How can even a republican moron expect a strong economy when we make NOTHING????

[Stinky The Clown]

Huh?

How can we expect to be worth ***ANY***thing when all we make is trouble?

Unfettered Republicanism. Its what got us here.

[Bonobo]

1. Yes!!!! I love that post! If I had ONE THING I would like to say, it would be that!

I will give you a recommendation for the statement which is both most obvious and most unasked.

[Ravy]

2. RadicalFringe had the perfect cartoon for this today...

Showed Bush choking the goose (labled the middle class) to try to get golden eggs from it.

Very telling. Republicans have pretty much destroyed the only thing that can save our economy.

[knitter4democracy]

3. We still make some things. Just not enough.

My brother runs Cobra Motorcycles, and those are American made dirtbikes (still just in kids' sizes, though they've got plans for 125s and 250s). The plant is in Hillsdale, MI.

We still make some stuff, but it sure isn't enough to get us through a war or a serious recession or into the next century. Time to change that.

[Bonobo]

4. Oh yeah! What about Big Macs, dummy! I just had one! See how smart you are!

[gratuitous]

5. Jesse Jackson made the point in 1988

He was giving his stump speech, and asked for a show of hands as to how many folks owned VCRs? How many owned a television? And so on, through a list of common consumer items. Then he said, none of those, if you bought them in the last year, was made in the United States. Because the U.S. doesn't make those things anymore. What does the U.S. make? How many of you own an MX missile?

And here we are, 20 years later, and it all still holds true. Progress, huh?

[truedelphi]

6. AndI don't mean to be flippant, but I'm not sure we even make all our defense

Items any more.

[PsN2Wind]

7. Kinda hard to blame it all on the Repubs

Clinton pressed for NAFTA, WTO, et al and the American people wanted more shit for less money and showed little concern for the jobs going off-shore until many of them became affected. Perot was correct about the affects of all these agreements (declared trade agreements rather than treaties by Bill Clinton so they would not have to be ratified) but then he was "crazy".
Pogo was right "we have met the enemy and he is us".

[depakid]

15. DLC type Dems share a LOT of the blame

Not only for irresponsible trade policies- but also for privatization and deregulatory schemes that lie at the heart of this.

[nancyharris]

8. How much more are you will to spend on the things you buy

to have them made in America?

[Stinky The Clown]

9. How much, exacly? I have no clue

But I *am* willing to pay for things made in America.

I am also willing to pay taxes to get everyone covered for their health.

I am also willing to pay tax to have roads and fire service.

I am also willing to shop with locally owned merchants even if I have to drive a bit more.

See a pattern here?

[PsN2Wind]

10. Is your contention that the money saved on wages is passed

on to the consumer or does it just increase the bottom line of the corporation? Those $7.00 Nike Air Jordans selling for $125.00 belies that.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. So let me see if I'm understanding what you're trying to say.....

.... CEOs and upper management pass the savings on to us, and don't pocket it. Am I understanding you correctly, or are you trying to say something different?

[Hekate]

11. I went looking for non-Chinese toys for the grandbaby at Christmas. That's a shocker.

I suppose I'm like most folks -- the whole thing kind of crept up on me, even though I watched Lou Dobbs' Outsourcing series for a long time. But it really, really hit me in November/December when I went on a hunt for toys that were less likely to be toxic. I went home saying "Don't we make anything any more?!"

WTH kind of economy do the corporatists think they are creating? -- no, wait, they aren't creating an economy; they are enriching only themselves, while the US economy is hollowed out.

As for how much I'd "be willing to spend" for US-made goods: that reminds me of the question about how much I'd be willing to spend on lettuce so that field workers could have a living wage.

The answer is: Whatever. We the people would manage. And we'd all be better off.

Hekate

[Tatiana]

12. Good point.

Which means, I think, that we need to start revitalizing some of the industries here that still make (assemble) things. I'm talking tech (Apple, Dell, etc.), auto (Ford, GM, etc.), textile, housing, and so on. Corporations outsource and import, not only to drive prices lower, but to increase their profit. If outsourcing and importing cut into profit and it was cheaper to manufacture in the U.S., we'd see more products truly "Made in the USA." Think about the drive to sell cheaper toys, cheaper consumer electronics, cheaper cars. Is it because the average American consumer can't afford to buy American produced goods or because they aren't willing to pay the higher cost? Have we been spoiled by all Chinese/Japanese/Taiwainese/Indian produced goods?

Free trade really isn't working out so well for the American worker and it's time someone started exposing the reality that the American economy isn't fueled by the wealthy, but the poor, lower-income, and middle-class people. The middle-class, especially, have been fueling this economy and now that we are doing poorly (losing our homes, going bankrupt, swimming in credit card debt), the house of cards is starting to fall.

[BuyingThyme]

13. We are a bank nation.

We borrow, loan, and invest. It's a sure thing.

[water]

14. Hong Kong doesn't make much...

... what's more important is our national debt.

[Disturbed]

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