# Does America Need Manufacturing Anymore?



## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

What kind of an IDIOT would even ask such a question??????

We can NOT survive with a service economy!!!!!

Manufacturing built this country and can keep it going, if the government gets the hell out of the way.......


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## ricksmol (Jul 7, 2008)

Coley said:


> What kind of an IDIOT would even ask such a question??????
> 
> We can NOT survive with a service economy!!!!!
> 
> Manufacturing built this country and can keep it going, if the government gets the hell out of the way.......


 
Aye Aye! In complete agreement.


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## jeremyjs (Sep 22, 2010)

Coley said:


> What kind of an IDIOT would even ask such a question??????
> 
> We can NOT survive with a service economy!!!!!
> 
> Manufacturing built this country and can keep it going, if the government gets the hell out of the way.......


Agreed. The whole reason we're in the mess we're in right now is because of government fiddling with the economy by forcing manufacturing oversees. We didn't become an economic superpower serving cheeseburgers.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

_*government fiddling with the economy by forcing manufacturing oversees.*

_Strangely enough I agree with this - the American "Government" or its courts decided that -
A corporations *sole* responsibility is to its *shareholders *

This leads directly to the outsourcing of jobs

Other governments (like Germany) require companies to operate for all their "stakeholders" employees, local community...*America has allowed corporations to buy the law making and to set rules that end up with a few individuals making a ton of money by outsourcing jobs*


Its *not* environmental or worker safety rules - Europe is much much stricter on theseIt may be bureaucratic inefficiency - we use a professional civil service with promotion (mostly) due to ability - you guys elect people to those posts I would rather have a Chief Constable who is a 30 year policeman than an elected Sheriff


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## Jason Lattimer (Dec 27, 2008)

Agreed. If you are not producing anything all you are doing is consuming. So you are by definition, not a productive member of society. 

One of our main problems is that it is not possible in a "free trade" situation to compete with the likes of China and India. We cannot afford to pay substandard wages and not pay attention to government regulations like they do. I don't see how we can produce anything and be competitive when they can pay workers a tenth of what we do.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

_One of our main problems is that it is not possible in a "free trade" situation to compete with the likes of China and India. We cannot afford to pay substandard wages and not pay attention to government regulations like they do. I don't see how we can produce anything and be competitive when they can pay workers a tenth of what we do_

Germany manages to be very competitive despite paying (the workers) a lot more and having much more restrictive environmental regulations

Maybe its partly due to the CEO caste eating so much of the money that there is little left for the rest?

CEO of GE "earned" more than the company paid in taxes!!!!

Chinese wages are not so low anymore - try getting a Maintenance Engineer in Shanghai and see what you will have to pay


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Producing "stuff" has never been easier or cheaper. Even a person on "working man's wages" can save up and buy a CNC machine for his garage, and build "things" at home (a micro-factory). The challenge lies in knowing what to make.

We definitely need manufacturing, but it is also true that the blend of manufacturing vs. services can easily change and still support us nicely. If the number of hours of labor necessary to build your home and furnish it with all the stuff you need goes down (and it has), then all that is left to purchase with your own labor is services.


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## Jason Lattimer (Dec 27, 2008)

PhantomPholly said:


> Producing "stuff" has never been easier or cheaper. Even a person on "working man's wages" can save up and buy a CNC machine for his garage, and build "things" at home (a micro-factory). The challenge lies in knowing what to make.
> 
> We definitely need manufacturing, but it is also true that the blend of manufacturing vs. services can easily change and still support us nicely. If the number of hours of labor necessary to build your home and furnish it with all the stuff you need goes down (and it has), then all that is left to purchase with your own labor is services.


I think this idea has merit. Those of us with the willingness to learn and build things for ourselves should be able to use our talents to get further ahead in life. 

My goal right now is to start a company building velomobiles out of my garage. Since most are between 8 and 15 thousand dollars, it should be lucrative for me to produce.


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## Guest (Sep 3, 2011)

Lets build things that don't break. I'd be willing to spend more. Our society is a throwaway society and WE MUST HAVE or are forced to buy the next best thing even though what we have now is just fine. Obsolete in two years mandated by the companies making products and we buy into the BS. I'd bet my bottom dollar that Germany does not toss away like we do. They buy what they NEED. Use it until it can't be used any more and then go get something else. They are a more practical society. Working for the people and the country.


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## Jason Lattimer (Dec 27, 2008)

gottdi said:


> Lets build things that don't break. I'd be willing to spend more. Our society is a throwaway society and WE MUST HAVE or are forced to buy the next best thing even though what we have now is just fine. Obsolete in two years mandated by the companies making products and we buy into the BS. I'd bet my bottom dollar that Germany does not toss away like we do. They buy what they NEED. Use it until it can't be used any more and then go get something else. They are a more practical society. Working for the people and the country.


I agree. We also need more products that we can actually fix. Most of what we buy now we either cannot fix at all, or we need a professional to fix it that has specialized tools. Many younger people today do not remember the TV repair man, the shoe repairman and many other lines of work that were made obsolete with the advent of throw away items.


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

gottdi said:


> Lets build things that don't break. I'd be willing to spend more. Our society is a throwaway society and WE MUST HAVE or are forced to buy the next best thing even though what we have now is just fine. Obsolete in two years mandated by the companies making products and we buy into the BS. I'd bet my bottom dollar that Germany does not toss away like we do. They buy what they NEED. Use it until it can't be used any more and then go get something else. They are a more practical society. Working for the people and the country.


Sadly, the market-place "votes" of the masses disagree. Often, by the time something needs fixing it is considered "outdated." Again, this is the result of the price of manufacturing dropping over time ("new" becomes competitive with the labor + parts cost of "repair" - and is "prettier" / "shiny").

I've been thinking though that there are still some things that might make sense to create as "repairable." Using a simple piston compressor for your air conditioning system would render it repairable. Then, instead of having the traditional box / fan unit outside your window, put the compressor in a small hush box and route the outdoor heat transfer coils to a small "water feature" in your yard that includes a fountain (spraying the water cools it; water transfers heat better than air; water may stay cooler than ambient air). Package the whole system and reap thousands for "repairable forever air conditioning kits."


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## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

I manufacture parts for antique autos, mainly, but after some free website information, I am now also making/repairing parts for coffee mills, wood working machinery and about anything else people need parts for.

It is a small niche market, but seems to have good steady motion.

What I do is cast metal parts in ZA (white metal) alloys.
I am currently working on some Packard parts and a distributor mount for a Maxwell.

You can't go to AutoZone for these sorts of parts.

We need to keep manufacturing things that people need.

You and I can't clean each others house and make a living by doing so.

WE need to throw the bums out of Washington and start over with NO pensions and TERM LIMITS!!!!!!!

But that is just my .02..........


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## ElectriCar (Jun 15, 2008)

Here's a success story on US manufacturing. It's pretty much a fad now but it's the newest rage with kids. When I saw it was made by a Greenville, SC company which is just up the road from me, I thought "yea but it's made in China". Nope, it's made in Greenville and they've done a good job with it, lots of models.

The Zike


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## rochesterricer (Jan 5, 2011)

I love it when a thread is brought back from the dead by a spammer lol.


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## ElectriCar (Jun 15, 2008)

Wish I were a mod sometimes...


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## Mark C (Jun 25, 2010)

IMHO, since our government allows lobbyists and those lobbyists can afford to buy more influence than "we the people" do, we lose.


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## Sunking (Aug 10, 2009)

Kind of moronic and a complete lack of historic knowledge. If you look at history you will note any country where manufacturing sector was lost, the country collapsed and ceases to exist. Without manufacturing, you cannot have a vibrant economy. It makes you dependent on other countries who will hold you hostage...


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

rochesterricer said:


> I love it when a thread is brought back from the dead by a spammer lol.


The spammer has been disposed of.

Sorry for the delay, I was set building at the theatre.


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## ElectriCar (Jun 15, 2008)

Woodsmith make me a mod and I'll delete the obvious spammers hocking their ipods, ipads etc. I'm up and on the site by 6AM EST just about every morning, sometimes late at night as well.


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