tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post6265227088802496837..comments2024-03-16T05:00:38.826-04:00Comments on Egnorance: "Do me a favor, and look at Detroit"mregnorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11431770851694587832noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-74084917977674317282013-07-22T17:07:55.770-04:002013-07-22T17:07:55.770-04:00I didn't buy a car made by an American car com...I didn't buy a car made by an American car company for a very long time and for a somewhat quixotic reason: Their involvement in destroying our electric trolley car transportation system. They had succeeded in forcing me to buy a car to get about, but I was determined that it wouldn't be one of theirs. As for the technical 'progress', when I finally did buy a Dodge Minivan in '96 I later discovered that the cabin temperature control chip cost over $600 for a replacement. Violation of the KISS principle in engineering. All that is required is an on/off switch. I can provide the brain.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05652227699197953483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-88608154746920534612013-07-22T12:46:48.661-04:002013-07-22T12:46:48.661-04:00Hooey: "LOL. You can't address the argume...<b>Hooey:</b> "<i>LOL. You can't address the argument, so you attack the person. Silly old fuck.</i>"<br /><br />1) hypocrite;<br />2) hypocrite engaging in "projection";<br />3) Hooey never does make, you know, <i>arguments</i>. The nearest he comes to arguing is quarrelling.Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-45529605532662636052013-07-21T15:57:09.475-04:002013-07-21T15:57:09.475-04:00Apple, Inc., is a great example of a company that ...Apple, Inc., is a great example of a company that made short-term financial sacrifices to invest in more competitive products. In the mid-1990s it was in bad shape. Instead of focusing on the near-term bottom line, Apple spent a lot of effort to develop a new operating system (OS X), completely redesigned its line of laptops, and came up with an awesome smart phone. That sort of innovation was not cheap, but it paid off handsomely in the long term. <br /><br />What kind of innovations were there at the Big Three in the 1970s and 80s? Oh, they figured out how to make a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_utility_vehicle" rel="nofollow">cheap box on a truck chassis</a> and market it as an off-road vehicle. That's a great feat of engineering, right there. <br /><br />HooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-2331740183357747362013-07-21T15:44:02.190-04:002013-07-21T15:44:02.190-04:00I didn't say I was a venture capitalist, Mr. S...I didn't say I was a venture capitalist, Mr. Stupid. I am a professor at an elite university, so most of my salary comes from private money. So there. <br /><br />And unlike you, I do understand that companies go through a period of time when they lose money. Not just for the heck of it, of course, but in order to be profitable in the long term. If that's a foreign concept to you, what can I say? <br /><br />HooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-45626478019275125172013-07-21T15:28:55.513-04:002013-07-21T15:28:55.513-04:00Sorry, I forgot: you don't know jack shit abou...Sorry, I forgot: you don't know jack shit about "new products" either.Adm. G Boggs, Glenbeckistan Navynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-49363447998681677982013-07-21T15:25:28.868-04:002013-07-21T15:25:28.868-04:00You moron, American car companies were buried unde...You moron, American car companies were buried under union debt obligations, union work rules, and Congressional mandates. The engineers and scientists were doing just fine. General Motors Research Laboratories in Warren MI was a great place to work.Adm. G Boggs, Glenbeckistan Navynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-41008530710688415132013-07-21T15:19:57.583-04:002013-07-21T15:19:57.583-04:00Mathoo: "It's not a Progressive dogma. It...Mathoo: "It's not a Progressive dogma. It's a dogma of venture capitalism."<br /><br />Oh, so you're a venture capitalist now? Excuse me while I laugh my ass off. You've never made a buck that wasn't printed on the front of a government check. You're a "venture capitalist" like those idiots who "invested" in Solyndra and Ener1. You don't know jack shit about how venture capital works.<br /><br />You're probably the guy they had in mind when they named the Chevy Dolt.<br /><br />Adm. G Boggs, Glenbeckistan Navynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-30677417883948773622013-07-21T13:30:05.252-04:002013-07-21T13:30:05.252-04:00I have some comments the reader may consider I dee...I have some comments the reader may consider <a href="http://iliocentrism.blogspot.com/2013/07/i-feel-rich-when-i-spend-money-i-dont.html" rel="nofollow">I deel rich when I ...</a>Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-21351957719781392322013-07-21T12:23:29.330-04:002013-07-21T12:23:29.330-04:00Except they didn't follow that recipe. After t...Except they didn't follow that recipe. After the 1960s, the American car manufacturers started focusing on their bottom line more than on technological innovation. The companies were run by MBAs rather than engineers. The cars became bland, clunky, and lost competition to the Europeans and the Japanese. I had a Pontiac as my first car and I never bought another American automobile since then. How many of you did, I wonder.<br /><br />HooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-7662102812811925072013-07-21T12:15:42.143-04:002013-07-21T12:15:42.143-04:00"In Mathoo's defense, I don't think h..."<i>In Mathoo's defense, I don't think he's lying. He's just ignorant.</i>"<br /><br />*Willful* ignorance is still lying.Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-50969561546366362013-07-21T12:14:26.587-04:002013-07-21T12:14:26.587-04:00"Losing money now to be viable later?
It..."<i>Losing money now to be viable later? <br /><br />It's a sweet and touching Progressive dogma, though.</i>"<br /><br />And, as proven by Studebaker ... then American Motors ... then Chrysler ... then General Motors ... then Detroit as a whole, it's a proven recipe for success.<br />Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-104130826335044842013-07-21T12:06:43.434-04:002013-07-21T12:06:43.434-04:00Mathoo: "focusing on getting profits in the s...Mathoo: "focusing on getting profits in the short term and not focusing on long-term viability"<br /><br />Losing money now to be viable later? <br /><br />Obviously, you've never signed the front of a paycheck.<br /><br />It's a sweet and touching Progressive dogma, though. It's how Amtrak operates.Adm. G Boggs, Glenbeckistan Navynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-55079362760772780862013-07-21T12:04:15.058-04:002013-07-21T12:04:15.058-04:00In Mathoo's defense, I don't think he'...In Mathoo's defense, I don't think he's lying. He's just ignorant.Adm. G Boggs, Glenbeckistan Navynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-55835651292533089202013-07-21T12:03:48.464-04:002013-07-21T12:03:48.464-04:00In dealing with labor unions, Studebaker was no di...In dealing with labor unions, Studebaker was no different from the Big Three. Yet it went out of business in 1963 while the Big Three prospered. Why was that, Ilion? Maybe because the company was making an inferior product? Perhaps that had something to do with the people at the top focusing on getting profits in the short term and not focusing on long-term viability? Discuss. <br /><br />HooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-2579818881144522142013-07-21T11:58:01.932-04:002013-07-21T11:58:01.932-04:00What a lying fool this Hooey is.
Why did Studebak...What a lying fool this Hooey is.<br /><br />Why did Studebaker "become a loser and go out of business"? <br /><br />Because its expenses exceeded its income for a significant length of time.<br /><br />Why did Studebaker's expenses exceeded its income, such that in the end there was no option but to close its doors and leave all its employees with no jobs at all?<br /><br />Because it was paying its workers <i>more than they were worth, given their productivity</i>.<br /><br />Why was Studebaker’s management paying its workers more than they were worth, given their productivity?<br /><br />Because the national-level labor union executives, working in conjunction with elements in the federal government who were still obsessed with seeing to fruition the New Deal “rationalization” of auto manufacturing, would never have allowed the local union organizations, which supposedly represented the interests of the actual Studebaker workers, to accept pay cuts.<br /><br />For, as every rational being knows, no job al all on a wage of, say, $100K per year, is far better than an actual job on a measly wage of $90K.Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-18132519102305025952013-07-21T11:49:28.139-04:002013-07-21T11:49:28.139-04:00Coping with a hearing loss, admiral? I am so sorry...Coping with a hearing loss, admiral? I am so sorry. <br /><br />HooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-78243844402509687912013-07-21T11:43:38.720-04:002013-07-21T11:43:38.720-04:00Who's laughing, Mr Boom 'n Bust?Who's laughing, Mr Boom 'n Bust?Adm. G Boggs, Glenbeckistan Navynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-28492597505519678712013-07-21T11:19:07.511-04:002013-07-21T11:19:07.511-04:00Studebaker was no match to the Big Three. It had b...Studebaker was no match to the Big Three. It had been in decline since 1950. While the company could afford paying its workers well in the boom years prior to 1950, it became a loser and went out of business. Too bad for South Bend. <br /><br />HooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-62895983234676302662013-07-21T10:40:54.899-04:002013-07-21T10:40:54.899-04:00I was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana.
If ...I was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana.<br /><br />If that doesn't ring any bells, I was born and raised in the city from which the world's supply of Studebaker automobiles came.<br /><br />It wasn't "capitalism" which killed Studebaker (in 1963), and almost killed South Bend; it was the auto unions and elements in the federal government finally achieving the old New Deal policy to "rationalize" the auto industry by consolidating it into three of four companies, with the manufacturing to be in Detroit.Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-52114578605282387752013-07-21T10:33:22.362-04:002013-07-21T10:33:22.362-04:00"Detroit is the best illustration of the boom..."<i>Detroit is the best illustration of the boom-and-bust capitalism.</i>"<br /><br />Leftists are such liars.<br /><br />"<i>This simple though seems to never has crossed your minds, guys.</i>"<br /><br />We prefer truth.Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-9453092162098638612013-07-21T10:30:18.682-04:002013-07-21T10:30:18.682-04:00You read Wilson, too? How awesome is that?You read Wilson, too? How awesome is that?Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-89733289376950050902013-07-21T10:22:22.629-04:002013-07-21T10:22:22.629-04:00As usual, an intellectually powerful rejoinder.
...As usual, an intellectually powerful rejoinder. <br /><br />Speaking of brain capacity, and having read the article at that link, I'm still not sure how a boom town that went bust became "boom-and-bust capitalism" in your bizarre world. Must be a brain capacity thing, since both phrases have nothing in common besides two words. Not exactly "high-level" thinking on your part. <br /><br />The auto industry gradually moved out of Detroit due to riots, crime, high taxes, bad schools, oppressive unions, and, to be fair, to be closer to distant customers. The foreign companies chose not to move there for the same reasons. The Progressives in Detroit (your intellectual peers) believed they could milk the auto industry forever but it just moved away. "Last year, Detroit had $33 of long-term debt for every $1 of net assets." (Detroit Free Press)<br /><br /><i>Change [i.e., "boom and bust"] in the auto industry is reflected in the restless successions of plant openings and closings in the Midwest, the industry’s traditional home. Foreign and domestic manufacturers have settled in rural Southeastern locations, bringing with them new approaches to labor and production.</i><br />--- Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta<br /><br />The nonunion auto factories in the Southeast are doing just fine, "booming", in fact, and employ thousands of people in high-paying jobs. The Detroit "boom" is now booming in the southeast and Detroit is now Officially Busted.<br /><br />As usual, you don't understand your own sources.Adm. G Boggs, Glenbeckistan Navynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-21423633935678920432013-07-21T09:52:40.489-04:002013-07-21T09:52:40.489-04:00You can't even do simple, admiral. Sadly, brai...You can't even do simple, admiral. Sadly, brain capacity diminishes the farther you go into retirement. <br /><br />HooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-82523718439334817992013-07-21T09:42:09.373-04:002013-07-21T09:42:09.373-04:00Denver is the US capital of "boom-and-bust&qu...Denver is the US capital of "boom-and-bust" capitalism. The auto industry is hardly a "boom-and-bust" industry.<br /><br />"This simple though seems to never has crossed your minds, guys."<br /><br />Simple is right.Adm. G Boggs, Glenbeckistan Navynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555199390227912207.post-56604512575000856402013-07-21T09:37:48.943-04:002013-07-21T09:37:48.943-04:00"The reasons for its decline are numerous, bu..."The reasons for its decline are numerous, but can be summed up in two words: jobs, and demographics. In 1950, when Detroit had 1.8 million people, about 200,000 were employed in manufacturing, according to Kevin Boyle, the author and professor of history at Ohio State University, who is a native Detroiter. That was about one of out every 10 people in the city.<br /><br />Now, fewer than 20,000 of Detroit's remaining 714,000 people work in manufacturing, or about one in 50 residents."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/03/-this-entry-is-cross-posted.html" rel="nofollow">Detroit: A Boom Town Goes Bust</a><br /><br />It's rather simple math. If you rely on one industry to support life in a city, the city inevitably declines when the industry leaves.<br /><br />HooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com