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So, mess around too much with medical insurance and interest rates, and you've rattled the two largest industries in America in terms of % of GDP----healthcare and real estate. (about 7% and 9% respectively).
The auto industry is no slouch either in terms of GDP percentage--- about 2.5%.
To give perspective, the shocking recession of 2008 dropped the GDP by about 5%
Spare the harping on me, 'cause I've heard it before, but I'll always remember the N.A.-head of Toyota looking like a deer in the headlights when asked about recalls in D.C. He deferred most everything to Mr. Toyoda.
And to be fair, I know you've heard me say that here before, too.
I guess that really didn't add anything to our conversation, did it?
And Vice Versa, would be good for assembly workers in the US, but not the people making parts.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
I have been lucky enough to be able to play the stock market a bit in the last twelve years and it's been quite the learning experience. Am not one who likes risk but have been enjoying the buying/selling part of it all. I started out watching Cramer on CNBC nightly as much for the entertainment as for the knowledge. He's definitely a showman but he made investing fun for me when I knew nothing. Now, I read a lot and am a bit more conservative as I approach my mid sixties knowing that I definitely want to retire again by the end of 2018 or sometime in 2019, G-d willing. So now, play the market as much as I can and save more than I spend so when the time comes and the paycheck does stop, I can live the same, or similar lifestyle as now.
Luckily, especially now, if one wants to work, one can find a job in most parts of America. I was lucky as I found a job within hours of my starting to look a few years back. And luckily, that one gig lead to another which lead to my current one which I like and will keep till I retire. So yes, anything is possible in America and luckily, in my working career, I've been blessed with good jobs that have let me earn a living and raise a nice family. All our needs have been met, and some of our wants, and feel great knowing that our three kids are now all out in the work force working good jobs and not just expecting the government to pay their way. And hopefully when, and if they have kids, they will do the same for them...as it should be!
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
That's good news and IMO was also damage-control by Ford, but if production of a line is moved to Mexico, and other U.S. assembly is ramping up enough to employ those workers who built the car line that is moving to Mexico, still, couldn't Ford produce those (soon-to-be-Mexican) cars in the U.S. too, adding more U.S. workers? I guess the official line would be "no production space".
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
That one thing would keep me from buying a new car. It's not that I don't think there are quality cars coming from Mexico, but my take is, why reward the manufacturer for that? Same reason I wouldn't buy a Cruze hatchback and why I didn't buy an HHR in 2008.
Won't be able to know that until I see them in person and use them for some time. On the fence. Maybe once the Alltrack reaches 5,000 miles and proves itself "not a lemon," and the OEM tires are at least partially used up.
Even the "cheap" wheels from Germany, Italy, and Japan can't compete with that pricing. They are very expensive. Thailand is one Chinese made competitor price wise that I've found browsing wheels.
A lot of high employment areas are also desolate in some ways too, I call them "low cost, low amenity". Even the "cheap" wheels from Germany, Italy, and Japan can't compete with that pricing. They are very expensive. Thailand is one Chinese made competitor price wise that I've found browsing wheels.
Personally, I have lived in suburban Atlanta, the small town where I grew up which is not a suburb, and suburban area where I live now. By far, the best quality of life IMHO was the small town. I think a square mile is a square mile wherever you live, but if you have to share it with fewer people, most everybody will get along better. Your results may vary, LOL.
Do other Asia Pacific Countries that manufacture goods get a pass, or are they grouped in with China. I pay attention to where things are made, so the common ones I see lately besides China are:
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
If I add clothes related items like belts, shoes, shirts, and the wife's expensive hand bag collection, you can add:While I agree that it's great to support local manufacturing, there is something to be said for some trade and interdependencies. I see a web of trade as a way to reduce overall risk of wars, or to at least have those "wars" be economic rather than with bombs. So probably a mix, where we preserve significant manufacturing capability while still trading and using others' goods is a best approach. I do agree that a formal strategy over manufacturing and capabilities would be a good thing for this country, but I'm not seeing any politicians with that level of awareness or foresight.
About a month ago, a Facebook video came my way, of a woman in Virginia looking for her birth mother. She said she was born in my hometown in Jan. 1975. I almost immediately thought I knew who her mother was, as she looked like a girl in my class I remembered having a baby, but sadly the mother had died some years back. I thought it wasn't my place to tell her. It ended up that in less than three hours after she posted the video on Facebook, she had received contact from her birth uncle. The very next Sunday, she went to our hometown with her adopted parents and met her birth family--nine uncles and aunts and twenty-six first cousins--at mass there. The priest told her story in his homily about how the whole town was excited for her. He had her come out to the center aisle where she thanked the parish and the town. She then said it was her adoptive mother's birthday, and he had her also come to the center aisle where the parish sang her "Happy Birthday".
Wonderful story which shows the power of social media, but she was blown away by the warmth and caring of everybody she met in my hometown...at church, afterwards, and also through social media. That's the kind of story I'm not sure would have the same ending where I live now.
For me, chain retail and restaurants don't overcome daily congestion everywhere. I'd rather go to those places on the weekend even if it's a half-hour drive.
As a side note to all this manufacturing talk, no matter who you like or hate, I think we'll all agree the stock market performance, at least so far, is certainly good for anybody who has an IRA or pension--which is probably most people here. I was expecting quite the opposite.
My mom lives in a smallish town. The weather can be dreary, and it is a bit down on its luck in terms of the economy, but some locals still have fight left in them, and they do what they can to keep it going. I lived there from the time I was roughly in middle school through high school and shortly after, and don't regret it. It also has some lovely old housing stock, and a more relaxed pace, but there's one big problem - not many jobs capable of paying the mortgage on those nice old houses.
I honestly can't remember if that 5-speed auto was made the same place they assemble the Accord's, in Ohio.
For V8 AMG cars, the transmission from a V12 car would be used to compensate for the power - and even then, it needs to be maintained.
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Some presidents get lucky while in office, and some unlucky, and get praise they don't deserve, or criticism they don't deserve.
There's a certain irony in today's stock market performance when comparing it to the market's 3-month plunge during Obama's first months in office, and then a strong recovery.
So history has examples of a bad performing Nov-March turning quite good, and a good-performing Nov-March turning into a disaster, with the sitting president not much involved in events either way.
If you want to see the power behind the throne, look to the Federal Reserve---they can really affect the economy almost immediately.
There are quite a few housing bubble markets out there right now (I'm deep in the heart of one, it is insane here). How those play out will be just as interesting as the stock market or American car sales.