A not "Made in China" Christmas

And we could pay them the same amount that the workers in China get paid. That way they'd have some cash to use once they got out and not burden society even more. Sounds like a win/win situation to me!

Of course, then the lawyers and the ACLU and so on would get involved, the prisoners would try and unionize. Before we know it, the prisoners would end up geting full health care benefits, 401k's, and get paid more than most people who aren't criminals...

 

I am usually the eternal optimist, but barring a minor miracle we have begun a recession as we speak. GM, Ford and Chrysler will soon begin shutting down factories(short-term?) because sales are in the dumpster. The suppliers will lay-off and the cycle will begin. Hopefully I will be wrong, but attended a meeting today and it looks like it has begun. I think this recession may be fairly deep and will be easily attributed to the staggering deficit in trade and outsourcing.

 

Actually, some of the stretch limos and special coaches ARE subbed to prison workers in Nevada and I recall Navy clothing and metal clothing lockers being prison industry products....I also recall a backlash issued by the ACLU over this as well....

 

And, as far as WalMart, et al and their selling Chinese goods, my Navy Exchange does the same. Buy any Revere copperclad cookware lately? Good ole Paul moved to Shanghai. Tried to buy some AV furniture from JC Penney; all now made in China.

I swear, the only thing we Amuuericans know how to do anymore is sue

 

We need to fix things here first. I work for a manufacturing company and we pay one out of every four dollars in revenue for insurance.

Many companies go offshore to avoid US courts and regulations not just for the lower wages and benefits.

We need to have a govenment that lives within its means so that the rest of us can too.

Malorn, I don't mean this as an attack on you, only that there are things we could do here to make us more competitive.

 

if the chinese yuan ever becomes more loose, rather than being controlled so heavily, that'll mean higher prices at walmart... or perhaps produces shipped over from other countries.

anyway, just how things work. i think walmart is bad for other reasons, than merely buying from cheaper countries. one thing is the poor salaries and no health benefits, leaving most walmart employees relying on the gov't for insurances. blah. sucks!

(go costco!!!)

 

Don't Forget our Friend India.

China is old news. Many U.S. and Japanese corporations have plants in many sections of India now. India is emerging economy and a perfect counterpart towards China.

There is a post on this subject in Freds House of Pancakes.

 

They make license plates, and don't always stamp 'em correctly. You want 'em to make your Hybrid Synergy Drive?

 

You are mistaken, Malorn: Dumping is not selling cheaper overseas than at home. Dumping is selling below your own cost of production. The rationale for it is to drive others out of business so you can then jack up the price.

As for putting prisoners to work, UNICOR, the federal prison industries, uses prisoners to make a variety of products for government and the commercial market. UNICOR jobs are highly sought-after by prisoners, because the 25-cents-per-hour starting pay is so much better than the 12 cents for regular prison jobs. Virtually all prisoners are required to work, and the in-house jobs have to be filled (cleaning, cooking, landscaping, etc) before prisoners can be assigned to UNICOR jobs. But there is a lot of controversy, because private companies and working people object to the unfair competition from government-owned UNICOR with its near-zero labor costs.

But I repeat, that prisoners, by and large, covet those UNICOR jobs and UNICOR has no difficulty recruiting willing workers from the prison population.