Toyota sales off more than GM or Ford

[Builder]

go live there I think you would rather have the rules------?

Oh heavens no. I would never live there. Didn't you see the "rolleyes" emoticon after my statement? That means sarcasm.

What I'm pointing out is the OVERregulation by politicians going on here in the USA to the point that automakers have to spend millions on special EPA painting processes compared to mexico.

 

[redneckford]

Oh heavens no. I would never live there. Didn't you see the "rolleyes" emoticon after my statement? That means sarcasm.

What I'm pointing out is the OVERregulation by politicians going on here in the USA to the point that automakers have to spend millions on special EPA painting processes compared to mexico.

I understand---but I want a bath room in my house and an approved sewer system----and CLEAN drinking water---sometimes these luxury items have a high cost involved in protecting their existence-----union or NonUnion is not as important as safety and livable wages----enough to buy what you build---if you are building airplanes you need to make enough to buy an airplane in your lifetime----one oil well at the time!!!

 

[PapaPerk]

They probably can't afford what they build cause they work so "Cheap" and their product is so high compared to their wages!!!!

Mmmm.... I don't think so. Don't know about Honda... but Toyota workers are paid very well. People buy what they want with their money. Just because you work for a company... doesn't mean you have to buy what they make. It is a free country after all. If a company depends on its workers to buy their product to survive then that's not a very stable company.

 

[PapaPerk]

You don't have to be a "skilled worker" to have pride in your work. I have workers that dig ditches for me that take more pride in their work than some mechanical contractors I've hired.

Hiring "skilled workers" to do assembly line work is just overpaying for skills that are not required.

What you want to hire are workers that take pride in their specific task, be it rattling lug nuts on a malibu or bolting a seat into a F-150.

Hahaha.... I guess it all depends on how accurately the ditch is dug and how precise that seat has to be installed to determine the skill required. A 10 year old can tighten lugs on a Malibu... but can you depend on them to do it right 8 hours a day for days on end? And do 10 other steps in 60 seconds. And know how to do 4 other complicated assembly jobs? Skill is all relative. People are too quick to label jobs as requiring no skill when they've never done them before.

 

[PapaPerk]

Oh heavens no. I would never live there. Didn't you see the "rolleyes" emoticon after my statement? That means sarcasm.

What I'm pointing out is the OVERregulation by politicians going on here in the USA to the point that automakers have to spend millions on special EPA painting processes compared to mexico.

Yeah it really stinks we can't pollute our country with toxic paint fumes. Oh darn. And I really wanna burn leaded gasoline in my car too.

 

[Builder]

Yeah it really stinks we can't pollute our country with toxic paint fumes. Oh darn. And I really wanna burn leaded gasoline in my car too.

What I'm pointing out is the OVERregulation by politicians going on here in the USA to the point that automakers have to spend millions on special EPA painting processes compared to mexico.

Note that in my post I said OVERregulation. That means too much regulation, papaperk.

Some regulation is fine, but OVER regulation is one of the biggest reasons industry has been driven out of our country.

 

[Renze]

Some regulation is fine, but OVER regulation is one of the biggest reasons industry has been driven out of our country.

Same problem here in Holland...

Galvanising is hardly done in Holland because of the environmental regulations. Its cheaper to truck it to Belgium, Germany and even Poland and back.

Agriculture quickly diminishes because of animal wellfare and environment: Egg farms are outcompeted by, for example Polish farms, which bought OUR used chicken cages, which are banned by our government in the name of animal welfare: our government wants us to use freestalls..
Result: farms here go belly up, and the eggs are produced in countries with even worse animal welfare standards than we had BEFORE the hen cage was banned....

They want us to use production methods with more animal welfare, or environment protection, even though the market will not bear the added cost...

I guess thats the case in all Western countries... In the voting, the consumer demands animal welfare, environment protection etcetera, but in the supermarket they dont take responsibility but go for the lowest price....

 

[L-ENTERPRISES]

Same problem here in Holland...

Galvanising is hardly done in Holland because of the environmental regulations. Its cheaper to truck it to Belgium, Germany and even Poland and back.

Agriculture quickly diminishes because of animal wellfare and environment: Egg farms are outcompeted by, for example Polish farms, which bought OUR used chicken cages, which are banned by our government in the name of animal welfare: our government wants us to use freestalls..
Result: farms here go belly up, and the eggs are produced in countries with even worse animal welfare standards than we had BEFORE the hen cage was banned....

They want us to use production methods with more animal welfare, or environment protection, even though the market will not bear the added cost...

I guess thats the case in all Western countries... In the voting, the consumer demands animal welfare, environment protection etcetera, but in the supermarket they dont take responsibility but go for the lowest price....

Perfect globilization , isnt it ? It becomes so that its an equalization of wealth and technology , but not environmentaly .

 

[PapaPerk]

Same problem here in Holland...

Galvanising is hardly done in Holland because of the environmental regulations. Its cheaper to truck it to Belgium, Germany and even Poland and back.

Agriculture quickly diminishes because of animal wellfare and environment: Egg farms are outcompeted by, for example Polish farms, which bought OUR used chicken cages, which are banned by our government in the name of animal welfare: our government wants us to use freestalls..
Result: farms here go belly up, and the eggs are produced in countries with even worse animal welfare standards than we had BEFORE the hen cage was banned....

They want us to use production methods with more animal welfare, or environment protection, even though the market will not bear the added cost...

I guess thats the case in all Western countries... In the voting, the consumer demands animal welfare, environment protection etcetera, but in the supermarket they dont take responsibility but go for the lowest price....

Very interesting!

 

[NuBota]

My take on this whole issue is fairly simple. It all boils down to the culture and work ethic that has evolved in this country.

We want the companies to sell to us cheap while paying us big bucks, without having to work TOO hard. In a free market, that mentality just doesn't work. Blame the companies, blame the Gov't, blame the unions - they are all influenced by the same factors - the people.

Corporate greed today? Driven by Wall Street which in turn is driven by the average investor. Times were that a good company was determined by solid performance and good dividends providing modest returns- speculation was for the gamblers. Now it is all speculation - get rich quick and whine when we get burnt. Most forget that most of these "greedy, corporate, despots" began in someone's garage with an innovative idea and hard work.

Livable wages? Used to mean bare necessities, maybe buying a house, hoping to send junior to college, and an occasional luxury - now it's about collecting the most toys, have the biggest house, and luxury car. Somewhere people feel that their wages should be equitable with the people around them - regardless of the level of work or skill. Sense of entitlement?

There is indeed corporate greed and bad management - but I would argue that much outsourcing occurs just to control costs to keep companies afloat (look at all of the mergers and failed companies over the years) and/or please Wall Street - impossible when workers demand higher wages than the market will bear. Add to that all the new regulations - wanted by people that drive their SUVs to the forest to hug the trees. Oh, and let's now forget liability for not warning consumers to use common sense.

Broken education system or spoiled/lazy students? I see the honors students get off the bus with a stack of books and hours of homework - others go straight out to play - how do you convince the 10 yr old honor student that they are on the right track when they see the others coast. The schools might not be perfect, but we expect teachers to entice the kids to learn, without any ability to apply discipline. Same in "Little league" - used to be about teaching competition and to work hard, and maybe not make the cut - now everybody gets to play and rewarded the same - can't hurt lil Johnny's feelings...

My gut tells me capitalism is dying in this country - hopefully it's just the typical generation gap thing - but it sure seems different this time.

We can talk conspiracies, greed, lousy Gov't, but IMHO it starts at home, as with most things. I almost hope for an economic "ice age" to level set things, even though it would be very painful. The Big 3 going under would be a sign of such a thing....

Sorry, I swore I was not gonna post to this thread, but just couldn't help it - feel free to throw rocks or flame away.....