Friday, December 05, 2008

4.5 Million Manufacturing Jobs Lost... In China...

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With the increases in employment layoffs being reported each month, there is the continuing reference to lost manufacturing jobs in the United States and the “blame-game” of these jobs going to other countries.

It is true that we have lost manufacturing jobs here in the United States but maybe it is not for the same reasons that were reported by several campaigns during the last series of elections…

Walter Williams has a great article about the status of manufacturing jobs here in the United States and other industrial countries and the findings may surprise you. He also cautions against “protectionism” tactics being used as promised by the Presidential candidate Obama…


"In each of the past 60 years, U.S. manufacturing output growth has averaged 4 percent and productivity growth has averaged 3 percent. Manufacturing is going through the same process as agriculture. In 1900, 41 percent of American workers were employed in agriculture; today, only 2 percent are and agricultural output is greater. In 1940, 35 percent of workers were employed in manufacturing jobs; today, it's about 10 percent. Again, because of huge productivity gains, manufacturing output is greater."

"The decline in manufacturing employment is not limited to the U.S. Since 2000, China has lost over 4.5 million manufacturing jobs. In fact, nine of the top 10 manufacturing countries, which produce 75 percent of the world's manufacturing output (the U.S., Japan, Germany, China, Britain, France, Italy, Korea, Canada, and Mexico), have lost manufacturing jobs but their manufacturing output has risen."


"The people who face foreign competition, say management and workers in the auto industry, are well organized, have narrowly shared interests and the resources to have considerable clout in Washington to get Congress to enact trade barriers. Restricting foreign competition means higher prices for their products, and hence higher profits and fuller employment in their industry."






"The people who are benefited by foreign competition, say auto consumers, have widely dispersed interests; they are not organized at all and have little clout in Washington. You never see consumers descending on Washington complaining about cheap prices for foreign products; it's always domestic producers who do the complaining."


"Some might reason that since Japan places restrictions on U.S. products entering their country, an appropriate retaliatory measure is not to allow Japanese products to freely enter the U.S. By the way, Japanese protectionist restrictions on rice imports force Japanese consumers to pay three or four times the world price for rice. "

NRA announces change on "Carry Permits" in parks...

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NRA Update reports:


“Today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of the Interior brings clarity and uniformity for law-abiding gun owners visiting our national parks,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. “We are pleased that the Interior Department recognizes the right of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families while enjoying America's National Parks and wildlife refuges.”


"DOI announced the rule change today and will publish the new regulations in the Federal Register. The new regulations allow right-to-carry permit holders to exercise their Second Amendment rights on national park and wildlife refuges in those states that recognize such permits. The move will provide consistency across our nation’s federal lands and put an end to the patchwork of regulations that governed different lands managed by different federal agencies. In the past, Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands allowed the carrying of firearms, while lands managed by DOI did not. "

Thursday, December 04, 2008

"Bail-Out" for Who?...

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Our Congress has been going to great lengths to bail-out the Top-three auto industries and the Auto workers who have supported our Congress people in the past. The question is who exactly are we bailing out?...

"The auto industry spent nearly $50 million lobbying Congress in the first nine months of this year. And people tied to the auto industry gave another $15 million in campaign contributions, CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports."

"It's not surprising that a lot of that money went to members of Congress from Michigan, where the auto industry is the biggest employer and politicians are passionate advocates for their constituents. Take Sen. Carl Levin, who received $438,304 from the automotive industry. And in the House, Rep. Joe Knollenberg received $879,327. Rep. John Dingell got nearly a million from the industry. All have enjoyed generous support from the auto industry over their careers, with GM and Ford as their two top contributors. All support a bailout."



"Dingell's wife Debbie once worked as a lobbyist for GM. When she married the congressman, she became a senior GM executive at an undisclosed salary. And we found the couple has extensive GM assets. Dingell's current financial disclosure filed in May lists GM stock worth up to $350,000, options worth up to $1 million more, and a GM pension fund. In 2000, among the Dingells' GM assets were stock options worth up to $5 million."



"And in 1998, the congressman reported selling GM stock options worth up to $1 million dollars."







Sunday, November 30, 2008

The "Vocal" radicals are NOT the majority...

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First saw this article in the Wall Street Journal then found this video clip interview of the author Jeffrey Scott Shapiro...

It also made me think of all of the harsh remarks and hatred that came from the "Very Vocal" during and after President Ronald Reagans terms in office. But yet the "Vast Majority" came out to pay their respects to the President...


"After the family left, the doors of the presidential library opened, and the public began filing in at a rate of 2,000 an hour throughout the night. In all, about 108,000 people visited the presidential library to see the casket."


"The general public stood in long lines waiting for a turn to pay their respects to the president. People passed by the casket at a rate of about 5,000 per hour (83 per minute) and the wait time was about three hours. In all, 104,684 paid their respects when Reagan lay in state.[29][30] The Washington MetroRail subway set a daily record in ridership of 850,636 as a result."

source

Examples are here and here...

Toys for Tots ~Texas Steakhouse Staunton, VA~

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Texas Steakhouse ~Staunton VA.~
Texas Steakhouse in Staunton Virginia has stepped up to the "Plate" and is a active location supporting the "TOYS FOR TOTS" program
Administered by Marine Corps League Stonewall Detachment #330


It is my understanding that the Texas Steakhouse ~Staunton~ is offering a discount on meal tickets for patrons who make donations to the Toys for Tots program as well as maintaining a Toy donation box at the location...

Texas Steakhouse ~Staunton VA.~


134 Rowe Rd

Staunton, VA 24401

(540) 885-6073