This will get BIG! Your opinion on what America needs...
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,731
Likes: 47
From: Concord, NC
Americans are the problem, American youth are the problem, all these 20 somethings entering the work force with their hands out, Americans have forgotten what the meaning of hard work is
Its crazy for a manufacturer to build a plant in the US anymore, overseas they don't have to fight through red tape, they don't get taxed to death, and the workforce is fortunate to have a job, they take pride in their work, and they work hard even though they get payed what we feel to be sub-standard pay.
We as a whole are so far out of touch with the ideas and practices this country was built on its not even funny.
I am in the Air Force, i joined knowing what to expect, the sacrifice, the long hours, but the one thing i didn't expect was the amount of blatant disregard and unappreciation i would encounter, these dare i say kids (i am only 20) have no idea how lucky they are, they don't have to wake up in the morning wondering if today is the day they get a pink slip, or where they are going to get money to pay rent, they have a steady paycheck and job security, provided they do their job and stay out of trouble they will have a job until their date for re-enlistment pops up, but they still don't care!!! it drives me crazy there is no passion, no drive, no desire, last night i was working and my supervisor walked up to me and said "Taylor your all business aren't you" i said "yes sir, we get paid to work, we don't get paid to screw off, someone around here has to get it done"
But the worst part is people who were like me give up after awhile, whats the point in doing your best and working hard if all your doing is carrying other people, its not like we can get a raise by working hard, we get paid for the number of stripes on our arm, i bust my rump and turn out parts doing quality work, and at the end of the day my check is still the same as the guy that totaled out a 50,000 dollar part because he cant drill a hole right.
I refuse to give up, because my drive comes from within if no one notices it doesn't bother me, i get paid to perform a job, and to me if im not doing my job to the best of my abilities then i don't deserve to get paid, and its that exact moral thats being lost in America, its a shame, in my humble opinion
Its crazy for a manufacturer to build a plant in the US anymore, overseas they don't have to fight through red tape, they don't get taxed to death, and the workforce is fortunate to have a job, they take pride in their work, and they work hard even though they get payed what we feel to be sub-standard pay.
We as a whole are so far out of touch with the ideas and practices this country was built on its not even funny.
I am in the Air Force, i joined knowing what to expect, the sacrifice, the long hours, but the one thing i didn't expect was the amount of blatant disregard and unappreciation i would encounter, these dare i say kids (i am only 20) have no idea how lucky they are, they don't have to wake up in the morning wondering if today is the day they get a pink slip, or where they are going to get money to pay rent, they have a steady paycheck and job security, provided they do their job and stay out of trouble they will have a job until their date for re-enlistment pops up, but they still don't care!!! it drives me crazy there is no passion, no drive, no desire, last night i was working and my supervisor walked up to me and said "Taylor your all business aren't you" i said "yes sir, we get paid to work, we don't get paid to screw off, someone around here has to get it done"
But the worst part is people who were like me give up after awhile, whats the point in doing your best and working hard if all your doing is carrying other people, its not like we can get a raise by working hard, we get paid for the number of stripes on our arm, i bust my rump and turn out parts doing quality work, and at the end of the day my check is still the same as the guy that totaled out a 50,000 dollar part because he cant drill a hole right.
I refuse to give up, because my drive comes from within if no one notices it doesn't bother me, i get paid to perform a job, and to me if im not doing my job to the best of my abilities then i don't deserve to get paid, and its that exact moral thats being lost in America, its a shame, in my humble opinion
You have an attitude not many kids in our age range have unfortunately. Good for you
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,895
Likes: 0
From: Starkville Mississippi
rdnk217
First, thank you for your service.
Second, I am 26. I entered the corporate world last summer after finishing graduate school. Before that, I worked construction from the time I was 16. You are exactly right and I stand beside you in your beliefs. I will not give up either, even though I am in one of the worst areas in the country; Mississippi. The majority of some small towns here are on welfare. It's sick.
Keep it up man!
First, thank you for your service.
Second, I am 26. I entered the corporate world last summer after finishing graduate school. Before that, I worked construction from the time I was 16. You are exactly right and I stand beside you in your beliefs. I will not give up either, even though I am in one of the worst areas in the country; Mississippi. The majority of some small towns here are on welfare. It's sick.
Keep it up man!
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 918
Likes: 0
From: south western NYS Latitude: 42.34 N, Longitude: 78.46 W
x2 great job!!! knowing that there ia always a chance with young people like you
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,919
Likes: 0
From: Western Massachusetts
How about we, the American people, try to be a little more like our grandparents and great grandparents were. There was surely turmoil in their time and many of them made poor choices but there was a respect that doesn't seem to exist anymore.
There is a lot that can be done to make this country better than it is right now. We can play a big part in that. Lead by example.
There is a lot that can be done to make this country better than it is right now. We can play a big part in that. Lead by example.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 3,248
Likes: 2
From: Rochester, NY, USA
My opinion:
1) Tax imported goods (made with foreign parts) so they cost the same as American made goods.
2) Give tax breaks to companies willing to relocate MANUFACTURING back to the American States.
3) We - the general (explative)ing public need to BUY AMERICAN!
4) ALL products in stores should be labeled even clearer where they're made, or what percent is foreign/American, parts, assembly labor, ETC.
Around Christmas time I was thumbing through an LL Bean catalog for ideas.
They display "imported" in the description if an item is.
For the heck of it, I folded over pages that had "Made in USA" on them.
After going through the whole catalog...only seven pages were folded!
It's getting harder and harder to even find American made goods.
No wonder this country is in such a downward spiral.
Free-Trade.....there is no such thing as free trade...
The companies who are shamelessly focussed on max profits over Americans' needs should be somehow held accountable.
Companies trading American jobs so their Profits/Stock Values, whatever look good.....
it's a shame.
If you think I'm way off base, share your opinion.
Thanks for reading mine....
1) Tax imported goods (made with foreign parts) so they cost the same as American made goods.
2) Give tax breaks to companies willing to relocate MANUFACTURING back to the American States.
3) We - the general (explative)ing public need to BUY AMERICAN!
4) ALL products in stores should be labeled even clearer where they're made, or what percent is foreign/American, parts, assembly labor, ETC.
Around Christmas time I was thumbing through an LL Bean catalog for ideas.
They display "imported" in the description if an item is.
For the heck of it, I folded over pages that had "Made in USA" on them.
After going through the whole catalog...only seven pages were folded!
It's getting harder and harder to even find American made goods.
No wonder this country is in such a downward spiral.
Free-Trade.....there is no such thing as free trade...
The companies who are shamelessly focussed on max profits over Americans' needs should be somehow held accountable.
Companies trading American jobs so their Profits/Stock Values, whatever look good.....
it's a shame.
If you think I'm way off base, share your opinion.
Thanks for reading mine....
And when anybody says we should "buy American", I feel ill. Yea, it sounds great, but we've forced manufacturing out of our country with high wages, high benefits, just plain silly government regulations (and costs), high taxes, and I could go on and on. When you see how much less expensive it is to make things offshore - and how much harder the people work - you'll wake up and smell the roses. (Maybe)
So, nice try, but I'm not buying any of it. This problem is far bigger and more complex than you understand.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 968
Likes: 0
From: Milwaukee
...off the top of my head...
Term limits for all public offices. Senate and House limited to two 6-year terms. If the President has term limits, so should congress. Same goes for Mayors, Governors, etc.
Abolish the IRS - go to FairTax system
Term limits for all public offices. Senate and House limited to two 6-year terms. If the President has term limits, so should congress. Same goes for Mayors, Governors, etc.
Abolish the IRS - go to FairTax system
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,480
Likes: 0
From: Nashville, TN
Buying foreign products is not always bad. The following is an excerpt from an article I read: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5474.html
More for everyone
First, there is hard evidence that Wal-Mart has grown the economic pie available to be divided among its various stakeholders, instead of just slicing up a fixed pie in a way that favors one group over another. Consider, for example, the conclusions of the McKinsey Global Institute's study of U.S. labor productivity growth between 1995 and 2000. In the words of Robert Solow, a Nobel laureate in economics and an adviser to the study, "By far the most important factor in that [growth] is Wal-Mart."
Second, most of the value created by the company is actually pocketed by its customers in the form of lower prices. There is general agreement that Wal-Mart prices are significantly lower than its competitors. Assuming that the company's prices are 8 percent lower—at the low end of the estimates from various studies summarized in a recent report by Global Insight—and applying that to Wal-Mart's domestic sales volume, U.S. consumers save on the order of $18 billion per year. And because Wal-Mart forces its competitors to charge lower prices as well, this figure is a fraction of the company's real impact.
These kinds of savings to customers far exceed the costs that Wal-Mart allegedly imposes on society by securing subsidies, driving employees toward public welfare systems, creating urban sprawl, and destroying jobs in competing operations. Thus, juxtaposing these customer savings against the estimate cited by Fishman and others that Wal-Mart destroyed 2,500 jobs (on a net basis) in 2005 yields customer savings of more than $7 million per year for each job lost. (Fishman actually works with higher numbers for customer savings, so if he had done this calculation, he would have come out in the $12–$60 million range.)
The savings to Wal-Mart customers also appear large in relation to the surplus that it passes on to stockholders. In recent years, the retailer has netted just 1.5 to 2 percent of revenues as income for its shareholders—compared with 8-plus percent for its customers. It is worth adding that shareholder surplus—over and above the cost of the capital employed in the business—would be completely wiped out if Wal-Mart's million-plus employees were to receive a $2-per-hour pay increase, modest though that sounds. And since such a scenario would be unacceptable to Wal-Mart's shareholders, the millions of Americans who shop at Wal-Mart would likely end up paying higher prices.
In The Wal-Mart Effect, Charles Fishman raises another specter: Wal-Mart as giant boa constrictor, squeezing the life out of capitalism through sheer market dominance. This seems far-fetched. Wal-Mart still accounts for less than 10 percent of total nonautomotive retail sales in the United States, and its growth rate in the last twenty years has steadily declined from 30-plus percent to below the 10 percent mark in 2006. Wal-Mart has also been slowed by rapid increases in particular cost elements such as healthcare, pressure on its stock price, and a move to reposition the company to be "more like Target"—that is, more differentiated—even though this move doesn't fit particularly well with Wal-Mart's existing locations or capabilities.
First, there is hard evidence that Wal-Mart has grown the economic pie available to be divided among its various stakeholders, instead of just slicing up a fixed pie in a way that favors one group over another. Consider, for example, the conclusions of the McKinsey Global Institute's study of U.S. labor productivity growth between 1995 and 2000. In the words of Robert Solow, a Nobel laureate in economics and an adviser to the study, "By far the most important factor in that [growth] is Wal-Mart."
Second, most of the value created by the company is actually pocketed by its customers in the form of lower prices. There is general agreement that Wal-Mart prices are significantly lower than its competitors. Assuming that the company's prices are 8 percent lower—at the low end of the estimates from various studies summarized in a recent report by Global Insight—and applying that to Wal-Mart's domestic sales volume, U.S. consumers save on the order of $18 billion per year. And because Wal-Mart forces its competitors to charge lower prices as well, this figure is a fraction of the company's real impact.
These kinds of savings to customers far exceed the costs that Wal-Mart allegedly imposes on society by securing subsidies, driving employees toward public welfare systems, creating urban sprawl, and destroying jobs in competing operations. Thus, juxtaposing these customer savings against the estimate cited by Fishman and others that Wal-Mart destroyed 2,500 jobs (on a net basis) in 2005 yields customer savings of more than $7 million per year for each job lost. (Fishman actually works with higher numbers for customer savings, so if he had done this calculation, he would have come out in the $12–$60 million range.)
The savings to Wal-Mart customers also appear large in relation to the surplus that it passes on to stockholders. In recent years, the retailer has netted just 1.5 to 2 percent of revenues as income for its shareholders—compared with 8-plus percent for its customers. It is worth adding that shareholder surplus—over and above the cost of the capital employed in the business—would be completely wiped out if Wal-Mart's million-plus employees were to receive a $2-per-hour pay increase, modest though that sounds. And since such a scenario would be unacceptable to Wal-Mart's shareholders, the millions of Americans who shop at Wal-Mart would likely end up paying higher prices.
In The Wal-Mart Effect, Charles Fishman raises another specter: Wal-Mart as giant boa constrictor, squeezing the life out of capitalism through sheer market dominance. This seems far-fetched. Wal-Mart still accounts for less than 10 percent of total nonautomotive retail sales in the United States, and its growth rate in the last twenty years has steadily declined from 30-plus percent to below the 10 percent mark in 2006. Wal-Mart has also been slowed by rapid increases in particular cost elements such as healthcare, pressure on its stock price, and a move to reposition the company to be "more like Target"—that is, more differentiated—even though this move doesn't fit particularly well with Wal-Mart's existing locations or capabilities.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 156
Likes: 0
Thank you for your service to let me enjoy my freedom that I have today..
No onto your quote.. This is another reason why taxes are so high.. I know things in the military are expensive like plane parts and stuff but $50,000 for a part is just wasteful spending..
Case in point.. I worked with a fellow that was in the Air Force for 8 years.. He worked as a mechanic on the base... He said when they would order tools for the guys ( there was maybe 40-50 on the base) they would order 4,000 screwdrivers... At $800 a piece... Later on in his career he asked why the government would do that and they said if they didn't show the money was spent they would cut back on their budget for the next year.. How is that fair to us Joe public... We are all funding them doing this...
What our government really needs is an audit... TO bad that will even be corupted... I see no real way out of this...
We need to stop sending so much federal aid to other countries.. Keep it here at home.. In some places we need it much worse than other countries...
We need to stop importing goods from other countries... We made this stuff before, we can do it again...
Make the politicians and lawmakers responsible for doing a bad job.. Hold them accountable. Just like CEO's of big companies, make them pay for the big gambles they make with investors money.. They mess up they can walk away and get a job as a CEO somewhere else and do it all over again..
One pension for government employee's. Not have 3 from having 3 different government positions..
The one thing that really burns my butt is that we still have families living in trailers in LA from that hurricane, and nobody is really helping them.. But yet we send billions of dollars to other counties and for what.. Just making someone look good for political gain...
James
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,731
Likes: 47
From: Concord, NC
<snip>
The one thing that really burns my butt is that we still have families living in trailers in LA from that hurricane, and nobody is really helping them.. But yet we send billions of dollars to other counties and for what.. Just making someone look good for political gain...
James
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,862
Likes: 0
From: Northern California
Americans are the problem, American youth are the problem, all these 20 somethings entering the work force with their hands out, Americans have forgotten what the meaning of hard work is
Its crazy for a manufacturer to build a plant in the US anymore, overseas they don't have to fight through red tape, they don't get taxed to death, and the workforce is fortunate to have a job, they take pride in their work, and they work hard even though they get payed what we feel to be sub-standard pay.
We as a whole are so far out of touch with the ideas and practices this country was built on its not even funny.
I am in the Air Force, i joined knowing what to expect, the sacrifice, the long hours, but the one thing i didn't expect was the amount of blatant disregard and unappreciation i would encounter, these dare i say kids (i am only 20) have no idea how lucky they are, they don't have to wake up in the morning wondering if today is the day they get a pink slip, or where they are going to get money to pay rent, they have a steady paycheck and job security, provided they do their job and stay out of trouble they will have a job until their date for re-enlistment pops up, but they still don't care!!! it drives me crazy there is no passion, no drive, no desire, last night i was working and my supervisor walked up to me and said "Taylor your all business aren't you" i said "yes sir, we get paid to work, we don't get paid to screw off, someone around here has to get it done"
But the worst part is people who were like me give up after awhile, whats the point in doing your best and working hard if all your doing is carrying other people, its not like we can get a raise by working hard, we get paid for the number of stripes on our arm, i bust my rump and turn out parts doing quality work, and at the end of the day my check is still the same as the guy that totaled out a 50,000 dollar part because he cant drill a hole right.
I refuse to give up, because my drive comes from within if no one notices it doesn't bother me, i get paid to perform a job, and to me if im not doing my job to the best of my abilities then i don't deserve to get paid, and its that exact moral thats being lost in America, its a shame, in my humble opinion
Its crazy for a manufacturer to build a plant in the US anymore, overseas they don't have to fight through red tape, they don't get taxed to death, and the workforce is fortunate to have a job, they take pride in their work, and they work hard even though they get payed what we feel to be sub-standard pay.
We as a whole are so far out of touch with the ideas and practices this country was built on its not even funny.
I am in the Air Force, i joined knowing what to expect, the sacrifice, the long hours, but the one thing i didn't expect was the amount of blatant disregard and unappreciation i would encounter, these dare i say kids (i am only 20) have no idea how lucky they are, they don't have to wake up in the morning wondering if today is the day they get a pink slip, or where they are going to get money to pay rent, they have a steady paycheck and job security, provided they do their job and stay out of trouble they will have a job until their date for re-enlistment pops up, but they still don't care!!! it drives me crazy there is no passion, no drive, no desire, last night i was working and my supervisor walked up to me and said "Taylor your all business aren't you" i said "yes sir, we get paid to work, we don't get paid to screw off, someone around here has to get it done"
But the worst part is people who were like me give up after awhile, whats the point in doing your best and working hard if all your doing is carrying other people, its not like we can get a raise by working hard, we get paid for the number of stripes on our arm, i bust my rump and turn out parts doing quality work, and at the end of the day my check is still the same as the guy that totaled out a 50,000 dollar part because he cant drill a hole right.
I refuse to give up, because my drive comes from within if no one notices it doesn't bother me, i get paid to perform a job, and to me if im not doing my job to the best of my abilities then i don't deserve to get paid, and its that exact moral thats being lost in America, its a shame, in my humble opinion
My grandfather was an original immigrant through Ellis Island and worked as a butcher his whole life in San Francisco. His one goal? To send his kids to college to set them up for success. The man was so driven, had a strong mind, etc. The fact that the majority of people at that time were so incredibly driven is what made this country as strong is it is (was) today. My father grew up under him and the blood ran rich in his veins as well. I was extremely fortunate to grow up under a father who worked his *** off harder than any person I've ever met. I don't see that with any of the kids my age these days.
I feel like the same blood is running through myself, I work my *** off (unlike a ton of the kids my age). I wish the rest of my generation would realize this, but unfortunately its just not happening. Its going to be a rocky ride for us.
Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Missouri
We need to make drastic changes to welfare. Stop paying ppl to sit at home and make more babies. They dont have jobs because they dont need one. They get a paycheck for sitting at home.
Send all Illegal aliens back no exceptions.
Need way less government. I hate the fact that they are trying to change the healthcare even though the majority of us don't want it.
I am way too tired to get into this tonight. It is a waste of time anyways. Seems to me they will just throw more money we dont have at problems.
Oh and stop paying to kill babies. We should not be funding the murder of inocent children. What has our country come to?
Send all Illegal aliens back no exceptions.
Need way less government. I hate the fact that they are trying to change the healthcare even though the majority of us don't want it.
I am way too tired to get into this tonight. It is a waste of time anyways. Seems to me they will just throw more money we dont have at problems.
Oh and stop paying to kill babies. We should not be funding the murder of inocent children. What has our country come to?
Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Missouri
I am sorry, but it makes me ill to keep reading even today people complaining that no one will help them out after katrina. Honestly, why does every one always think they are owed something. They are still in trailors because they are lazy, and do not have the drive to make something of their lives. Just my.02 worth. I know I likely upset some people with this, but You are owed nothing. Make a living for yourself. We are not helping you because you will not help yourself. I say give help where it is appreciated.
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 2,804
Likes: 9
From: Wisconsin
First and foremost, we need to REFORM Lobbying. Until the average American has more of a voice in congress' ear than the corporations and foreign interests, things will continue to get worse. You want healthcare reform, get rid of the lobbyist and it will get done, you want economic recovery, get rid of the lobbyist, you want any progressive movement at all, get rid of the lobbyist. PERIOD!!!
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,731
Likes: 47
From: Concord, NC
I am sorry, but it makes me ill to keep reading even today people complaining that no one will help them out after katrina. Honestly, why does every one always think they are owed something. They are still in trailors because they are lazy, and do not have the drive to make something of their lives. Just my.02 worth. I know I likely upset some people with this, but You are owed nothing. Make a living for yourself. We are not helping you because you will not help yourself. I say give help where it is appreciated.
Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Tucson AZ
Thanks all for the support, I see i am not alone, what a sigh of relief, i am just in fear of what the future holds as it sounds many of you are as well, i don't think Americans will let the government push them around for much longer, i think healthcare will be the last straw, and thats exactly what we need, i cant wait to see what happens in November, i think a lot of the Democrats are going to be put to the curb where they belong
I think Thomas Jefferson said it best "A government big enough to supply you with everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have...."
I was not even alive during the Reagan era yet i admire him like he was one of the founding fathers, he put the money where it belongs out of government hands and into the private sector, what happened to those policies, he must be rolling over in his grave!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRdLpem-AAs
POINT CASE!!! DONT TREAD ON ME!!! NOT TODAY, NOT TOMORROW, NOT EVER
I think Thomas Jefferson said it best "A government big enough to supply you with everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have...."
I was not even alive during the Reagan era yet i admire him like he was one of the founding fathers, he put the money where it belongs out of government hands and into the private sector, what happened to those policies, he must be rolling over in his grave!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRdLpem-AAs
POINT CASE!!! DONT TREAD ON ME!!! NOT TODAY, NOT TOMORROW, NOT EVER