America's steel companies are hurting

Not going to happen. Dozens of countries can take China's place producing cheap crap for Americans. They'll get their Walmart junk from Taiwan, Vietnam etc.

America has never been greater than it is today. You're harking back to a place that didn't exist anywhere but your imagination. If American companies were forced to produce in America they would lose the rest of the world's market. The US market alone* isn't enough to sustain companies like GM, Apple, etc. Those companies will disappear, overwhelmed by more competitive companies like Nissan and Samsung.

Go metric like the rest of the world and this won't be a problem.

*EU population alone is almost 200 million more than America. Lose that market and you can kiss wealthy America goodbye.

 

How old are you Doug ?

If you're under 55 is very likely you have never seen quality or would know what quality is.

Found an old pair of Levis in a box from the early 1970's.
Compared it to today's Levis.
The thread count is less on today's Levis and the stitching is like comparing apples to oranges, todays stitching on Levis wouldn't have passed Levis quality control fifty years ago.

Back when America was great you had to put a pair of Levis through the wash four or five times before they were even broken in.
Today that's about how long todays Levis will last.

Look at houses. Open up the walls and take a look. The best homes ever built were the Craftsman homes, brace framing and here in California Craftsman homes remain standing after every earthquake. This is quality.

Guess where the term Craftsman home comes from ?

Craftsman = Sears
Most Craftsman homes found in America were bought from a Sears catalog.

I **** you not -> http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/1908-1914.htm
Craftsman homes are 100% Americana.

Same is true with guns.
100 years from now that Springfield Armory M-1A (M-14) will still be shooting.
That AR-15 and other AR's likely not.

Back during the 1970's that's what they tried to do and Americans said no freaking way, this is America we are suppose to be different from the rest of the world.

America has Websters Dictionary while other English speaking countries use Oxfords Dictionary.

It started when NATO wanted one main battle tank to be used by all NATO members. Everything was fine until it came to what size nuts, bolts and screws would be used , SAE or metric ?

As you see today America has it M-1 Abram tank the Germans have their Leopard ll tank and the British have their Challenger 2 main battle tank.

Americans wanted the speed limits to remain posted in miles per hour and carpenters want to deal with 2X4's not with centimeters and Americans didn't want to need two different tool sets.

 

It's embarrassing now when some Honda 4 banger with a turbo blows your old grumbler away.

You left out the step where you had to pay the tariffs to raise the money to start with.
It's like a reverse Robin Hood.

 

I'm over 55 to answer your question.

To address your larger point - most Americans won't pay a premium for quality. Some will though, but America doesn't have a monopoly on quality. Americans can get quality from Europe - cars, apparel, luxury goods - all available in as good or better quality than America can produce. Asia still produces the best quality moderately priced cars, Germany the best high-end.

I think that Apple makes the best smartphone (although personally I use an Android system) but they can only sell it to anyone because they can manufacture it in China. But it's designed in the US. That's where America excels - not in the manufacture of products any more. That horse has left the barn. America does well in the higher paying jobs of innovation and design. Putting stuff together is best done by those who can do so cheaply. Without both roles - American innovation and Chinese manufacturing - Apple probably wouldn't exist.

This and other trade and economic issues are too complicated for Trump, a guy who can't work an umbrella or speak a complete sentence.

 

I'm renovating a 110 year old house so know what's in walls. My old house is a heritage property and has thick hardwood floors, 2 fireplaces, heavy walls and sturdy window casings. Solid wood everywhere.

My girlfriend's house, a much newer version is build quite differently. But it's more energy efficient, costing less than half mine to heat despite having more square footage. Her triple pane windows do a better job of suppressing sound and don't have to be painted and glazed every couple of years. Her siding doesn't have to be repainted.

The house is an example of the myth of quality of old. Cars for example are much better than they used to be - safer, more efficient, faster, quieter and more comfortable. Much less time in the shop. Same applies to televisions. Sure you could sink a battleship by dropping a Zenith floor model on it, but good luck getting a decent picture in a rainy day.

 

Ah tariffs.

I remember back when America was great and everything that was imported into the USA had a tariff to protect America's industrial base and American jobs.

 

You mean back in the good old days when we were an emerging nation?

 

But you do remember what quality use to be.

I didn't ask a question because I know you remember.

 

Individual income taxes use to be known as a war tax.

Tariffs use to run the entire federal government at one time.

 

It was high quality in its time. My house in 1909 was very high quality, that Mustang built in 1965 was world-class, the cathode ray tube Zenith was the best in the world.

But each has been eclipsed in quality, by any measure, by what's available today. And those products (except for houses) are imported for the most part. There's no going back. There's no market for it.

 

Sure. We could put a 300% tariff on everything we import.
How do you think that would work for us?
Time to get back to the future.

 

The tradesmen don't exist today to build a house using block framing.

When PVC piping first showed up in the construction industry nobody knew how long the PVC would last, We know now not very long, it gets brittle very quickly.

Galvanized steel piping

Actually old pre WW ll galvanized piping is still found in pre WW ll homes with no problems.
During WW ll they reduced the thickness of the zinc when galvanizing pipe but after the war they never went back using a thicker coating of zinc.

It was Studebaker who first used plastics on the dashboards (padded dashboard) so one didn't crack their heads open in a collision when their heads hit the dashboard.

Nobody knew how long the plastic would last before it started to crack and deteriorate. We know now.

 

I'm referring to the 1950's the most prosperous time in America's history.

A huge middle class, wages were extremely high because America figured it out, keep immigration numbers low and everyone sees a bigger paycheck.

A ditch digger on a construction site or a fast order cook at the corner drugstore lunch counter were able to buy a house.

And just about everything was stamped "Made in the USA"

 

High end the best there is.
The vacuum tube.


McIntosh MA6600 Integrated Amplifier Review - AVRev.com

 

GDP per capita, adjusted for inflation:
1955: 17,132
2018: 57,170

America has never in its history been wealthier. Immigration if it's had any impact has resulted in improved wealth.

The reason the middle class hasn't shared in the improvement is tax inequality and costs such as healthcare. Both of those issues are within the power of government to correct yet they choose not to.

The rich get richer...

 

American steel has been hurting since the late 1970's. I know because we had to hang foreign steel and absolutely hated it. Nobody gave a rattus' anus until Trump.

 

The globalist oligarchy wouldn't be happy campers and would likely target who was responsible for making America great again.

 

So much for state's rights..You think Trump can kill emission standards in 11 states?

 

Lincoln and the American civil war killed state rights 144 years ago.

 

America is still great. Don't let Trump control you with his jingles.

 

I remember when California wasn't a totalitarian one party rule third world state.

 

More Layoffs, Falling Stock Prices Show How Trump's Tariffs Have Harmed American Steelmakers
If President Donald Trump's tariffs were supposed to resurrect American ... Barber Steel Foundry will close at the end of the ...

https://reason.com/2019/09/24/more-...mps-tariffs-have-harmed-american-steelmakers/

 

Yep.
And there were few tariffs and the top income tax rate was 90%.

 

Eleven Senate Republicans voted to block Trump’s border wall emergency declaration

To build his wall, Trump has been raiding funds from state projects and members of his own party have voted to stop it.

Sep 25, 2019, 1:04pm EDT [/QUOTE]


Senate votes to block Trump border wall emergency money grab



Vote unlikely to survive Trump veto, construction to continue

Senators voted Wednesday to rebuke President Trump and cancel his border emergency, saying he overstepped his powers in grabbing $3.6 billion Congress approved for military construction projects and instead spending it on his campaign promise to build a border wall.

The 54-41 vote is unlikely to stop the president, though. While the measure is likely to pass the House, a veto is expected — and Wednesday’s tally showed there are more than enough Republicans ready to sustain Mr. Trump.

Democrats cast the vote as another legislative black eye for Mr. Trump, with nearly a dozen Republicans joining in the rebuke.


https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/25/senate-votes-block-trump-border-wall-emergency-mon/

 

No. Our sales to other countries would disappear and our economy would collapse.