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  1. #1
    Sgt. At Arms Worf101's Avatar
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    A few observations...



    1. The unions overplayed their hands - Too many strikes, too many ridiculous work rules all designed to keep as many on the payroll as the camel's back would bear as opposed to doing what's best for the company and country as a whole. But those kinds of unions and contracts are now all but gone.

    2. The Rise of the Multinationals - As oft predicted in dystopan SciFi since the '30's Corporations divorced of a single, physical location or forced national ties will act in the company's own self interest and thier's alone.

    3. Corporations no longer need America for Manufacture.

    4. Corporations no longer need America as its primary market.

    5. Take 2,.3 and 4 together you have a situation where corporations, shed the American work force for cheaper overseas labour with little market consequences since they can sell all they need to China and India while paying little or no taxes here.

    As one observer put it, "if this trend continues we'll be a banana republic in 20 years." The corporations only need America as a safe place to spend its money, collect its toys and provide soliders to protect their interests overseas. Behind their gated walls patrolled by private security they'll watch as the whole country/world burns. The problem with fires though is that once started they can quickly get out of hand, ask the Romanoffs if you can find one.

    Worf

  2. #2
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Hummm ... well, yes.

    Quote Originally Posted by Worf101 View Post
    ...
    1. The unions overplayed their hands - Too many strikes, too many ridiculous work rules all designed to keep as many on the payroll as the camel's back would bear as opposed to doing what's best for the company and country as a whole. But those kinds of unions and contracts are now all but gone. ...
    With much regret I have to agree. I've said before that I see a problem for public sector unions were they seek to perpetuate relative wage & benefit levels that are increasingly above those of private sector workers. I believe that unions once were huge boon to American workers, but the selfish obstinacy of public sector unions in the present day brings disrepute on the history role unions -- and has become a major "wedge issue" which the Right-wing exploits to divide potential liberal/progressive voters.

    Quote Originally Posted by Worf101 View Post
    ...
    2. The Rise of the Multinationals - As oft predicted in dystopan SciFi since the '30's Corporations divorced of a single, physical location or forced national ties will act in the company's own self interest and their's alone. ...
    This is so self-evident you'd think it was superfluous to state -- and in fact its mentioned by neither Republicans (as you might expect) OR Democrats (as you might well wonder why not, except for corporate donations they still get ).

    Quote Originally Posted by Worf101 View Post
    ...
    3. Corporations no longer need America for Manufacture.

    4. Corporations no longer need America as its primary market.

    5. Take 2,.3 and 4 together you have a situation where corporations, shed the American work force for cheaper overseas labour with little market consequences since they can sell all they need to China and India while paying little or no taxes here. ...
    Indeed. But lets understand that the Republican policy is to accelerate this pernicious globalization by redistributing wealth from the poor & middle classes to The Rich so they can invest it offshore. [Bribe the Rich to help American to win the in the Race to the Bottom.]

    Quote Originally Posted by Worf101 View Post
    ...
    As one observer put it, "if this trend continues we'll be a banana republic in 20 years." The corporations only need America as a safe place to spend its money, collect its toys and provide soliders to protect their interests overseas. Behind their gated walls patrolled by private security they'll watch as the whole country/world burns. The problem with fires though is that once started they can quickly get out of hand, ask the Romanoffs if you can find one.

    Worf
    This is the Paul Ryan / Ayn Rand vision of the future.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Worf101 View Post
    3. Corporations no longer need America for Manufacture.
    What you missed is because of #1-The unions overplayed their hands, they have also driven up the cost of products, made it so the corps send the MFG to China to save money and NOT pay the Union wages and endless bennies.

    So Unions were at one time a good thing, 100 years ago, but today they have made America into a Consumer Country and not an MFG Country.

    Americans can't afford to buy American Made Products. Something does not make sense about that.

    Yesterday I was listening to NPR and an interview with authors of a new book about Romney and his money. Due to his questionably legal yet immoral tactics, his IRA is worth somewhere between 20 and 100 million, 1/100 of 1%- percentile have that. The way he and the others at Bain did it was by quickly switching the investments to the ones that Bain created of businesses that they would shut down for the profits as they were doing it, but they used a blind trust or whatever the term.

    He himself is the one who years ago when running against one of the Kennedys started the whole Tax Return issue and now that it has turned around on him, he claims it's an issue of privacy. A-Hole!


    It's a shame Obama is killing the middle class and will continue to do so if he gets re-elected, but Romney is not the better choice of two evils. He may help me to save a little of what I have for 4 years, but someone has to pay all the outrageous debt sometime and guess who it will be? The Middle Class. We are screwed no matter what over the course of time no matter which F'ed up party has control.

  4. #4
    Sgt. At Arms Worf101's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hyfi View Post
    What you missed is because of #1-The unions overplayed their hands, they have also driven up the cost of products, made it so the corps send the MFG to China to save money and NOT pay the Union wages and endless bennies.

    So Unions were at one time a good thing, 100 years ago, but today they have made America into a Consumer Country and not an MFG Country.

    Americans can't afford to buy American Made Products. Something does not make sense about that.

    Yesterday I was listening to NPR and an interview with authors of a new book about Romney and his money. Due to his questionably legal yet immoral tactics, his IRA is worth somewhere between 20 and 100 million, 1/100 of 1%- percentile have that. The way he and the others at Bain did it was by quickly switching the investments to the ones that Bain created of businesses that they would shut down for the profits as they were doing it, but they used a blind trust or whatever the term.

    He himself is the one who years ago when running against one of the Kennedys started the whole Tax Return issue and now that it has turned around on him, he claims it's an issue of privacy. A-Hole!


    It's a shame Obama is killing the middle class and will continue to do so if he gets re-elected, but Romney is not the better choice of two evils. He may help me to save a little of what I have for 4 years, but someone has to pay all the outrageous debt sometime and guess who it will be? The Middle Class. We are screwed no matter what over the course of time no matter which F'ed up party has control.
    I believe the Corps would've left the US eventually anyway. The Unions didn't HELP, but their greed would've led them to leave eventually. The only thing about Oil depletion is that it will force some companies to return to U.S. soil as the costs of world spanning supply lines becomes prohibitive but it won't be out of a sense of patriotism or anything else that forces them to do it. I don't see your Obama - War on the Middle Class thing but you must have a reason for believing it and you don't sound like a knee-jerker by any means.

    I personally think the man inherited a "no-win" situation and has done the best he could with Congress and the rich aligned against him but who's to say.
    '
    As for the nation's future? I personally think the Republic is finished unless we get the lobbyists and money out of it. Elected office has devolved to an exercise of raising money to get re-elected THAT and ONLY THAT matters to the average politician of either party. Citizen's United legalized bribery and as long as the situation remains that way, we're doomed as a representative democracy.

    Worf

  5. #5
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Worf101 View Post
    ...
    As for the nation's future? I personally think the Republic is finished unless we get the lobbyists and money out of it. Elected office has devolved to an exercise of raising money to get re-elected THAT and ONLY THAT matters to the average politician of either party. Citizen's United legalized bribery and as long as the situation remains that way, we're doomed as a representative democracy.

    Worf
    The USA is now a plutocracy. That was doubtful up until the US Supreme Court declared corporations = people, money = free speech, and allowed anonymous contributions, but it's a done deal now. I don't see a way back.

    Well, it would take much smarter, better informed voters -- good luck with that.

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