MADE IN CHINA

How often do you buy merchandise that has a label saying “Made in USA”? Very seldom, right?

Why do you think this is? And why are so many people out of work? My thoughts on this subject are as follows:

Now that you have filled out the request forms, we will send you the forms you need to fill out to find out what's in them.

Government Rules and Regulations, with the accompanying red tape, make it extremely difficult to start and maintain a business. Business people are burdened by ridiculous regulations and mounds of paperwork that greatly hinder their ability to focus on the real business of running a company. Some small companies have actually gone out of business rather than having to contend with the red tape.
Taxes on Businesses are used by federal, state, and local governments to obtain revenue which is often used for spending on wasteful programs. The problem is that businesses merely recoup the tax money by raising prices on their goods and services, thereby passing on the tax burden to their customers. The net result is that the people are the real ones being taxed. Because of high taxes, the textile industries had moved from New England to the south where taxation was lower. Now they’ve moved to China and other parts of Southeast Asia.

With apologies to Snidely Whiplash, a comparatively nice guy!

Company Owners and Management, because of their selfish greed and desire for power, are also responsible. They pay themselves huge salaries and bonuses while paying their working staff insufficient wages. This attitude opens the door to unions moving into their companies (following below). Since they cannot control fixed costs, they lower flexible costs by firing some employees and forcing the remaining employees to work ever harder and faster. This plan results in improving quarterly earnings and providing bonuses for management. However, the result is temporary. Soon they take the same action again and some businesses actually downsize into non-existence. A more profitable course of action is to shut the manufacturing plant down and simply become an importing firm, buying cheap merchandise from China and selling it at the same high prices. Often the merchandise is disappointingly poor in quality.

And don't get me started on the Bureaucrat Unions!

Labor Unions long ago were necessary because company owners were paying their workers low wages while expecting them to work long hours in dangerous working conditions. Conditions and pay did improve for the workers which was a good thing. However, since those early years, unions have grown so powerful that they are now harmful to the welfare of this country. They are no longer interested in just helping the labor force. They have been taken over by corrupt gangsters and socialist bosses. Their demands are totally unreasonable. Union wages are now ridiculously high compared with other workers. Retirement benefits are outrageously high to the point that companies and local governments are going out of business by agreeing to their demands. Union heads have a big control of our government and are using their powers to influence politicians to do their bidding. Of course the workers support the unions, often to the point of being willing to commit criminal behavior, because they do not want to lose any of their wages and benefits. These actions have encouraged companies, many of them with decent owners and managers, to shut down their businesses and become importers of goods from China.

At least SOMEONE is still making them...

All of the above conditions have resulted in our country becoming a nation of importers instead of the great manufacturing country it once was. And our past presidents, as well as most politicians, have allowed this to happen. Unless action is taken to correct the situation, we will continue our downslide into becoming a second-rate country.