You can't use telephone wire to wire up you outlets anymore in Iowa.

[sweettractors]

Don't be too shure. The Chinese invented bureaucracy and know much more about it than we ever will. China has probably already surpassed the US as world's 1st economic power and it's only the beginning.
I have just been in Shanghai for two weeks. They have higher skyscrapers than you or us. They have wonderful high speed trains riding at 400 km/hour without a vibration (perhaps imported from Japan) and they are dirt cheap. Their trains leave and arrive at the exact time, which is not the case of yours or ours. Their underground train system is state of the art. Of course there still are a few unsafe bamboo scaffoldings and ill paid workers (the cost of living is very low), but I guess that will soon disappear. Everywhere you see bustling activity, buildings under construction, roads being opened ...

I agree, I like China so much that I want to give them all these free government services (EPA, OSHA FSA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac etc) to clean up the pollution and provide housing for no down payment and subsidise the farmers produce and man they sure could sure use some labor unions over there to get those wages up. I think the UAW should book a trip today. Ken Sweet

 

[IHDiesel73L]

I agree, I like China so much that I want to give them all these free government services (EPA, OSHA FSA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac etc) to clean up the pollution and provide housing for no down payment and subsidise the farmers produce and man they sure could sure use some labor unions over there to get those wages up. I think the UAW should book a trip today. Ken Sweet

Why does it always have to be all or nothing? Do we really want to go back to child labor, 16 hour workdays, and dangerous working conditions with no compensation in the event of injury or death? The answers clearly don't lie in overregulation or no regulation at all-they lie in striking a balance. Instead of advocating the abolition of these things we ought to try to make them all work better. When I was a child my father was injured on the job (broken vertebrae in his neck) and had to have surgery, physical therapy, etc...before he could go back to work. As a member of the Teamsters union this was all paid for and he had a job waiting for him when he recovered. Should he have been fired/had his health benefits terminated for getting hurt on the job? It would have been the right decision for the company, at least financially, which is perfectly understandable. It is the job of the union, not the company to look out for the welfare of the workers.

 

[sweettractors]

Why does it always have to be all or nothing? Do we really want to go back to child labor, 16 hour workdays, and dangerous working conditions with no compensation in the event of injury or death? The answers clearly don't lie in overregulation or no regulation at all-they lie in striking a balance. Instead of advocating the abolition of these things we ought to try to make them all work better. When I was a child my father was injured on the job (broken vertebrae in his neck) and had to have surgery, physical therapy, etc...before he could go back to work. As a member of the Teamsters union this was all paid for and he had a job waiting for him when he recovered. Should he have been fired/had his health benefits terminated for getting hurt on the job? It would have been the right decision for the company, at least financially, which is perfectly understandable. It is the job of the union, not the company to look out for the welfare of the workers.

Did they not have workers comp back then? That is what takes care of "on the job" injuries today. Ken Sweet

 

[IHDiesel73L]

Did they not have workers comp back then? That is what takes care of "on the job" injuries today. Ken Sweet

The first workman's compensation law was passed in 1906 in Maryland-at the behest of labor unions. Companies do not provide benefits, safety measures, or anything else besides a salary out of the kindness of their heart, not should they. Their number one concern should be the bottom line-which is why we need unions and regulators, because someone has to advocate for workers. I remember watching a documentary about mining in Appalachia around the turn of the century. This particular portion highlighted the formation of labor unions. Prior to their existence a worker came out of the mine to alert the mine boss that there were gas pockets forming and that it was too dangerous to work in that particular area. The mine boss ordered him back in saying "There's a man outside with no shoes-if you don't want your job-he will." Should we get rid of the Bureau of Mine Safety too in order to make us more competitive with China? In the recent Big Branch Mine disaster we lost 29 miners-the Chinese typically thousands per year in coal mining accidents. Hmmmm...

 

[033614]

I must take issue with IHDiesel73L over our tiny island, yes many things here are small by your standards, that doesn't make them worse. I don't need to dance in my toilet :laughing: and tiny roads suit me fine, it's fun squeezing down a narrow lane with a 40 ton truck coming the other way; Oh the sense of joy when you make it!!!
There are plenty of wide open spaces here and lots of quaint bendy twisty roads (especially where I live) as well. Although my Jeep Grand Cherokee rolls about like a rowboat in a storm, I love that too.
Like many in this forum, I don't object to useful, sensible and well thought out rules, regulations and codes. I do object to stupid, sensless, jobs-for-the-boys sort of thing that is being foisted upon us by non-elected beaurocrats who I doubt ever put a nail into a plank of wood. I object to my money being wasted on idiotic, esoteric, airy-fairy projects that have no really useful purpose. If I had run my business (before I retired) the way my government (note no capital letter) runs this Country (note capital letter), I would have been bankrupt and probably in jail.
Whinge over!!!

Pic attached of my just finished Ferguson 35 and one of the next project to do.

 

[beppington]

Better check the laws, your wife will need a license to trim the trees in your yard.

I have seen yards where such a license probably shoulda been required! :laughing:

 

[IHDiesel73L]

I must take issue with IHDiesel73L over our tiny island, yes many things here are small by your standards, that doesn't make them worse. I don't need to dance in my toilet :laughing: and tiny roads suit me fine, it's fun squeezing down a narrow lane with a 40 ton truck coming the other way; Oh the sense of joy when you make it!!!
There are plenty of wide open spaces here and lots of quaint bendy twisty roads (especially where I live) as well. Although my Jeep Grand Cherokee rolls about like a rowboat in a storm, I love that too.
Like many in this forum, I don't object to useful, sensible and well thought out rules, regulations and codes. I do object to stupid, sensless, jobs-for-the-boys sort of thing that is being foisted upon us by non-elected beaurocrats who I doubt ever put a nail into a plank of wood. I object to my money being wasted on idiotic, esoteric, airy-fairy projects that have no really useful purpose. If I had run my business (before I retired) the way my government (note no capital letter) runs this Country (note capital letter), I would have been bankrupt and probably in jail.
Whinge over!!!

Pic attached of my just finished Ferguson 35 and one of the next project to do.

I didn't mean any offense, and I've only been to the continent-my wife did spend a summer in England though. I was just making an observation-things in Europe are small-not better, not worse, just small. Actually, in one respect, I like the fact that you can get small diesel vehicles in Europe-I like my F-350 Powerstroke, but it would be nice to get a small diesel pickup for my wife-no dice here.

 

[IH3444]

The only thing I see wrong with that Ford tractor is the front tire is on backwards.

 

[sweettractors]

The first workman's compensation law was passed in 1906 in Maryland-at the behest of labor unions. Companies do not provide benefits, safety measures, or anything else besides a salary out of the kindness of their heart, not should they. Their number one concern should be the bottom line-which is why we need unions and regulators, because someone has to advocate for workers. I remember watching a documentary about mining in Appalachia around the turn of the century. This particular portion highlighted the formation of labor unions. Prior to their existence a worker came out of the mine to alert the mine boss that there were gas pockets forming and that it was too dangerous to work in that particular area. The mine boss ordered him back in saying "There's a man outside with no shoes-if you don't want your job-he will." Should we get rid of the Bureau of Mine Safety too?

My closest friend is a retired GM UAW member. He is worth 3 Mil and he retired after 30 years at 50 and his wife never worked. He has the best health, dental and eye care available and Pension more than what he was making while working + retirement benefits that are second to none. He is proud to say that he really did not have to work while at GM, just show up and play cards, watch the stock market, go out and eat at the best restaurants in town or call it in. New GM cars or trucks at cost. He helped me buy 2. In other words, he is proud to have shafted GM and thanks the UAW for all he has. I don't blame him for taking advantage of what was before him, however, I don't like paying the unnecessarily ridiculous high prices for new cars, trucks and tractors. Ken Sweet

 

[IHDiesel73L]

My closest friend is a retired GM UAW member. He is worth 3 Mil and he retired after 30 years at 50 and his wife never worked. He has the best health, dental and eye care available and Pension more than what he was making while working + retirement benefits that are second to none. He is proud to say that he really did not have to work while at GM, just show up and play cards, watch the stock market, go out and eat at the best restaurants in town or call it in. New GM cars or trucks at cost. He helped me buy 2. In other words, he is proud to have shafted GM and thanks the UAW for all he has. I don't blame him for taking advantage of what was before him, however, I don't like paying the unnecessarily ridiculous high prices for new cars, trucks and tractors. Ken Sweet

So you believe that all union workers are exactly like your closest friend? I suppose its an easy way to characterize people, but that doesn't mean that it's accurate. Furthermore, my uncle put in 30 years at GM and was afforded all the benefits you outlined, but he worked the line everyday until his very last. It was the same factory that my grandmother worked in during WWII building fighter planes. My father, while not a UAW member, was a union member as I referenced before-60 hour work weeks were the norm for him, and I remember him not being around much between Thanksgiving and Christmas (he worked for UPS) in fact we would have to hold Christmas Eve dinner until he came home from delivering the very last of the Christmas rush packages. I'd love to know where all of these union workers who don't work are.