Here's an email that is making the rounds.
One Light Bulb at a Time
A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would. With that in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American ..
Good idea .. . . one light bulb at a time . . . .
Check this out . I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments . They were all made in China . The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking ..
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job . So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track . Let's get behind her!
My grandson likes Hershey's candy .. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more.
My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico ... now I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything ..
This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets . I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand
labeled, "Everyday Value . " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price ..
The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA in a company in Cleveland , Ohio .
So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here .
So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets . . ... yep, you guessed it, Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA- the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!
(We should have awakened a decade ago .. . .. . . . )
Let's get with the program . . . .. help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U . S.
Experts
ReplyDelete"The U.S. budget situation has deteriorated significantly since 2001, when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast average annual surpluses of approximately $850 billion from 2009–2012."
2010 United States federal budget
Another aspect of free trade agreements: productivity.
ReplyDeleteThe following article questions the way productivity is calculated and subsequently just how much actual benefit the economy gets from free trade.
"FOR a quarter-century, American economic policy has assumed that the keys to durable national prosperity are deregulation, free trade and a swift transition to a post-industrial, services-dominated future.
"Such policies, advocates say, drive innovation, which leads to enormous labor productivity and wage gains — more than enough, supposedly, to make up for the labor disruptions that accompany free trade and de-industrialization.
"In reality, though, wage gains for the average worker have lagged behind productivity since the early 1980s, a situation that free-traders usually attribute to workers failing to retrain themselves after seeing their jobs outsourced.
"But what if wages lag because productivity itself is being grossly overstated, especially in the nation’s manufacturing sector? Then, suddenly, a cornerstone of American economic policy would begin to crumble.
"Productivity measures how many worker hours are needed for a given unit of output during a given time period; when hours fall relative to output, labor productivity increases. In 2009, the data show, Americans needed 40 percent fewer hours to produce the same unit of output as in 1980.
But there’s a problem: labor productivity figures, which are calculated by the Labor Department, count only worker hours in America, even though American-owned factories and labs have been steadily transplanted overseas, and foreign workers have contributed significantly to the final products counted in productivity measures.
"The result is an apparent drop in the number of worker hours required to produce goods — and thus increased productivity. But actually, the total number of worker hours does not necessarily change..."
Benefits of Free Trade?
I have seen other articles that argue against this position.
.
Expert opinions may vary.
ReplyDelete"The Obama administration is projecting that the deficit for the 2010 budget year will hit an all-time high of $1.56 trillion..."
Budget deficit sets record in February
So, what's the lesson: Always carry an umbrella.
"The president may also face domestic opposition over a renewed emphasis on free-trade policies that some argue have helped shift U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas -- a sensitive issue at a time when unemployment remains at nearly 10 percent. Predicting such an argument, Obama said Thursday that although he sympathized with communities that have lost factories and livelihoods to overseas labor, the country needs to recommit to free trade in a way that ensures Americans benefit through the opening of new markets for their goods and services."
ReplyDeleteObama Seeks to Dounle Exports Over 5 Years
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The only way, right now, to greatly increase exports is to significantly weaken the dollar (Especially, against the Yuan.)
ReplyDeleteThis will have the fatcats (Kudlow, et al) wailing, and rending their garments.
I'm very, very much a "free-trader;" but when a primary trading partner is manipulating its currency to the extent China is, That Ain't Free Trade. THAT is being a sucker.
We need to play some hardball with China.
Bush had a good "Good Cop/Bad Cop" deal going with Schumer, but that bluff is hard to pull off when both participants are in the same party. Still, that is what's needed, again.
ReplyDeleteRetail Sales Surprise on the Upside
ReplyDeleteGood Numbers. Up 0.3 ex. auto/gasoline up 0.9
"When we see interfaith battles in Africa or Asia, we are generally not witnessing activism by al-Qaeda militants directed from some secret terrorist mission control, but we do find movements driven by exactly the same grievances that motivate bin Laden’s associates—above all, we see the same central fear of Christian expansion. For Muslims, whether political dissidents or actual Islamists, the world is evidently engaged in a culture war, a war of faiths, and groups like al-Qaeda are only one small and sensationalized portion of that. Christians likewise know the stakes. Educated African believers look back with trepidation at the great Christian churches that flourished in the northern regions of the continent 1,500 years ago, churches that would be snuffed out under Islamic rule. They are determined not to let that disaster be repeated."
ReplyDeleteA Clash of Civilizations in Africa
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Things wil quieten down when the oil money runs out. Buy Ethanol.
ReplyDeleteNot only does Obama plan to Dounle exports over the next five years, he also wants to Double them.
ReplyDelete.
That's okay, Q. Ones just as likely as the other.
ReplyDeleteSometimes (more often, recently) I wonder if the O still does a lot of drugs.
Associated Press
ReplyDelete"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is grateful that actor Sean Penn has defended him against his critics within the U.S. media.
In an appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" last week, Penn slammed Chavez critics who refer to the socialist leader as a dictator.
The Oscar-winning celebrity noted that Chavez has won repeated elections and suggested that media critics who call him a dictator should be jailed.
He says that "there should be a bar for which one goes to prison for these kinds of biases."
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Drudge headline says that Russia is to build 12 nuclear reactors in India. We should be the ones doing this but no....we're scared of nukes.
ReplyDeleteDutch nurses need public service campaign, stat!
ReplyDeleteKeeping patients' sex lives healthy is not part of the job.
The union representing Dutch nurses launched a national campaign Friday to remind that patients of its hands-off policy when it comes to sexual services, Reuters reported.
"This type of action is not part of the job responsibilities of carers and nurses," the union,
NU'91, said in a statement.
Called "I Draw The Line Here," the campaign comes after a complaint made by a 24-year-old female nurse whose patient, a disabled man in his forties, demanded sex as part of his health care services.
The nurse claims that she witnessed some of her peers performing sexual acts with the patient, and when she refused, the patient tried to have her dismissed on grounds that she wasn't fulfilling her professional duties, Reuters reported.
Rosie the Rufi is in favor of
ReplyDeleteFederal Sexual Services for Socialists tm
"We need to play some hardball with China."
ReplyDelete---
Yeah, your " free trader " dogma really has us set up in a power position to pull that off.
Jerkwad.
"The Real Estate Mortgage Meltdown will be a mere ripple in the economic pond."
ReplyDeleteRosie, ca 2007
10 Best Places for Second Homes
ReplyDeleteLife is Hard
"House leaders push health vote without foes in party onside...
ReplyDelete"House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama's health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats.
"The concession came as House and Senate Democrats attended lengthy meetings with a top White House aide, who tried to answer questions, resolve differences and calm nerves, especially for lawmakers expecting tough challenges in November..."
Dems Will Ignore Stupak Position in HC Vote
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re: the previous thread:
ReplyDeleteMike Gallegher was blowing a hemorhoid over the 9-11 hero payoffs.
Guess I'm in the minority, given that my view is that the place instantly became a toxic cesspool, demanding respiratory protection, yet the Govt
(even the EPA, I think)
pronounced that there was no problemo.
...the amount of asbestos released made a mockery of all the "mitigation" measures required for remodeling an older home/business.
Heroic workers that unnecessarily got cancer due to Govt Lies deserve no compensation?
Quirk,
ReplyDeleteI'm confused:
The Parlimentarian said they would have to work on a signed-law, unchanged, Senate Bill, yet here they are proposing all these changes prior to it being voted on and signed into law.
What's up with that?
" Many Hispanic members say it mistreats illegal immigrants trying to buy insurance with their own money. "
ReplyDelete---
Yeah, well maybe
"Hispanic members "
oughta represent the USA, rather than illegal immigrants.
"What's up with that?"
ReplyDeleteI don't know Doug. I read it the same as you and was just as confused.
Must be more of that there guvmint stuff.
About a week ago, I saw an estimate of the vote status showing that Pelosi had about 201 votes vs the 216 or 217 she needed.
Yesterday, I saw an estimate put out by The Hill showing she was still about 9 or 10 votes short.
If the story I posted on Stupak is true, she must figure she will be able to pick up the additional votes without making any concessions to Stupak.
Either that or she figures any concessions to Stupak will cost her more votes than she will gain.
There is no denying that the lady is clever (in a slimy kind of way) and will get the bill passed if it's at all possible.
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Doug, in re-reading that part of the post, I think what they were talking was the scope and content of the House reconciliation legislation which would be passed later to modify the Senate version of the bill.
ReplyDelete.
What is still confusing is that I thought the reconciliation process had to be about
ReplyDelete1. items affecting the budget
2. could be used to reduce the budget but not to increase it.
It sounds like the changes they are discussing would actually increase the costs.
But then, what do I know?
I have little doubt they will come up with some rationalization justifying these moves.
They always do.
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Down here in the land of magnolias, peaches and SWEET!!!! tea, the governor has problems. Guess who will take it in the neck? Why, of course, those devilish, greedy HC providers, who ALL live in BIG houses and drive BIG cars and play on BIG golf courses.
ReplyDeletePerdue proposes deep healthcare cuts
...just makes me salivate for the Federal plan...
Cuts and tax increases will be necessary to balance budgets.
ReplyDeleteTort reform and cross state competition would reduce costs.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I read it Quirk.
ReplyDeleteSantorum gave a rundown of all the changes to the rules the lefties have made since 1917 the better to grow Big Govt and the Control they crave.
Scary, in that they have less compunction than ever to follow the rules.
Doctors already lose money on medicaid, Allen, so what's the big deal?
ReplyDeleteObama and Rufus expect they will provide more services for ALL of us in the future.
For Free.
Profit for services rendered being EVIL.
To be a good charitable being is to procure a philanthropic of openness to the in the seventh heaven, an cleverness to guardianship uncertain things beyond your own pilot, that can lead you to be shattered in very exceptional circumstances pro which you were not to blame. That says something very weighty about the condition of the honest compulsion: that it is based on a trustworthiness in the unpredictable and on a willingness to be exposed; it's based on being more like a shop than like a jewel, something kind of feeble, but whose extremely special attraction is inseparable from that fragility.
ReplyDeleteTo be a adroit lenient being is to procure a philanthropic of openness to the far-out, an ability to group aleatory things beyond your own control, that can lead you to be shattered in unequivocally exceptional circumstances pro which you were not to blame. That says something very weighty about the prerequisite of the righteous passion: that it is based on a corporation in the fitful and on a willingness to be exposed; it's based on being more like a weed than like a jewel, something somewhat feeble, but whose acutely item attractiveness is inseparable from that fragility.
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ReplyDeletehttp://www.redstate.com/users/miguel2mcguire/
http://2164th.blogspot.com/2010/03/one-light-bulb-at-time.html
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