1 Whew.  For a minute there I thought this was the zombie attack.

2 Can't help but notice that the midwest (flyover) states seemed to be in much better shape through the entire timeline than both coasts.  Why is that?

3 It's not Barry's fault. He inherited that map.

4 I saw a dot appear over my house!

5

O/T:  Best article yet on Zero's speech last night.

 

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ya4woyk
[Open in new window]

6 This map is RAAAACIST!!!

7 Midwest is a lot of agriculture and people don't stop eating even in a depression.

8

Better link to article - Der Spiegel nails it.

http://tinyurl.com/ya4woyk

9 And that's just with government approved numbers, excluding self-employed people and people who've exhausted their benefits.

Good times.

10 It's really amazing to see in graphical terms what the housing meltdown did to California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona. (Michigan has been in the dumper for years; this recession only accelerated it.) That damage is going to take years, maybe decades, to repair -- especially in California.

11 8

Better link to article - Der Spiegel nails it.

Mein Gott, it burnssss us, it burnssss us

 

12 If we all move to Nebraska the recession will be over.

13 Here is a better link to that chart: http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

14

Shhhhhh.

We're not supposed to call it stimulus anymore, remember? Bagdad Bob told us it was only stabilization. Therefore, President Pisspants is in the clear. This map is not completely yellow, therefore his work here is done.

15 Looks like that corpse is rotting from the head and the a-hole. I'll let you decide which direction it is facing.

16 Wow!  The Obama Virus

17 What happened here in Nevada was that California people were buying second homes as investments and everyone else was buying also so we were building like crazy. Now all construction has come to a screeching halt and all the jobs are gone, probably for a decade.

18 Scariest part?

No sign of slowing.

19 The agriculture might be part of it, but I suspect this has some effect:
http://tinyurl.com/ykobxqa

There seems to be substantial overlap (note that the mapmaker uses the traditional colors for parties.)

20
Rush made the interesting observation that each of Obama's crap initiatives cost close to $1B so they can point to the costs of the Iraq/Afghan wars and justify Obama's spending.

But how often do they think they can go that well?

21 Looks like a scene out of "Patton" where the map of Europe turns black and catches on fire.

22 The good news about this map is that we are all gonna have lots of time on our hands to post here at AofSHQ.

23 one more try:
http://tinyurl.com/ya4woyk

24 The stimulus is working beyond our wildest dreams!

25 Up here in Minnesota, the big con-game has been corn ethanol. Back when gas was going for four bucks a gallon, all the local pols were pushing ethanol as the new "green savior", and three or four big pilot plants got built. Well, now they're discovering what some of us have known all along: it's not only stupid to turn food into fuel, it's not cost-effective, either. Ditto a big wind-turbine project that was promised to provide competitive per-watt rates to coal and nuclear -- as it turned out, it's actually 20% more expensive, and getting more so.

I swear, I would love to chisel this motto into the cornerstone of every government building in the land: "Wishful thinking is not a plan."

26
kurtilator: Worst. Link-fu. Ever.

27 Monty, Better to chisel it into the FOREHEAD of every politician that proposes crap like that!

28 When the map does turn black, what then?

29 Just tell them that the link is on the front page of Drudge.

30 I wonder how many women have had to turn to the pole or the streets for some quick cash. A narrative the MSM will never tell.

31 Now all construction has come to a screeching halt and all the jobs are gone

I should be in Arizona in March.  Should I be buying a winter Condo?

32 Can't help but notice that the midwest (flyover) states seemed to be in much better shape through the entire timeline than both coasts.  Why is that?

Ned Flanders.

But probably racism.

33 Hrm, can't see it at work, but if that's the animation that's been making the rounds, I've been wondering what it would look like if the colors went past 10%.  I mean, most of Michigan started out dark...

34 I noticed that it increases slowly during 2008, until November. Then it almost explodes. I wonder what happened in November 2008 that might have triggered that development..

35 Why get a job? I just needs me some of Obama's stash. Where it comes from I don't know but it feeds me very well and in return I votes for him. Obama Obama Obama!

36 Effen sock!  Off!  Off, I command you!!

37

Can't help but notice that the midwest (flyover) states seemed to be in much better shape through the entire timeline than both coasts.  Why is that?

The KKK is hiring.

38 I could almost see myself being laid off as the map changed from yellow to red.

39

2004:  Worst economy in 50 years.

2009:  La la la la la la

 

40 I wonder how many women have had to turn to the pole or the streets for some quick cash.

Ask Monty how the stripper school in his basement is doing.

41 Damn sock. That was me about the Nevada stuff.

42 Dear Lord.

The only thing missing from that graphic is a soundtrack.

May I suggest "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana?

43 Most of the job loss occurs when your hero bush was in office. Obama can't be blamed for this so keep whining and bitching while he tries to save us. It is all you got left. On the plus side your party is being pushed further into irrelevancy, just check out the latest polls!

44
Morons, put me some knowledge here.

Did Matthews' 'enemy camp' remark make it on your local news this morning or on GMA or Today?

45 Local News?  Morning?  Never heard of it.

46 anybody read this moonbat fan fiction? an alternate universe where gore won in 2000 and everything is gumdrops and lollipops

http://tinyurl.com/y9cfyk2

47

#10  That damage is going to take years, maybe decades, to repair -- especially in California.

Assuming that things stay together long enough for several decades to repair. 

×îºó£¬½«Óнö»ìÂÒ¡£

/Forgive me if Babelfish's translation is less than accurate.

48

Is AoS racist, not allowing Chinese script?  *sarc*.  Another try...

#10  That damage is going to take years, maybe decades, to repair -- especially in California.

Assuming that things stay together long enough for several decades to repair. 

En el extremo, habrá solamente caos.

/Forgive me if Babelfish's translation is less than accurate.

49

Imagine how bad it would have been without the Stimulus, eh?

Taking money from the productive, or worse printing it, and giving it to the unproductive but politically important didn't work. Who would have thunk?

50 Obama's Magic No Longer Works

51 #44  Huh?

52

Barrack at West Point

Saved Thirty Four Thousand Jobs

Adults are in charge

53 Everytime I see the words "Obama's Magic" I think the person who says them is an idiot who believes you can actually pluck quarters from behind someones ear. Not you Ray but the journalist that write that BS.

54 I can't get that video to play, it says I need a plug-in. Also, I'm color-blind, so...

55 Monty, how is the stripper school in your basement doing? 

Also video or it didn't happen. 

56 52 #44  Huh?

Posted by: Jehu at December 02, 2009 10:59 AM (Zj8O7)

#44 is a sock.  No real troll would be touting polls right now.  Unless they were doing the Andrew Sullivan misreads the date thing.

57

What that map doesn't show is that on January 20, 2009 unemployment became FUNemployment!!

58 Almost everybody hated Obama's Speech

59

Obama will save us.

In the words of James Hetfield:

Bow down, sell your soul to me, I will set you free

60 Monty, how is the stripper school in your basement doing? 

Also video or it didn't happen. 

Do you know why it's called "The Full Monty"? 

Hahahahahaha....

61 Sounds like some Nine Inch Nails lyrics.

62 anybody read this moonbat fan fiction? an alternate universe where gore won in 2000 and everything is gumdrops and lollipops

http://tinyurl.com/y9cfyk2

Posted by: Blackford Oakes at December 02, 2009 10:54 AM (DtTM9)

I love how 9/11 never happened, since Gore was President. Also the budget surplus led to Cap and Trade and Public Option Health Care.

A fine history indeed. It's easy, writing fiction.

63

And given all of The Vapid One's® vast experience in the business world, how is this a surprise?

64 A stripper school.  Hmmmmm.  I've tried it.  Oh.........you mean for women.

65

#61  Do you know why it's called "The Full Monty"? 

So, it's a male stripper school?  NTTIAWWT.

66 It's ok, you had me at "pole".

67 Worst. Link-fu. Ever.
Posted by: a.k.a. Comic Book Guy

Wow, you are right... sorry about that. It is supposed to go to http://uselectionatlas.org/

68 It looks like the spread of an epidemic.

69 Meanwhile, in the "as Rome burns" department:

The Obama's to host 28 different events (50,000 total guests) during the 2009 holiday season.

70 Oops.  Here's the linky:  http://tinyurl.com/ybhrebb

71

Bow down, sell your soul to me, I will set you free

James Hetfield is profetic. Note Obama's example to the proles, bowing before the Great Bank of China.

It's time spent alone with nature, blasting the shit out of bears, that gives  J.H. the Orwellian visions.

72 70 Meanwhile, in the "as Rome burns" department:

The Obama's to host 28 different events (50,000 total guests) during the 2009 holiday season.
      It'll be for all the poor unemployed people that Bush has trampled over for so many years.  They'll be celebrating the 10th-Day-I-Love-My-Welfare Kwanza Festival.

73 I'm getting really tired of everyone blaming these job numbers on Obama. The previous admin. had screwed things up so bad that it's going to take a while for Obama to gets things on the right track. The so called "conservatives" with their so called "morals" sure don't feel that anything's wrong with trashing Obama over any little thing.  Keep following your leader Palin and her ilk right over the edge. The right has lost their minds.

74 Ask Monty how the stripper school in his basement is doing.

I'm sure you meant to say "Monty's Home For Wayward Exotic Dancers". And I've taken many down-on-their-luck ladies under my wing, and have taught them the simple values of hard work, thrift, and giving full value for money spent. It's the simple things -- wash that thong! use deodorant! high heels and a metal pole equals a nasty fall! -- but they add up. Several local business-owners (including Oswald "Stinky" Finsterburger, proprietor of the Here Kitty Kitty establishment) absolutely rave about the work-ethic and can-do attitude of the women who have been through my program.

75

It looks like the spread of an epidemic.

It is. Liberal Economic Policy.

More commonly known as Obama's Voodoo Economics.

It comes complete with a doll that looks like George Bush, some pins, a dead chicken and a real, live curse for everyone who believes it.

76

Everytime I see the words "Obama's Magic" I think the person who says them is an idiot who believes you can actually pluck quarters from behind someones ear. ~ Mr. Pink

I think of the Magic Negroes that appear in movies.  They always have some down-to-earth wisdom that guides the dumb white folk to happiness and success.  In Obama's case, the wisdom has been shown to be foolishness.

77 Hey #74, that sounds more like erg (minus gratuitous reference to odd hardcore sex act) than Allahpundit.

78

That animated map is not very encouraging  to anyone who's "between jobs."

79
btw, notice how Obama did not bow to the cadets and officers at West Point?

In fact, Obama didn't even show them any respect. In China and in Japan, Obama bowed like a servant. At West Point, Obama made it clear several times that he's the boss of them.

80

Notice the subtle racism here, as the entire country darkens as unemployment gets worse. 

I guess that's to be expected when we're dealing with all you people fomr the enemy camp.

*droool*

oops.  sorry about that.

81

It comes complete with a doll that looks like George Bush, some pins, a dead chicken and a real, live curse for everyone who believes it.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy at December 02, 2009 11:35 AM (ZGhSv)

I. am. not. dead.  I am exhausted.  It's just been a long hard sweaty eleven monthes IFYKWIMAITYD.

 

82

Remember the ungrateful bastard that threw a shoe at Bush?  Here's a little payback.

http://tinyurl.com/yjvc8g5

 

83 Oooooh, looky....pretty ballons!

84 The Obama's to host 28 different events (50,000 total guests) during the 2009 holiday season.

They pared down the Hanukkah party, citing the cost of kosher food.  And the tedium of taking photos with guests.  Yet, demand for tickets was up compared to W.  Go fig.

85 78 Hey #74, that sounds more like erg (minus gratuitous reference to odd hardcore sex act) than Allahpundit.             That was Allahpundit!  It sounds like him.  He's my good buddy, I should know.  You fucking conservatives who lick Sarah Palin's ass don't know shit.

86
ahh yes, another fine moment in Secret Service history

I'll never forgive the SS for that. Their only job is to protect the president and they failed.

87 That chicken is going to look like Jenna Haze after a hard day of work after this is all said and done.

88 What you have to remember is that Bill Clinton was responsible for employment right up until October 2008 and then from there on Bush is responsible.  When the employment rate improves it will then be Obumbler's responsibility.

GET. WITH. THE. PROGRAM.

89
And not just one shoe. Two shoes.

90 I'm sure you meant to say "Monty's Home For Wayward Exotic Dancers".

Bah.  Tomato, tomahto.

91 #57  Sockpuppet Mr Progressive is actually Mr Pink.

92 Monty,

Better to chisel it into the FOREHEAD of every politician that proposes crap like that!

Posted by: charles emerson winchester IX at December 02, 2009 10:36 AM (vW8JS)

As long as we're chiseling mottos into politician's foreheads, how about "Government is the problem, not the solution."

93 Hey, we're becoming North Korea.  Thanks, Dear Leader.

94

@ 89

But, but, but I thought that George Bush was responsible for the worst economy since The Great Depression. You remember that? When unemployment was as 5.6% and the Dow was at 12800?

95 #88 I thought Jenna Haze mostly does girl-on-girl stuff.  It's not like she's one of those porn starlets who specializes in getting three-holed.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

96 It would be funny seeing the debates of 2004 and the media reports that portrayed the economy as in the toilet and compare them to the media and politicians today.

97 #88 I thought Jenna Haze mostly does girl-on-girl stuff.  It's not like she's one of those porn starlets who specializes in getting three-holed.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Posted by: Anonymous Commentor tastefully wrapped in brown paper at December 02, 2009 11:52 AM (wgLRl)

Some guys can quote the stats for every player in the major leagues.  Then there are the guys who can attribute specific orifices to a particular pornstar... 

98
Noontime New York Gold fix at 1209/ounce, up $13+

The dollar is fucked.

99 The dollar is fucked.

Better him than me.

100 Obama has managed to replicate every mistake Roosevelt made. Wonderful. 

101 Some guys can quote the stats for every player in the major leagues.  Then there are the guys who can attribute specific orifices to a particular pornstar...

It's important to have one's priorities in order.

102

#98 You were in the Navy too?  Seems like there are one or two out-in-the-open porn enthusiasts on every ship.  On one ship I was on, we had a guy who transferred out and left a bunch of his stuff in a void adjacent to our chart storage room.  Other than a rather handsome collection of Dungeons and Dragons paraphenalia, he also left a notebook in which he gave numerical grades to various pornstars in a dozen or so areas.

Your baseball analogy is apt.  I had not thought of it that way.

103

the way i see it, fly over people build and grow useful things while the coasties only know how to talk someone into buying them.

104 101 Obama has managed to replicate every mistake Roosevelt made. Wonderful. 

Posted by: pat at December 02, 2009 12:05 PM (Jr9Wl)

And it took FDR took at least four years to make all of those mistakes.  It's only taken Obama 11 months.  Now that's unprecedented!

105 25 Up here in Minnesota, the big con-game has been corn ethanol. Back when gas was going for four bucks a gallon, all the local pols were pushing ethanol as the new "green savior", and three or four big pilot plants got built. Well, now they're discovering what some of us have known all along: it's not only stupid to turn food into fuel, it's not cost-effective, either. Ditto a big wind-turbine project that was promised to provide competitive per-watt rates to coal and nuclear -- as it turned out, it's actually 20% more expensive, and getting more so.

I swear, I would love to chisel this motto into the cornerstone of every government building in the land: "Wishful thinking is not a plan."

Come visit your neighbor Michigan, and say hello to Governor I'm Completely Incompetent. Her idea is to change the entire industry in the state from autos to (wait for it....) alternative energy! Yes, all of those plants that make cars will now make solar panels and windmills. We'll be saved!   Saved! Because you know, the best thing a state can do is invest all their resources in one single industry...

106

As you can see by this chart, global warming is on the rise, flooding the coasts.

I'd like to thank the academy.

Gotta catch a plane...

107 Then there are the guys who can attribute specific orifices to a particular pornstar...

Announcer: And now we have first-year phenom Kitzi Kans coming on to the field! Fans may remember that she spent several years in the West Texas bordello circuit before entering the majors, and was drafted as an off-season replacement for Lucinda Luvs.

Color Man: That's right, Chet. Kitzi's numbers are impressive, but critics wonder if she can really fill Lucinda's D-cups. Lucinda was a home-town favorite, and it was considered a major loss when she bought a car dealership in Waco and left the business.

Announcer: Kitzi steps up and stretches...she's in great shape, folks...the crowd hushes in anticipation...and...down she goes! Oh, my! A blowjob for the ages!

Color Man: I have to say, Chet, that this is the finest season-opening fellatio I've ever seen! Maybe even better than the Great '89 Knob-Gobble carried out by no less than Tiffany Tips!

Announcer: I have to agree, Tom! This is absolutely unparalleled! The crowd is going wild!

Color Man: Interesting side-note, Chet. Kitzi was once demoted to fluffer on the set of "How Deep Was My Valley" because her manager thought her technique lacked subtlety. Well, I think we can safely say those concerns are unfounded!

Announcer: No question about it! We're going to have to take a break here, folks, but stay tuned for the 10-on-1 right after these words from our sponsor!

108 the way i see it, fly over people build and grow useful things while the coasties only know how to talk someone into buying them.

They used to build ships and manufacture textiles, back in the day.  Flyovers need to figure out what changed, and then never do that.

109

Saved! Because you know, the best thing a state can do is invest all their resources in one single industry...

That worked out great for me!!!!!

110 Can someone make the map turn yellow again?

111

Mrs D and 5300 of her co-workers could be headed to the unemployment line soon.  Somehow, this "blame Bush" mantra isn't resonating, nor is "blame Obama." 

Incompetent, if not corrupt management can destroy most companies unaided.

Runaway tax eaters (yeah, I'm looking at you, Congress and NY State) can make it more difficult, but they don't own all the blame.  They have, however, made finding the next job much more difficult.

112 #99  Every day I am grateful that my husband miraculously landed a job with a gold mining company. 

113 Funny how it starts with republicans in control of congress with unemployment at 4.6. THen Democrats gain control in 2006 and it just starts going down down down. Now Democrats have had control for  whole three years and look what they have done to us!

114 The economic woes of the North and Midwest can be laid directly at the feet of the communist government stooges and the unions.

IOW, they did for years what Obama and the current congress is trying to do to the rest of the country.

115

We used to make cars, then the government started telling automakers they had to make them with seat belts, then low-impact bumpers, then they had to have higher mileage, then air bags...

Don't get me wrong, some of these things saved lives. But how many lives would've been saved (at a much lower cost) if the requirements for drivers' licences had been made harder to get? How about demonstrating that you can control two tons of fast steel with the respect it deserves or you will not be allowed to operate one on the public road?

116 113 Can someone make the map turn yellow again?
        Let me drink another cup of coffee and I'll see what I can do.

117 allowed to operate one on the public road?

Posted by: BackwardsBoy at December 02, 2009 12:25 PM (ZGhSv)

Shhhhhh. Don't mention personal responsibility. It won't get votes.

118 115 #99  Every day I am grateful that my husband miraculously landed a job with a gold mining company. 
          And always comes home one pound heavier than when he left, eh?

119 Yes if only the evil Model-T had not been so cheap that everyone could buy it. The world would be a much better place and all those automaker jobs would have been brown jobs, as in hoarse pucky brown.

120

"Wishful thinking is not a plan."

So are you seriously claiming that buying lottery tickets is not a wise investment strategy for my retirement?

Ha! Silly wingnut.

121

Reports of snow in Dallas is further proof of global warming as is evident by this map...

122 REALLY off topic but important...Rumsfeld emerges from his mountain stronghold in New Mexico and politely calls Obama a liar:

“In his speech to the nation last night, President Obama claimed that ‘Commanders in Afghanistan repeatedly asked for support to deal with the reemergence of the Taliban, but these reinforcements did not arrive.’ Such a bald misstatement, at least as it pertains to the period I served as Secretary of Defense, deserves a response.”

“I am not aware of a single request of that nature between 2001 and 2006. If any such requests occurred, ‘repeated’ or not, the White House should promptly make them public. The President's assertion does a disservice to the truth and, in particular, to the thousands of men and women in uniform who have fought, served and sacrificed in Afghanistan.”


“In the interest of better understanding the President's announcement last night, I suggest that the Congress review the President’s assertion in the forthcoming debate and determine exactly what requests were made, who made them, and where and why in the chain of command they were denied.”

123 124             Sounds good, but that's not what this administration and democrat congress have in mind.  For them, everything is going according to plan.

124
#99  Every day I am grateful that my husband miraculously landed a job with a gold mining company. 

Posted by: Miss Marple at December 02, 2009 12:23 PM (4DwVn)

I have been tracking gold for almost 40 years.  For what its worth, this upward bias of gold could be extended for a great deal of time. 

What makes gold such an attractive investment if you enter the cycle at the correct time is that with an established mining/refining facility, the plant and equipment are fixed costs that remain essentially the same, and the big variable is always labor. 

If it cost  $230/ounce to mine and deliver one ounce, with gold moving from the $270 level 8-10 years past, the multiple with gold at $1219 this morning is tremendous, and the company should be very profitable.  Congratulations.

125 My suggestion to the president is to replace the auto manufacturing industry with that of private jets.

126 @Miss Marple

"Osama bin Laden was within the grasp of US forces in late 2001 and could have been caught if then-defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld hadn't rejected calls for reinforcements, a hard-hitting US Senate report says.

127 So Chrissy says that Obama went to the "Enemy Camp" to do his speech last night. Well if West Point is Obama's enemy and the Army is fighting Islamic extremism then....

128

@ 124

Mal, you've hit the nail on the head.

Now that AGW has been proven to be a hoax beyond all doubt, the first thing we should do is wipe every AGW-based law and regulation from the books, right now. I'll bet that would be at least an automatic reduction of 25% of the cost of doing business here.

We could also start building oil refineries and nuclear power plants like we should've been doing for the last thirty years or so.

129

And it took FDR took at least four years to make all of those mistakes.  It's only taken Obama 11 months.  Now that's unprecedented!~Nighthawk

Yeah, but FDR had to invent those mistakes, as with most other things, Obama is just copying not originating.

130

2001? I could have had him in the early 90's, if my lawyers would have let me.

131 #130 My suggestion to the president is to replace the auto manufacturing industry with that of private jets flying hybrid cars.   FIFY

132 They used to build ships and manufacture textiles, back in the day.  Flyovers need to figure out what changed, and then never do that.

Unfortunately all that black on the coasts will cause migration to flyover country and then flyover country will be transformed by the immigrants.

133

Yeah, but FDR had to invent those mistakes, as with most other things, Obama is just copying not originating.

Posted by: Speller at December 02, 2009 12:47 PM (7Ldd7)

Yeah, but... ah... er... um.... ah...

RACIST!  :-)

134 backwardsboy, so you want the government to limit your customer base (fewer drivers, due to more restrictive licensing) instead of mandating cost of good sold increases -- which were passed on to the customers. A better approach may have been the government or the insurance industry defining what was safe, and letting consumers demand those features from the vendors due to personal concerns or through insurance rates. The CAFE standards are stupid all around - if the people tell the Government to decrease the amount of fuel used, increase it's cost - not try and control a thousand other variables - and let the Invisible hand do it's job.

135 Malamutt...what makes you think that we WANT a competitive business system? Some people would make obscene profits, and that just can't happen. Business is evil, Government is your friend.

136 We obviously need another trillion-dollar stimulus.  The first one didn't take.

137 131 @Onlooker- I also saw a brief report on that incident, but understood that to mean that troops were not moved from a nearby assignment to the caves where bin Laden may have been hiding. Obama's statement, on the other hand, implied that requests were made for more troops to be sent from the US to Afghanistan and those requests were ignored. --at least that's how I understood it.

138

Unfortunately all that black on the coasts will cause migration to flyover country and then flyover country will be transformed by the immigrants.

Too late. The explosian of new Mexican restaurants around here is the only thing keeping us from turning black on the map.

139 Onlooker, massive ground forces were not pushed into Tora Bora in 2001 because the airlift to move them and the ability to support them was not in place. War is primarily an exercise in logistics not tactics. They weren't held back to go to Iraq, because letting him escape would justify the Patriot Act, or other nonsense -- there simply were not enough helicopters, fuel, supplies, etc in place to support that kind of operation less then 90days after 9/11. I doubt we could do it today.

140

Jean @ 139

That's just the machinist in me coming out. I learned at an early age that any object in the hands of a fool can be dangerous.

If the government made drivers better, they'd be safer You can teach awareness behind the wheel. Less accidents = reduced cost to society, direct and indirect. Safe driving skills are much more cost effective than drivng a rubber car.

Anywho, my point was that government did the same thing to the auto industry that it's now doing to the economy in general, with the same results, only multiplied.

141 136 #130 My suggestion to the president is to replace the auto manufacturing industry with that of private jets flying hybrid cars flying monkeys out of our ass.               

142 Onlooker:

Rumsfeld wants Congressional hearings on this.  I think it an excellent idea.  Your side can ask all the questions you want, and Rummy can answer. 

Don't you think that's a good idea?  I do.

143 I always run into people who use the "We used to make things!" argument. I always point out that US exports of manufactured goods are a bigger percentage of trade now than they were in 1950. It's just not in the easily-seen things like cars and washing machines. The world changed. The globalization of trade means that American workers now have to compete with people who can subsist on about a dollar a day. Labor costs, in this new marketplace, are absolute killers.

Americans cannot produce a washing machine for what a Korean or Chinese company can unless the workers are willing to take a giant salary hit (and by this I mean they would have to accept minimum wage with no benefits to match what a foreign worker is paid). And even that is probably not sufficient, because American companies would probably have to incur higher costs all along the production chain.

The old industrial world has gone away. America is actually lucky in this respect -- we made the jump to a service/information economy back in the 1980's. It was very painful, but we did it, and are better for it. Countries like Japan and Germany are having a much harder time of it. Even China's reckoning will come, I think; their ready supply of slave-labor will dwindle as the workforce ages, and the young Chinese will begin to wonder why they are not sharing in the "economic miracle" of China.

I remain convinced that if America were being run by intelligent people, we'd be sinking money wholesale into space exploration -- in particular, prizes, grants, and subsidies for companies to exploit extraterrestrial resources. Don't let NASA do it, but make it possible for private companies to do it. Give them property rights. Allow for the long-term maintenance of wealth (abolish the estate tax, in other words). If we're serious about building new industries and generating jobs, that's the kind of thing that could power our civilization for the next thousand years.

144

Too late. The explosian of new Mexican restaurants around here is the only thing keeping us from turning black on the map.

 

 

 

Not only will your area not turn black, but your assholes will start turning red.

145 136 #130 My suggestion to the president is to replace the auto manufacturing industry with that of private jets flying hybrid cars.   FIFY

  with wings, a single horn, and skittles!!!

146

Not only will your area not turn black, but your assholes will start turning red.

Posted by: Iamnotanalcoholic at December 02, 2009 01:07 PM (lBGI2)

What is the proper dessert after Mexican food?  Ice cream.

Come on ice cream, don't fail me now. 

147

What is the proper dessert after Mexican food?  Ice cream.

Come on ice cream, don't fail me now. 

 

 

Ice suppositories.

148 Tuna fish and vanilla ice cream...Mmmmm!

149

I remain convinced that if America were being run by intelligent people, we'd be sinking money wholesale into space exploration -- in particular, prizes, grants, and subsidies for companies to exploit extraterrestrial resources.

why? the only resource we're currently short of is intelligent people running the country.

150

Monty, as one of the "we used to make things" folks, I'm that way because I can remember when we actually did. There's no less of a need for cars or washing machines. In fact, more people need more things, those things need to be made, but we're not the ones making them anymore (see what I did there?).

 And you're right, labor costs are the largest part of any company's ledger. We have labor unions to thank for that. And CEO's making bazillions of dollars also helped. Add in the unecessary environmental and regulatory costs, and, in essence, we priced ourselves out of the global market.

I also used to work at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, and totally agree with your proposal for space-based technology. Unfortunately, our country isn't run by intelligent people. Not yet, anyway.

 

151 Look at California's Central Valley. The feds have cut off water to the farms and ranches to save some dumb 2" fish.

152 Labor costs, in this new marketplace, are absolute killers.

The National Chamber of Commerce has been saying for years that labor costs are not the real issue driving factories overseas.  They maintain that it is the cost of all the regulations in the U.S.

153 The National Chamber of Commerce has been saying for years that labor costs are not the real issue driving factories overseas

Then the National Chamber of Commerce is 100% full of shit.

Talk to someone at Apple or IBM and ask them why they manufacture their stuff overseas (and why IBM simply sold off their consumer-PC division to a Chinese company). Even if you assume that Apple could get all the parts for the same wholesale cost as they can in China; and even if you assume that corporate taxes, transit taxes, fees, duties, and other such were abolished; even if all that were true -- an American-manufactured iPod would still cost twice as much as a Chinese-made one. Why? Labor costs.

It's why electronics are no longer made in this country. No Zenith TVs, no TI calculators, no IBM computers. The cost of the parts has been driven down to the point that the only profit-margin available is in the labor. And this will soon be true of bigger things like...cars. India and China are on the cusp of mastering that manufacturing technology as well, which means that in five years or so you'll be able to buy a decent subcompact car for about seven or eight grand. American car companies gave up on compacts long ago for just this reason: they can't make any money off of them. But that's where the market is. What's the answer? Build those tiny cars in a place where the labor costs are low enough to enable you to make a profit in building them.

The answer to this "race to the bottom" isn't to force American workers to accept slave-wages; or to impose artificial price-barriers on goods. The answer is to create new industries and corner new markets -- that's what we've always done before.

154 The position of the Chamber of Commerce was that the high labor costs in the U.S. was mostly offset by the higher productivity in American factories.

155 It's why electronics are no longer made in this country.

Don't forget the EPA.  The countries that make electronics don't force you to fit your smelters with air scrubbers and don't care where you dump your leftover mercury.  The countries that make textiles don't force you to treat your wastewater to remove chemicals used the finishing processes.  Etc. 

156 Something like justice that the heaviest purple seems to stick to the coasts.  Enjoy your shit sandwich, leftists.  Nom nom nom

157 How is that promised utopia working out for you America.  I see that a lot of the promised Hope has been Changed to despair and Hopelessness.  Must be fun being the o's personal sacrificial lamb for what ever whim he has come up with at what ever time he came up with it. Time to storm the castle.  Our SIX is in danger.  

158

Not sure if anyone caught this previously but note the legend at the lower right side that shows the colors that represent particular unemployment rates.  For every shade of color between 2% and 6%, there was only a ONE percent change between yellow to dark yellow, dark yellow to orange, orange to red, and red to maroon.
 
But SUDDENLY, at 7% unemployment, the scale goes out of whack and PURPLE represents THREE percentage points of change instead of ONE percentage point between 2 and 6.  That means it could actually be lessening the impact of what actually happened when Obama took office in '09 by combining everything from 7% thru 10% into ONE color - purple - and then everything after that into one color as well - black.

Just sayin'........