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Automotive News & Views Does America Even Need Its Own Automakers?
1788 messages, Last post on Mar 03, 2009 at 2:18 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Next time I need an F-16..... Heck we had a doozy of a fire down here because of an errant F-16 flare. But I digress. Your point is valid. If there is to be an American car industry in the future it will have to be the best in their area (be it small cars, large cars or light trucks). New Balance makes as many shoes in the US as they can afford to make and still turn a profit. Most of their American product is high end stuff -professional running shoes and such. I still but New Balance all the time bot because they are trying to do the right thing and they make good shoes. I still have some Dexters made in USA but my middle age spread has moved to my feet s it's difficult to stay in them.
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Replying to: fezo (May 22, 2007 4:43 am) Why is this the "right thing"? Would it also be "the right thing" for me to buy Chinese made shoes for $35 and then send a check for, say, $20 to a randomly selected New Balance employee, or a maybe to a former shoe factory worker who has lost his/her job? |
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In this case is attempting to actually keep jobs in this country while producing a competitive product. There is nothing particularly wrong with producing products in other countries unless you start following the old "Gee, I can make it even CHEAPER over here because they haven't outlawed sweat shops and let 8 year olds put in 40 hour weeks." New Balance workers in The United States make a decent living. Turnover is very low. I respect New Balance. I don not respect Nike.
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Replying to: fezo (May 22, 2007 6:19 am) Agree, but there is nothing wrong with making it there if workers are not being abused in any way and are happy to have the job for $2 per hour rather than the $20 that might be required here. I do not see it as my responsibility to ensure good jobs for U.S. New Balance workers, just as I do not see it as my responsibility to ensure good jobs for U.S. employees of Ford or GM. Instead it is their responsibility to make a product that people freely choose to buy.
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Replying to: jeffyscott (May 22, 2007 6:28 am) Well you CAN, and we DO this all the time, but it's a dirty little secret... Where it not for US government intervention, the Big Three would probably be dead and buried by now, having been destroyed in the 1980s by foreign automakers. We demanded all kinds of "domestic content", put embargoes on trucks, and (rightfully) attacked the "dumping" violations. Basically we threatened the Japanese and they responded by easing off on Detroit. I firmly believe that left unmolested, in a totally free market, Japan would have annihilated American automakers just like they did British motorycycle makers. MrShiftright Visiting Host
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Replying to: jeffyscott (May 22, 2007 6:28 am) These days, buying GM or Ford funds jobs in Canada and Mexico...that's where they're investing in factories that create jobs. I want to know that the money is going to American COMMUNITIES, not American CEOs...big difference there. Fact is, America DOES need a strong automotive and heavy equipment industry. Without it, we don't build the M1 Abrams, or the Humvee. |
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Replying to: bpizzuti (May 22, 2007 7:36 am) MrShiftright Visiting Host |
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Replying to: jeffyscott (May 22, 2007 6:28 am) I guess my thing is that if I see someone making an effort to maintain our American factory base and the product and price are competitive I'll likely buy from them. My first pair of New Balances were more a statement of support. After that it was all on the merits of the shoe. Likewise, if we are looking to replace our Accord and the Aura is competitive I'll look at it. Ir I reached a point where all that separated them was country of origin I;d likely buy the Saturn.
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (May 22, 2007 7:29 am) Trade needs to be fair, not free. Trade needs to be reciprocal, and so do barriers. That means that if South Korea doesn't allow the US to export cars to them (and they don't) we reciprocate by restricting or eliminating their export of cars to us.
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (May 22, 2007 7:39 am)
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