DISH Network's AMC-14 satellite fails to reach orbit

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Tim @ Mar 15th 2008 12:38PM

The truly sad thing is that America has seen fit to let foreign countries command the lead in so many of the "technology" arenas that we clearly pioneered. As I look around my home theatre, I can't find a single component that was made in the USA.
I wish I had the political savvy to understand how we could bring back to our shores the support for, and the development of, innovations that would be a hallmark of the USA.
I hope Charlie had this bird insured and, of course, I'll continue to hold out hope that there might be just enough fuel left to put AMC 14 in its assigned orbit.

Neutral

nathan @ Mar 15th 2008 1:01PM

You could fill your home theater with American made gear -- but it would cost you a considerable premium for some pieces. The choice is yours. America still manufactures quality stuff, but it's not as cheap as most of us want.

(Actually, in several cases, the gear is not necessarily more expensive AND is best of breed, like Magnepan speakers. But they are the exception rather than the rule.)

Highly Ranked

anon @ Mar 15th 2008 1:35PM

oh that's easy

1) get rid of all unions

2) get rid of all welfare programs

3) pay people about 10 cents a day

see how easy it is!!!

Low Ranked

Sam Winter @ Mar 15th 2008 10:10PM

@anon

In the future, for the benefit of all of us readers, please consider just not speaking when you have nothing other than BS to say...

Highest Ranked

Brad @ Mar 17th 2008 3:08AM

@Sam Walter Actually, anon's comments are valid. The reason people take inexpensive manufacturing overseas isn't because they're inherently better at making cheap electronics, it's because:

1) Unions have driven up the wages, increased worker benefits, and restricted the workforce. This is great for the union workers, but considering they don't do significantly better work than their overseas counterparts, the benefits aren't really worth the 1000% pay difference.

2) Companies pay taxes, quite a bit. Most corporate taxes go to one of three sources: military, social security, and health care. If you got rid of social programs, about 40% of all taxes would be freed up. Assuming that meant you didn't collect them, that's taxes that don't have to be paid and recovered by customer cost.

3) Dropping the minimum wage and having a severe unemployment problem (as many of the countries used for overseas manufacturing do) would allow a pretty severe drop in production costs - again making the US a viable home for manufacturing.

There are all kinds of other considerations - worker safety, environmental impact, worker rights for length of workweek, family health insurance, all of these things cause companies to look outside of America for manufacturing.

So even though they were poorly worded, anon's reasons in response to Tim's "Why can't we keep things like TVs and Stereos here in Amurica?" is really a simple cost calculation. Until our citizens are willing to work at the wage rate, hourly commitment, or nonexistent benefits level that our Chinese, Cambodian, or Taiwanese contemporaries are, well, we're not going to be making TVs. Truth be told, it's much healthier to be in the service side than the production side, anyway. We still do a couple of things better than anyone else in the world: Movies, music, software, and high speed pizza delivery.

=)

Neutral

treacherous @ Mar 18th 2008 12:51PM

Don't forget that whatever taxes companies pay are passed on to the consumer in the price of the product. Getting rid of the corporate tax burden altogether would usher in a new era of American product superiority when companies relocate their manufacturing and headquarters back Stateside, and invest in the American society.

Pass the FairTax now! www.fairtax.org

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Original post: click here

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tim @ Mar 15th 2008 12:38PM

nathan @ Mar 15th 2008 1:01PM

anon @ Mar 15th 2008 1:35PM

Sam Winter @ Mar 15th 2008 10:10PM

Brad @ Mar 17th 2008 3:08AM

treacherous @ Mar 18th 2008 12:51PM

Add your comments

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