This is in response to the letter from Douglas Born (Oct. 12).
I watch news talk shows all the time but never hear the real reason why the nation's economy is performing so poorly. Mr. Born hit the nail on the head with what is wrong — NAFTA — and what it did to the manufacturing sector. And not just in Maine, but all across the country.
The downturn in the economy is not a recession, as the politicians want people to believe. It has been a political disaster by both parties. Nobody gets a pass on this one.
As Born pointed out, the country's manufacturing base has been destroyed. Some companies that had been in business for more than 150 years were unable to make adjustments to survive the changes that came, so they auctioned of their equipment and closed doors.
That is why a stimulus package won't work — the money to stimulate hiring won't stimulate anything because the manufacturing base is gone, thanks to our elected officials and unfair trade deals.
Those officials must wake up and admit to the mistakes of the past and stop the spending. The last stimulus money simply went to the countries that took away U.S. jobs.
Don't do it again.
Gary Belanger, Buckfield
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I have enjoyed reading these replies this AM. All have some part of the Job issues here. First, I am an Independant Conservative so I will agree with the NAFTA statement, I did so with the Unions when it first came on the table. Not because clinton signed it into law, but because there was no real fairness in this trade bill. WTO treaty is another. This is where our politicans sold this country out. Now with the continueing burdensome of regulations putting on business theres now no room for growth.
I agree there are some that r needed however there is also room for moderation. Remember George Mitchell and the Clean Air Act 1990? I wrote a piece on this bill and if you really understood it you would realize how stupid of a bill it was. Selling off Carbon emissions?
Another big issue of mine is education where has it gone? Since the inception of the Dept of EDU in 1978 our system has taken an even steeper dip we now pay more for educating of children for less returns and now that the standard and we want to dole out the cash for the same product!! What gives with the people allowing this to continue wheres the friggin accountability?? Dept needs to be shut down and return the tax dollars to the states!
I dont want to rant but most of the responsibility lays at your feet voting these so politicians into office only to put the royal shaft to the people today that why theres a tea party they are fed with this gov't tearing down this nation then blaming it on others when they are in fact the problem and the peole who elected them are there too. Take a look at this history with open eyes and mind maybe you will see it. Coming election it time to remove these that are presently in office!
Nuff Said today
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.The Blame Game
Americans are shocked to find that most of the jobs and the wealth that came with them are gone and we are all looking for someone or something to blame. NAFTA, Congress, unions, immigrants, Wall Street etc. are all getting blamed. The truth is that business is in the business of making a profit and will go where they need to and do what they need to in order for that to happen. Like water flows downhill it can only be interrupted temporarily. Some form of globalization would have occurred with or without NAFTA or regulations and most importantly any job that can be done by a machine or a computer is gone forever and will not come back no matter how much money we give corporations and banks or how much we deregulate them. As for manual labor, China is using prison labor and I don't think we want to compete with that unless we want to bring back slavery. We need to become competitive in the jobs that cannot be done by machines or computers. Those jobs require creativity, and a lot of education and training. If we want jobs to come back that's where we need to look and invest and we need to bring back the desire to compete. And you mostly find that in the immigrant population.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Actually Gary, a certain
Actually Gary, a certain conservative news station HAS indeed talked about our manufacturing going overseas many times. You gotta watch them all to get the whole story.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Elected Officials??
I highly doubt they were the ones who put a gun to the heads of business owners forcing them to locate manufacturing plants overseas.
Consumers ever willing to buy products made overseas.
There's enough blame to go around for everyone.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Elected officials
have indeed put numerous GUNS to their heads, they are just called unequal playing field and the big gun is "over and burdensome regulations"
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Just imagine...
And if we didn't have those "over and burdensome regulations" - just imagine all the neato grazing land and fertilizer you'de be provided for your farm animals and where they graze
Pollution in China - Amazing Pictures
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Yup, it's all those laws getting in the way.
It has nothing to do with China manipulating their currency. Nope, not one thing. It's all the unions fault.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.For once (maybe twice now) I agree with you
but the blame can't be placed on the consumers or the manufacturers alone. Some of it has to be placed on the workers or their unions that continue to demand higher wages for mostly automated jobs. I don't blame anyone for wanting to earn a living wage, but at some point it stops becoming a living wage and becomes a burden to the employer.
As you know, I live in Rumford and the only thing that's keeping this town alive is the paper mill. Countries overseas can produce the paper, and pay the tariffs, as well as the shipping, for less than we can pay to produce it here at home and part of that is due to wages that are paid to employees who are standing next to a machine and watching it run 95% of the time. There's no skill involved, These people aren't plumbers or electricians, or auto mechanics but they get paid twice the wages that I do, for a job that, as I said, 95% of the time needs nobody to do it. This is why the paper mill is no longer competitive. It can't compete even when the product is made right here at home and they don't have tariffs or overseas shipping costs.
It's things like this, as well as all of the regulations that the state and fed have put in place that have driven up the cost of doing business in the USA. Hell, my Wrangler jeans and my Carolina boots, both American standards of durability, were made in another country. We can make the materials here but can make a product that lasts so we sent the materials somewhere else to be put together.
The American people have become so used to the idea that they deserve the best that they are forgetting the fact that the folks who made it that way actually WORKED for that privilege. It wasn't given to them simply because they were American. They want everything they touch to turn to gold and are actually surprised when it doesn't happen.
That is conceit, plain and simple. The sooner we, as a nation realize this, the sooner we'll put this country back on its feet. $20.00 an hour for unskilled labor is a thing of the past, as are houses that sell for $300,000.00 when there is only $40,000 worth of materials in them and they were made on an assembly line.
It's time to get back to doing for ourselves, start producing goods that are of the same quality as those produced overseas and at the same price. Only then will the money stay at home and manufacturing jobs come back to this country. I don't think that deep seated American coceit will let that happen though.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Nice job Ed
It's pretty cut and dry....Americans want top wages & cheap products. It doesn't add up. P.S. My company is attending a trade shoe in Baltimore next week. We are legally bound to pay union labor to set up our booth which we do ourselves regularly. The labor rate is 80$ per hour, breakdown is 120$. Last year we had to pay union forktruck driver a $100 just to get our crate out...
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.And the alternative???
You forego the trade show.
Yep - that sounds like a plan.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Actually Ron...
As a member of the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI)and as discussed at the North East Canvas Products Association(NECPA) we are going to petition to boycott prevailing wage cities and only hold the show in areas more hospitable. But, ya not attending has been discussed due to the rising costs of attendence with diminishing returns. Unfortunately locations are determined years in advance so this wouldn't occur for several years
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.typo above
should read- "we can make the materials here but CAN'T make..." 3rd paragraph
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