second-highest monthly total ever, following a record high of $151.1 billion in February.

Petroleum products, China imports and automotive products combined for about 98 percent of the total trade deficit. Petroleum products accounted for $30.4 billion of the monthly trade gap, compared to $32.2 billion in February.

The trade deficit with China was $16.1 billion in March, down from $18.4 billion in February, and the lowest since March 2006.

The trade gap with the European Union grew by 9.1 percent to $7.5 billion during the month and increased slightly with Canada to $6.5 billion

well said, there's no point or need to bash China-made products because they're pretty much part of our lives and just about everything we use, wear, consume are made in China, whether you like it or not. And the main reason is because they're AFFORDABLE. You aint gonna find too many people spending extra $ just trying to make a patriotic point and buy american products only, especially with the soaring gas and inflation nowadays.
Besides, MOST made in china stuff aint all that bad, that's why sometime you can't even tell the difference and some even can care less.

 

I heard from a supervisor at a large retailer in League City that they can't find workers. First, they don't pass the drug test; second, they get caught stealing; third, they quit whenever they want because there are lots of other options in the low-paid service sector. If you want quality workers, you have to pay for it, but will customers accept higher prices as the cost of better service (drug free, happy, maybe even insured)? Probably not.

 

I heard the same old stuff about Made In Japan. Then it was made in Taiwan, made in Sri Lanka, made in India, made in Pakistan, made in Thailand, made in Lower Slobovia.

Give the Chinese time to raise the living standards of the average person and they will slowly raise the cost of manufacturing to the point where another 3rd-World country will become the new glamour child. The real question is "what happens when we run out of new impoverished countries?" The USA is truly a service-side country now and that is not a bad deal. As long as we can attract the most brilliant minds for reasearch, development, pure inventions and global management we will do quite well. I would rather be the guy that provides the product or service than the guy that makes the product or service any day. More profit in it with less cost.