Tell us something we don’t know.

[MossRoad]

 

[Jstpssng]

We're all guilty. When you still had the chance 30 years ago, to pay twice as much for a television or stereo system made in USA versus China, which did you choose?

We've also all benefitted from cheap foreign labor. I own so many large flatscreen TV's that I honestly don't know how many we have in this house? Maybe 8? 10? Include computer monitors and tablets, and we're over 20 screens. Despite working in the same profession, my parents could only afford one good TV for the living room, and one old POS for their bedroom... both made in USA.

Made in USA ain't cheap, not only in salary costs, but with ever-increasing environmental and labor safety regulations.

There are many things I have bought because it was made here; other things I've chosen to go without because of where they are made. I used to buy a pair of New Balance sneakers every year because I liked them and they were made in USA. They were made of Cordura or some similar material which held up well. One year I discovered the factory had been moved out of country... that was almost 30 years ago and I've bought 2 pair of sneakers since.

The only new TV I have ever bought, I chose in part because it was "assembled in USA." A year later everything went digital and I no longer have service here... that TV has been in my shed for 20 years and I doubt it's any good.

I have a 5 hp Honda engine which I paid around $300 for. I have a 5 HP Predator engine which I bought at Harbor Freight for $119. It appears that most, if not all of the parts are interchangeable. I paid extra for the Honda because it wasn't made in China... it turned out to be made in Taiwan.

I believe that if we are going to have a global economy the playing field should be level; no sweat shops, similar environmental laws, no "knock offs", no flying surveillance balloons over other countries. I know that I am tilting windmills but I try to put my money behind what I think. That's one reason I'm not as well off as I could be. I do believe in protecting the environment and feel that should be part of the cost of doing business. I also believe that people should be as willing to pay farmers the cost of production as they are willing to pay the price at a fancy restaurant... or even McD's.

 

[Oaktree]

Anyone who owns a business knows that the "youngin" want the money but are unwilling to work the hours it takes. They work the bare minimum to get by. Right now, we employ around 22 and out of those, 3 are willing to work 40 hrs. The rest find excuses to do 24-35hrs. Most are 19-30yo and 2 at 50. Crazy, I'm 61 and from 18-45, I never did less than 48-55 hrs a week at more than one job.

Maybe not a popular opinion to express here, but historically a lot of these manufacturing or other jobs where the skills needed were learned OJT went to recent immigrants. With immigration quotas cut way back, there goes a source of workers. I'm not sure a lot of young people wanted those jobs when I was first on my own either, though maybe they were more willing to take one back then as opposed to now. The lack of willing workers is a pretty major barrier to manufacturing returning.

I only own two flat screens. 1 big screen in the living room. And a 21" computer monitor in the guest room hooked to the grandkids Xbox.

I've got a couple more than that, but nothing like the poster you responded to. 2 tvs...one in the living room, the other on our 3 season porch plus several computer monitors...2 monitors on my PC, one on the wife's and one on the old PC in my shop. A far cry from 20+.

 

[zzvyb6]

There are more airplanes in the ocean than there are submarines in the air.

 

[Dftodd]

Maybe not a popular opinion to express here, but historically a lot of these manufacturing or other jobs where the skills needed were learned OJT went to recent immigrants. With immigration quotas cut way back, there goes a source of workers. I'm not sure a lot of young people wanted those jobs when I was first on my own either, though maybe they were more willing to take one back then as opposed to now. The lack of willing workers is a pretty major barrier to manufacturing returning.

I've got a couple more than that, but nothing like the poster you responded to. 2 tvs...one in the living room, the other on our 3 season porch plus several computer monitors...2 monitors on my PC, one on the wife's and one on the old PC in my shop. A far cry from 20+.

It's just the wife and I, so the 1 TV is fine. We don't watch TV in bed. The computer monitor we've had for years now. Was left over from when we had a desktop computer.

Back when the kids were teenagers, we had a few more tv's, computer monitors, etc... But they got to keep their TV when they moved out, and we never bothered replacing them.

Now we do have other devices in the house, though. Two tablets, 2 smart phones, 3 laptops (1 communal plus we each have one supplied by work )

 

[dstig1]

I think you would find that upgrading your computer monitor would be a real eye-opener, if yours is really old. The new ones, even the modestly priced ones, have great resolution and clarity and allow you to zoom in quite nicely. It may also depend on the graphics capabilities of your computer or graphics card, but for most people, it doesn't take much graphics power to have a huge impact on the quality you see. Especially if you have a laptop, which it sounds like you do, plugging in a monitor or two to that (may need a docking station for 2) has a huge impact on ease of use/vision.

 

[WinterDeere]

How many steel mills operating @ capacity? How many machine shops? What are the Ford Engine plant #2 & GM Fisher Body plant on Snow Road doing today?

I think you're trying to measure today's world with yesterday's ruler. I live near, and used to work in, Bethlehem PA. Home of Bethlehem Steel, the biggest behemoth of a steel company the USA has ever seen, now shuttered and used as a casino and entertainment center. When Beth Steel shut down, it was bad news for our local economy, a few serious years of some pretty serious misery for our local population. Billy Joel even wrote a song about us, called it "Allentown" after a neighboring town, because it rolled off the tongue better.

That was the late 1970's into the early 1980's, but what happened in its wake was the explosion of Bell Labs -> Western Electric -> AT&T -> Lucent -> Agere -> Broadcom -> Avago. The entire Lehigh Valley, once absolutely dominated by steel production, became a major technical center of the east coast, often referred to as the "Eastern Silicon Valley". Engineering salaries were enormous, fortunes were won and lost, way more fun than working in a steel mill. That legacy continues today, in Avago, Cisco, and many others.

Anyone who owns a business knows that the "youngin" want the money but are unwilling to work the hours it takes. They work the bare minimum to get by. Right now, we employ around 22 and out of those, 3 are willing to work 40 hrs. The rest find excuses to do 24-35hrs. Most are 19-30yo and 2 at 50. Crazy, I'm 61 and from 18-45, I never did less than 48-55 hrs a week at more than one job.

It seems to be a mixed bag, from what I can see. They actually seem to have a healthier outlook on work-life balance than my gen-X group, and many of them are amazingly efficient. They surely don't have the interest in working the sort of hours I did (or still do), but that's to their benefit, not detriment.

It's just the wife and I, so the 1 TV is fine. We don't watch TV in bed. The computer monitor we've had for years now. Was left over from when we had a desktop computer.

Back when the kids were teenagers, we had a few more tv's, computer monitors, etc... But they got to keep their TV when they moved out, and we never bothered replacing them.

Now we do have other devices in the house, though. Two tablets, 2 smart phones, 3 laptops (1 communal plus we each have one supplied by work )

That's the funny thing, now. We have probably 6 TV's that haven't been turned on once this year, really only one gets regular usage. There's a TV in the kitchen, which we used to use daily for morning news or to have on as background while making dinner, but now all our content comes thru a handful of iPads. I'd bet that kitchen TV has been turned on less than 3x since 2020.

But getting back to the point, we have all this luxury thanks to cheap outsourced labor. Kind of disingenuous to complain about it after the fact.

 

[BnRidge]

I think you would find that upgrading your computer monitor would be a real eye-opener.

I know 4 people, including myself, who spent a career staying up to date on computer hardware, software and applications, who once retired ditched almost all of it. I have a laptop and phone and I'll be fine. Pretty soon I'll be like the pygmies who saw a screen for the first time, and looked behind it to try to find the horses.

They surely don't have the interest in working the sort of hours I did (or still do), but that's to their benefit, not detriment.

Generally, as economies mature workweek hours go down.

 

[MossRoad]

I know 4 people, including myself, who spent a career staying up to date on computer hardware, software and applications, who once retired ditched almost all of it. I have a laptop and phone and I'll be fine. Pretty soon I'll be like the pygmies who saw a screen for the first time, and looked behind it to try to find the horses.

Generally, as economies mature workweek hours go down.

Count me as#5. 25 years in I.T., had a small computer lab in my basement, too. Now I have surface Pro that rarely gets used, an iPad, and an iPhone. That's it.

 

[Dftodd]

Count me as#5. 25 years in I.T., had a small computer lab in my basement, too. Now I have surface Pro that rarely gets used, an iPad, and an iPhone. That's it.

I'm on my work laptop constantly throughout the day between work orders, emails, training, web meetings, etc..... I have a docking station in my office with two monitors and the works.

Sometimes, I have it tethered to my work phone if dealing with GPS units out on sites.

At home, internet and bills are all done through my tablet or phone. Been on our personal laptop once for about 30 seconds in the past two years And that was just to close out something that the grandkids left open, that my wife couldn't figure out how to close.

99% of the time, at home, my tablet is opened to the Kindle app for books, and my phone is used to surf a couple forums and one news app site.