Thor Q. Mada

The US is the largest consumer of natural resources in the world. On the other hand, they have virtually no manufacturing anymore.
They couldn�t put a decent merchant ship together anymore even is they wanted, and if done it would take trice the time and 4 times the cost of anywhere else in the world. The only thing they can build is a navy ship at tremendous cost.
Any US build car not only sucks, but is a complete gas guzzler and self destructs after about 5 years, and has the road keeping ability of a baby pram.
Maybe the US worker has longer working hours than Europe, but the have because of the outdated equipment. And do you really think one can do any serious work from their home?? What a joke.
I hope people in the US know that their steel mills for example are a farce in respect of equipment and productivity as compared to the rest of the world.
This is not entirely the fault of the people working there but more the fault of the profit driven management without a long term view, concentrating on short term gains only.
Do any of you guys know, that there is not one facility in the US making the diesel engines for the commercial ships of today?? How about in a war situation?? You think this is only in shipping??
The transport facilities in the US have not been invested in anymore since the last world war and are at shambles and a disgrace.
Apart from a few exceptions , warfs are in wood and not made for the present size of ships, and waterways not dredged anymore.
The US call themselves service oriented, and have no clue what is service apart from saying to a complete stranger something like " and how are WE today??"
Half of the population is either illiterate or mind bogglingly dumb.
The only thing they have a lead in is civilian airplanes (but not for long anymore), and financial services, but that is thanks to that small country in the middle east to which they pay lip service and others on a daily basis.
The US suck up resources from the rest of the world and keeps on doing so while at the same time requiring lip service and subservience.
The hallmark of a truly imperialist capitalist parasite showing their true face after the demise of an admittedly not much better communist alternative.
The US virtually exports only bullshit and agricultural products which both are heavily subsidized.
And on top of that they are sponsoring international xian fanatism by sending another unwanted product of theirs around the world: bible thumpers.
What a place. And when they put up a levy on imported steel products they call this normal, and when other people do a fraction of that, they call it unfair trade practices.
When somebody else�s product is cheaper and better (usually the case), they call it dumping, and when somebody else does it to them, they scream protectionism.
A truly imperialist nation, expecting the rest of the world to be subservient.
And the US is surprised people don't like them in the rest of the world.
Wake-up before it is too late.

Farren

Thor,

The tone of your post is somewhat inflammatory and has the shrill tone of someone who is extremely bitter at the US. Expect some ire from the many US citizens on this board.

I share your sentiment that the US has had an "unfair" dominance of the world stage because it imports more than it produces and sustains the deficit by keeping dollars sexy as a trading currency, rather than producing what it consumes.

But this is still the nation that has produced a massive number of the world's Nobel prize-winners for science (I think something like 5 times the number produced by Japan, per capita). If not the primary source of production, it has been the primary source of invention for many of the high-tech goods that we find indispensable.

Its the nation that in more idealistic times gave us the peace corps. Its a nation that has produced an astonishing number of writers, musicians, actors, game designers, human rights advocates, philosophers, doctors, teachers, athletes... There are few fields where the US has not excelled repeatedly.

The recent behaviour of the US on the world stage has dissipated much of the goodwill the US enjoyed a few short years ago. A lot of us, myself included, have shifted to a more cynical stance because its been made obvious by a lot of reported US opinions to the recent war that being popular for so long can swell a nation's metaphorical head.

Hopefully, and in all likelihood, this phase of history is temporary. There are an enormous number of thoughtful and critical US citizens on these boards who reflect the other soul of America, the half that never wanted all the flag-waving belligerence and insularity of George Bush's 'merica.

Someone gave me a nudge on these boards the other day and made me realise how polemic some of my discourse had gotten. I'm trying to alert you to same. While you make some interesting points, the tone of your post is that of a rabid attack, and will only vindicate fears that an irrational hatred of americans is abroad. This kind of dialog isn't going to have the desired outcome.

Respect

Farren

Thor Q. Mada

Hi Farren,

I do this on purpose of-course,and I would be really dissapointed if I would not get some firy response. That is the purpose of a forum I would think.
Also, I didn't write anything wrong. That you don't like to hear this is not my fault really.
I have many American friends, and I always liked and still like the US, but do you people understand what you are doing to this planet at the moment??
You confuse stock exchange and share values with economy, and like ancient Rome you expect everybody around you to submit or shut-up.??
You confuse somebody sitting on a computer making a spreadsheet with economy??
Your Federal reserve chairman is like god, and plays with other people's money, only to the embetterment of the US economy. (at least, that is what he thinks).
You endebt your grandchildren for carrying-out a crazy war in Iraq??

Thor Q. Mada

Sorry Farren, in my vigor, (not bad for my age) I hadn't noticed you were South African.

Farren

Great Scott! I didn't realise that South Africa had a hand in all of this! Thanks for the heads up. I'll write to my MP immediately.

contracycle

I also think we should not excuse a violent aggressor power merely becuase it had moments of enlightenment in the past.

And while most pf Farrns, panegyric is true, mostly, so is the fact that the US fights many, many, many, more wars than it declares: in fact its tricky to find a year in the last 100 when it was not invading someone somewhere. The US's reputation for liberality is grossly overstated, and its president is most certainly not the leader of the free world.

Vorkosigan

The US is the largest consumer of natural resources in the world.

The US is also the largest economy in the world. Hardly surprising.

On the other hand, they have virtually no manufacturing anymore.

Incorrect. Actually, during the 1990s, among western industrial powers, only the US increased its share of manufacturing exports. Also during the 1990s the US increasing manufacturing employment, albeit marginally. It was the only western power to do so; all others experienced falls in both export shares and employment.

They couldn�t put a decent merchant ship together anymore even is they wanted, and if done it would take trice the time and 4 times the cost of anywhere else in the world. The only thing they can build is a navy ship at tremendous cost.

Incorrect. While the US has lost the large marine market entirely, its share of specialized marine ships and platforms is large, and dominant in several areas. I used to cover marine manufacturing for the Japan Economic Review about a decade ago. It may be that things have changed since then.

Any US build car not only sucks, but is a complete gas guzzler and self destructs after about 5 years, and has the road keeping ability of a baby pram.

Actually, as we saw, the vaunted Japanese were achieving their reputation by keeping bad vehicles out of the statistics. In other words, they lied about complaints and problems.

Maybe the US worker has longer working hours than Europe, but the have because of the outdated equipment.

Incorrect. Work habits in both areas are different for a complex variety of reasons.

And do you really think one can do any serious work from their home?? What a joke.

I triple my annual income working at home as a writer, editor and translator.

I hope people in the US know that their steel mills for example are a farce in respect of equipment and productivity as compared to the rest of the world.

Yes, this is no doubt why the US is approximately 10 times as productive as China is. "The numbers tell a grim story. China's finished steel productivity per employee is approximately 37 tons per year. In developed nations this figure is closer to 400 tons." See the stats at Steel News. The US has excellent steel technology; carbon emissions per ton of steel produced are the lowest on earth. For an indepth survey see this National Academy Study: U.S. Industry in 2000: Studies in Competitive Performance

This is not entirely the fault of the people working there but more the fault of the profit driven management without a long term view, concentrating on short term gains only.

What are you, stuck in the 1980s?

Do any of you guys know, that there is not one facility in the US making the diesel engines for the commercial ships of today??

You mean "Not just one..." Cummins, Caterpiller, Detroit Diesel, and many others, not to mention the foreign firms that have set up here, like Hyundai in Houston. BTW, Detroit Diesel is the largest marine diesel engine manufacturer on the planet.

The transport facilities in the US have not been invested in anymore since the last world war and are at shambles and a disgrace.

Huh?

Apart from a few exceptions , warfs are in wood and not made for the present size of ships, and waterways not dredged anymore.

Actually, the problem is overdredging.

Half of the population is either illiterate or mind bogglingly dumb.

Yes, certainly not like China.

The only thing they have a lead in is civilian airplanes (but not for long anymore), and financial services, but that is thanks to that small country in the middle east to which they pay lip service and others on a daily basis.

Is this some kind of anti-Semitic crack?

The US virtually exports only bullshit and agricultural products which both are heavily subsidized.

Well, it is true that our ag subsidies are obnoxious.

What a place. And when they put up a levy on imported steel products they call this normal, and when other people do a fraction of that, they call it unfair trade practices.

You're talking about Japan, right? No, China. Wait...Taiwan. No, Germany. Italy? Hold on...France.

When somebody else�s product is cheaper and better (usually the case), they call it dumping, and when somebody else does it to them, they scream protectionism.

You're talking about Japan, right? No, China. Wait...Taiwan. No, Germany. Italy? Hold on...France.

Did someone steal your name and post under it?

Vorkosigan

contracycle

Are you not aware of the long standing controversy over American protectionism? There was a bit of a spat about this a few years ago so the US banned some French cheeses and cashmere as punishment. Way to demonstrate those liberal economic credentials.

paul30

The US began as colonies of Britain--pursuing a merantilist policy.

Now the situation is reversed. The US is the colonizer, and the rest of the world the producer.

Bill

Yes, but that works only for so long as the rest of the world will take US Dollars (which are essentially worthless IOUs) in return for supplying the USA with goods and services. When (eventually) the rest of the world decides that it will no longer take those worthless scraps of paper, then the USA had better have something left that it can produce on its own without buying all of the parts from overseas.

As things sit, I can't think of a single major industry other than food production which operates even mostly with USA-based raw materials. Food is the only thing we produce here in the majority, and who is going to be able to buy food if we don't have any jobs? The electronics industry has all been exported to Japan (there hasn't been a US-made consumer radio or television in decades). We like to think that the USA is still the technical innovator, but all of the computer hardware comes in boxes stamped "Made in {Asian country}." And over the past three years, even the engineering jobs have been exported (largely to India). So, what is the USA going to build that will pay for all of the oil and other imports we desire (to keep up our standard of living)? Or are we really down to merely exporting armies, like the Romans exported legions to gain wealth for Rome?

== Bill