Eventually we are not going to manufacture anything.  Nobody wants to manufacture, everyone wants to be a broker

The above quote was from a documentary airing on HBO now called Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags and I thought it was a very telling quote that expands well beyond just the fashion industry and is a microcosm of our society and economy as a whole.  Our country does not make hardly anything anymore.  It is all “outsourced” to the global economy.  In a nutshell, that is what much of the documentary was about, the fall of the NY fashion industry as the manufacturing of the clothing has been sent to China and India to be done at a much cheaper price.  A very telling example was a story about one clothing manufacturer who years back employed over 250 fashion workers to create the clothing line.  Today that very same company has four employees, all family members, and all they do is broker clothing made in China for the buyers in NY.

We see similar occurrences taking place in all industries across the country.  None more famous and effecting on our daily lives than the recent mortgage crisis that almost took our economy totally out and down for the count.  Now there is a small difference in that we were not outsourcing those jobs, but we did have too many people in the middle simply acting as brokers.  They were simply the means by which the banks got large amounts of mortgages in order for them to bundle them as a mortgage backed security and sold on to foreign and domestic investors alike.  These brokers made incredible amounts of money and really provided no real service nor produced any goods.  Some would say they provided a dis-service.

But that is the point here, we no longer make anything of any real tangible substance.  We have become a “service” society, and we don’t even do that well.  Even so, that is not the foundation we need to build into the future.  Our titans of industry have been vanquished, everything from steel to auto makers, we produce barely nothing.

In the documentary, there was a lot of talk of globalization and the needs for jobs to be spread out to create and maintain this new global economy.  However, instead of our global partners being dependent on us as a superpower of industry, the tables have been turned and we are no longer in any drivers seat.  While being a broker is the easy way to make money while providing little tangible value, it is not and should not be the American way.  We need to return to our position on the global stage of providing real tangible value and in turn rebuild the foundation that has been lost over the last couple of decades.

In any case, I digress. My issue this time is about my friends check in
in the Philly airport. Apparently his bag was over wieght by 6 pounds,
yes 6 pounds ! In any case let me tell you what that 6 pounds cost in a
penalty charge …. wait for it … $150 ! They asked if he wanted to
take out 6 pounds …. however he had no other bags to place this said 6
pounds so he declined and paid the $150 fee. Now what I cannot figure
out is how it makes a difference to the loading of the plane if that 6
pounds is in one bag or two. I get that they are working to protect
their lower backs of their employees and their insurance rates for the
plane loaders but $150 for 6 pounds ?

Isnt it bad enough that we have to pay for checked bags in the first place ? And to add insult to injury we have to wiegh them on our batroom scale now to make sure we don’t incur the wrath of the pentalty goons ?

Food for thought

BALTIMORE — With just a month to go before the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course here, the bankruptcy of the company that owns the track and the race has unleashed a wave of distress among politicians and the public over whether Maryland could lose its cherished second leg of the Triple Crown.
Gov. Martin O’Malley, with the backing of legislative leaders and the state attorney general, proposed the legislation last week in an effort to ensure that Pimlico, the Preakness and the economic activity they generate remain in Maryland.
“The centuries-old heritage of horse racing and horse breeding is woven deeply into the cultural fabric of Maryland,” Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday, “and we will take advantage of every available tool to ensure it remains.”

The company that owns the racetrack and the rights to the Preakness, Magna Entertainment Corporation, declared bankruptcy recently leading to fears that the track could be bought by another company and developed forcing the Preakness to move away from Baltimore. This would be a huge blow to the local economy that brings in millions from the tourism and business form the Preakness weekend.

I have never been a huge fan of the Eminent Domain laws but I will say in this case it does not seem like such a bad deal. The state is doing it to preserve a tradition for the state and help out the local businesses. It is not to tear down and let a highway be built.

So this is a good case, but how about a bad case ? This tidbit of news popped up recently, although I cant find it on a major news outlet yet, but according to this post

Sources at the United States Embassy in Beijing China have just CONFIRMED to me that the United States of America has tendered to China a written agreement which grants to the People’s Republic of China, an option to exercise Eminent Domain within the USA, as collateral for China’s con More..tinued purchase of US Treasury Notes and existing US Currency reserves!

That sounds pretty scary if you ask me. If anyone has any news as to the validity of this we would love to hear from you.