Will Tensions in Iran Send Oil Prices Through the Roof?

[Jammer]

Ok gang, please "bare" with me today as I am a chronic pain patient that is currently having a very bad day, as Im sure other may be having as well. (disclaimer)

At least we all seem to agree that this Country has some problems going forward with any real chance of the livelihood that we once had. I write letters almost every day to those in Congress, Senate, and yesterday I fired one off to The President. I know the odds of my letters making any difference are near impossible. But when I see obvious things that are undermining the Country, which means it's people, then I do not wish to die knowing I had not tried to do something to change what I see as wrong. I do not wish to break the rules of this site and get into politics, so there is no reason to talk about this party or that party. But the one single thing I feel that Americans often have control of is their purchasing habits. We still have some things built in USA. As many feel they need to serve the Country in Defense, I equally feel the need to let the politicians know what I think, and I feel the obligation to buy American-Made whenever possible. If I have the money on hand I do not mind paying twice the price of a made in China product if it means my money goes into an American company. I feel GREED has destroyed this Country. Everyone wants everything, top notch medical care, new car (many do), large house, dual garage with more tools than the dealership has, a bass boat, snowmobiles, swimming pools, and most citizens expect the Government to take care of the truly-disabled and the senors. We also want good roads, police, fire departments, and on and on. But as soon as somebody wants to build a PRISON in a backyard (figure of speech) or maybe a large apartment complex for Section 8 families on HUD then people talk about their taxes and then they complain about their idea that their land's value will go down, and so on.

At the top we have CEOs walking away from losing companies with multiple million dollar bonuses, even when the company has lost a zillion bucks and half the work force got laid off. Greed Greed Greed. And Greed is the reason that almost everything most people can afford to purchase, or can even find for sale within their small-mid size cities says "Made in China". I actually feel bad when I'm in a corner and have to buy something made in China because I realize their workers most likely do not make enough money to even buy an American car, yet they are happy to go to work on a bicycle. I do not believe their exchange rate is fair to America, as is documented online by many. It wont be long until we will see no middle income. It will be all people riding bicycles and the other side living in masons with bars on their windows and steel fences around their yard with a locked gate on their driveway. That's where America is heading if we keep our dependence on imports while we tell ourselves Americans are lazy and make poor quality goods- Gosh, if WE believe that, is there any wonder why we have such a deficient in trade?

Ask any business person and see if there is any legal way possible to make most of the goods that China makes and sells in Walmart, yet build them in America instead, and everyone claims they simply can not make the goods at the same quality, even if it's junk, and same price. Now why is this? Could it be that a nation with billions of people with livelihoods well below our own poverty levels and uses prison labor all together to build things to sell at Walmart has found a way that is impossible for America to compete with, even if one does not believe the exchange rate is flawed?

I would support a government imposed label kind of like they put on a pack of smokes on everything made in China yet sold in the USA- In large Red Letters that explains their might be an American option and that purchasing said item may force America's economy to implode even further. Nobody seems to even care where things are made, and this attitude did not used to be with Americans. When I was a boy I used to often see shoppers reading the company of origin on most products they were considering to purchase- we no longer see this happen unless somebody happens to see ME in a store. lol Low price and greed got us in this mess. The only way out that I can see is to reverse the trend buy reversing how we shop and what we buy.

Of course these things all apply to our cars and trucks as well. It may not be easy for a person in California to appreciate that if they can find an American car they like it could mean saving somebody's job in Michigan. But we all are impacted by these trends because we are all into this together, by being Americans.

One thing I like about Honda is that they do build some cars here. They may even have a higher amount of American content than some GM cars (remember when Chevy sold The Geo Metro?). But try explaining that to a UAW member, they wont let ya park a Honda in their driveway- I have seen it happen before! That's how dead serious some people are about buying imports.

Now I'll cut this to a close, as I'm in too much pain to type any more for now.

My best to all of you.
Peace.

[cfg83]

aerohead -

Originally Posted by aerohead

This one has been at the center of attention for me for over a decade now.It appears that to provide pensions,we must adopt the mantle of cannibalism,in effect,eating our own offspring in order to maintain the market growth which is the centerpiece of contemporary capitalist dogma.

I'm less inclined to blame "pensions" as they used to be than the quarterly-based stock market system as a whole. Japanese corporate strategies have been portrayed as being in it for the long term. If I don't have to show profit in 90 days, I can make decisions that help the company reap benefits in the long term. It's funny you used the word cannibalism because that's my POV to a tee.

CarloSW2

[Frank Lee]

I don't spend a whole lotta time evaluating purchases based on where they come from. Purchases have to stand on the merits of their quality/cost/utility balance.

May the best man win.

If that happens to be Americans, great. If not, maybe we should have tried harder.

[cfg83]

Hello -

(I apologize for not reading every post in detail, but ... )

I'd just like to say that from what I have read, members are participating in a principled debate. What I mean is, you're stating your POV while respecting the POV of others. When you disagree, you are not denigrating the opinions of others, you are simply making your case.

CarloSW2

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I don't spend a whole lotta time evaluating purchases based on where they come from. Purchases have to stand on the merits of their quality/cost/utility balance.

May the best man win.

If that happens to be Americans, great. If not, maybe we should have tried harder.

Once again, I compretery agree.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by cfg83

Hello -

(I apologize for not reading every post in detail, but ... )

I'd just like to say that from what I have read, members are participating in a principled debate. What I mean is, you're stating your POV while respecting the POV of others. When you disagree, you are not denigrating the opinions of others, you are simply making your case.

CarloSW2

I see this as well, which I find to be quite atypical when moving toward any depth of political discussion.

I'd like to thank everyone as well.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Ironic that Japan's transformation from junk producer to quality benchmark was due to the widespread adoption of... American mgmt philosophy!

It wasn't American management philosophy, but the management philosophy of an American, W. Edwards Deming - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia America by and large ignored his ideas; the Japanese adopted them.

[Frank Lee]

Yeah that's what I meant.

[cfg83]

Frank -

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Yeah that's what I meant.

jamesqf beat me to it. I think Deming was embraced during WWII, but he was discarded in the 1950's, and the Japanese were there to listen.

CarloSW2

[SentraSE-R]

An interesting, lively, and thoughtful discussion. I would love to see gasoline prices top $4/gallon again, as that's the only way Joe Six-Pack will get the message to junk his 12 mpg FSP SUV. We could just about end our dependence on foreign oil overnight, simply by slowing down to 55 mpg, but we and our politicians lack the will to do it.