Re: Time to drastically cut autoworker salaries, benefits

Brent P wrote: 
In article <pZKdnVymhdIjlfbeRVn-jA@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Michael Johnson, PE wrote:



Both of you guys (Brent and Michael) are engineers but you guys are mired in discussing things as they exist today.

A couple of factors I think you are missing. First is the ability of the US government to inflate or deflate the currency as it sees fit. I'd like to point out that in the early to mid 1980's, the Japanese yen was 250-275 yen to the dollar IIRC. Today it is about 108 yen to a dollar. (Figures off the top of my head..but you're all engineers here..."close enough" as most of you say) Japanese goods are much more expensive today than they were in the 1980's, hence Japanese companies have found it cost competitive to build factories for Toyota, Nissan and Honda here in the US.

Today the Chinese Yuan trades at a fixed rate of 8 Yuan per buck. This will not last forever. Eventually either China floats the Yuan or a trade war breaks out and Chinese goods get the *** taxed out of them and the next country (probably India at this point in time, but who really knows...anything can happen...another 9/11....unexpected conflict or major war with China over Taiwan, North Korea, Iran or Syria or major uncontrolled disease pandemic ala avian flu) If (most likely when) Chaia floats the Yuan, Chinese goods will be more expensive in the way Japanese goods have. So trade with China, and eventually India is not *ALL* that bad. I say not *ALL* that bad because China is still communist and still has controlling interest in *ALL* business entities. The communist Chinese goverment owned 51% of most if not all major industries. And here's the rub (simply as I see it...)

Asymmetrical warfare...we may be engaged (even unbeknownst to us) in a war with China, where they finance our insatiable debt (the Japanese are also a major purchasor of our debt). They (our debt purchasors) are financing our housing/real estate boom. So those home equity lines of credit used to finance the purchasing of crap from walmart etc....the free ride is financed by Chinese communists. And while some may think I need to adjust my tin foil hat (AFDB design here - http://zapatopi.net/afdb/ ) the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) (you remember them - in 1989 they put down the protest in Tienamen Square) has produced a document in 1999 called "Unrestricted Warefare" by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui.

Link to PDF version:

http://www.terrorism.com/documents/TRC-Analysis/unrestricted.pdf

Google Unrestricted Warfare Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui for similar resilts.....

But getting back to the issue of free trade, and US manufacturing I think free trade is good in some respects but we need to keep an eye out and not sell our souls for cheap toys, shirts and shoes.


Interestingly, this months Hemmings Classic Car (#14, Nov 2005) has on its cover "Detroit Goes to War". On page 21 it says:

"In hindsight, the extent of the auto industry's contribution to the war effort [Note - WWII to you youngins] is staggering to contemplate. Consider that between 1918 and 1935, only 35 tanks were produced in the United States. By the end of WWII, the tank production total was more than 88,000. Between Pearl Harbor and the surrender of Japan, nearly 275,000 aircraft were built. But perhaps the most telling impact is this: In 1939, less than two percent of the United States' gross domestic product was devoted to military production. By 1944, the corresponding GDP figure was 40 percent."

We beat the Germans AND the Japanese in less than 4 years of entering WWII (granted with ALOT of help from other Allies - Notably the Soviets and the British)

If all your industrial manufacturing is overseas, the unineteded consequences are devastating to national security. Especially if the Chinese are trying to outmanuver us via whats called Asymetrical warefare (computers, economics, induistrial espionage etc) Move enough stuff overseas there'll be NOBODY here to build the weapons needed to protect us.

Jimmy
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