Made in Germany......

[Loobed]

Made in Germany doesn't mean that much anymore. It is like the US. Whites (Germans) are no longer the majority in Germany or most of Europe. Belgium people speak German and variations of German, so they can be considered Germanic.

I get ecstatic when I see something made in Mexico. I have not seen "made in uSA" for a long time.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
The excuse is if you are willing to pay medical equipment price you can make anything you want anywhere.

How much do you pay for the cable that's made in Germany? and how many units do they make in a year? oh, you mean hundreds million? no? you must mean a hundred thousand then. no? what? hundred?


That's a ridiculous argument.

If I'm willing to pay the price for Cisco or Juniper gear (it is no cheaper than medical equipment) then why the heck doesn't it come with 1st-world sourced cables sir?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Lots of high end medical equipment is made in Germany. I have a friend that works for Zeiss and their surgical microscopes for brain and spine surgery cost $200,000

OVERK1LL,

I take it you work in a hospital ?




No, but I work in the medical field. This machine is being installed at a clinic.

 

[bluestream]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

So Germany doesn't have an advanced economy? Explain.

Yes, they do have an advanced economy.
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Everything from regular power cords, media converters.... you know the little stuff that we outsource to China, I have now seen "made in Germany".


You saw this on a high end piece of electronics, that's normal. I don't think Raytheon uses made in China components in any of their aviation or military electronics.

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
And there are plenty of advanced jobs and companies in Germany. But apparently, they also still make a lot of the little stuff too. Strange how a country the size of New Brunswick has been able to thrive at manufacturing everything from big to small


The size of the county is not relevant to anything, look at Hong Kong..

 

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Strange how a country the size of New Brunswick has been able to thrive at manufacturing everything from big to small (and yes, I know there are exceptions and some Germany companies outsource to China too) yet North America is an economic wasteland with a growing class of desperate unemployed people.... Those people could be making power cables, media converters, IC's....etc, instead of some guy in China being paid pennies as the US debt increases.



It's not strange at all. After WWII and even the Cold War, Germany had nothing else to do but focus on doing manufacturing and doing it WELL to regrow their nation.

It's all you can do after your left in a post war shambled society. That or learn how to speak Russian. . . .

It's simple.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

So Germany doesn't have an advanced economy? Explain.

Yes, they do have an advanced economy.
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Everything from regular power cords, media converters.... you know the little stuff that we outsource to China, I have now seen "made in Germany".


You saw this on a high end piece of electronics, that's normal. I don't think Raytheon uses made in China components in any of their aviation or military electronics.

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
And there are plenty of advanced jobs and companies in Germany. But apparently, they also still make a lot of the little stuff too. Strange how a country the size of New Brunswick has been able to thrive at manufacturing everything from big to small


The size of the county is not relevant to anything, look at Hong Kong..



Of course size is relevant. Germany has 88 million people in a country the size of New Brunswick. Canada has 33 million in comparison.

You guys have 307 million people in a very similar sized land mass to Canada.

Germany has a 6.1% unemployment rate; 5.3 million unemployed.
Canada has a 7.2% unemployment rate; 2.3 million unemployed.
USA has a 9.2% unemployment rate; 28 million unemployed.

You guys have almost the entire population of Canada as unemployed. And 1/3rd of the German population!

Don't you think it would be better for your economy if 10 million of those people (which would put you in-line with Germany's unemployment rate) were being productive members of society, producing those "unadvanced" things that North Americans are "too good" to manufacture like the items I've pictured?

It would reduce imports from China, lower unemployment, increase tax revenue, reduce social service costs and increase spending. You'd have 10 MILLION more consumers spending money they EARNED vs money that has been taxed from the rest of you and given to them. The taxes from the products would go to the American government instead of China. I don't see the downside?

 

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

So Germany doesn't have an advanced economy? Explain.

Yes, they do have an advanced economy.
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Everything from regular power cords, media converters.... you know the little stuff that we outsource to China, I have now seen "made in Germany".


You saw this on a high end piece of electronics, that's normal. I don't think Raytheon uses made in China components in any of their aviation or military electronics.

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
And there are plenty of advanced jobs and companies in Germany. But apparently, they also still make a lot of the little stuff too. Strange how a country the size of New Brunswick has been able to thrive at manufacturing everything from big to small


The size of the county is not relevant to anything, look at Hong Kong..



Of course size is relevant. Germany has 88 million people in a country the size of New Brunswick. Canada has 33 million in comparison.

You guys have 307 million people in a very similar sized land mass to Canada.

Germany has a 6.1% unemployment rate; 5.3 million unemployed.
Canada has a 7.2% unemployment rate; 2.3 million unemployed.
USA has a 9.2% unemployment rate; 28 million unemployed.

You guys have almost the entire population of Canada as unemployed. And 1/3rd of the German population!

Don't you think it would be better for your economy if 10 million of those people (which would put you in-line with Germany's unemployment rate) were being productive members of society, producing those "unadvanced" things that North Americans are "too good" to manufacture like the items I've pictured?

It would reduce imports from China, lower unemployment, increase tax revenue, reduce social service costs and increase spending. You'd have 10 MILLION more consumers spending money they EARNED vs money that has been taxed from the rest of you and given to them. The taxes from the products would go to the American government instead of China. I don't see the downside?


Your so focused on the numbers. You have to look at the reasons.

Germany HAD to invest in NOTHING but their engineering and manufacturing industries.

After WWII and the height of the cold war, Americans where in a much different situation.

You can't just say, well, the unemployed should start making stuff. Where talking about a social institution and economy that has been growing farther and farther away from the manufacturing industry for around 40 years.

You cant just turn that type of economy around. Unless ofcourse, like what happened to Germany, we are forced into doing it.

Anyway, America exports a lot!!! No one can export debt and weapons like we can!!! USA! USA!

 

[mechanicx]

I agree with your sentiments Overk1ll. I don't believe for one minute that if consumer goods were manufactured in the US that they would neccessitate a significant cost increase. I've read some manufactures even state that the cost saving outsourcing was very small or even non-existant. There is very little man-hours in mass produced goods. Now that most everything is outsourced, what cost savings that materialize from outsourcing is not passed on to the consumer. Most of it goes to the benefit of the global traders and to China. Then when you factor in quality and loss of opportunites it seems like an even bigger net loss.

Just think the US economy and job market is in shambles and some people are actually still defending the very things that got us here. And denouncing the past way of doing things when it was better.

 

[Trav]

Quote:
AS for Going into space on a Russian rocket , nothing wrong with that. In fact they make a very good vehicle for this use at a reasonable cost.


You really don't see anything wrong with this picture?
The Americans supposedly won the cold war, the USSR came apart and Russia was bankrupt. Apparently Russia was smart enough to see the value in a space program.
IMHO they are the ones that should be bumming rides from the U.S. not the other way round just like the U.S. should be the ones loaning cash to the Chicoms instead of letting them put a financial boot on Americas throat.

I look in large German shops and see lots of German made products, pots and pans to toasters, washing machines etc are mostly German. Do the same at Walmart and you have a hard time finding any U.S. made stuff. Tools and car parts in Germany are mostly all German made very little Chinese junk.

If America doesn't get the smoke stacks pumping again and face the fact that you need more Indians than chiefs its on a very slippery slope that leads right to the third world.JMHO

 

[johnachak]

Buy American! Our kids are coming home soon and we need to have jobs for them.

 

[needsducktape]

Random thoughts:

#1 Great things can be made ANYWHERE, even China.
My Apple Macbook Pro reads: Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in CHINA. Even BMW admires the industrial design of Apple (Adrian van Hooijdonk is a big fan of Apple's philosophies)

So to me, this means that quality is not as simple as: Made in China means pookie. made in Germany is Great.
Rather, I think its indicative of the individual Company & biz Executives decision making -long before the product is made...

If Executive X can figure out a way to save a nickel...he's rewarded. (And Shareholders are happy)

The system threw the "working man" overboard years ago.

#2 I think I was most sad when my favorite shoe company, NEW BALANCE (long time supporter of Made in the USA), moved manufacturing to China.

 

[needsducktape]

Originally Posted By: Trav

If America doesn't get the smoke stacks pumping again and face the fact that you need more Indians than chiefs its on a very slippery slope that leads right to the third world.JMHO


We need to save the middle class. "Jobs" are not enough... we need **GOOD*** jobs with real living wages.

I have lived in third world countries (India) You know what they have ?! A few really effing rich people and a billion really poor people. This doesn't mean the poor people are not working by the way, it just means that they are not making a living wage.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

I'm going door to door selling "No Solicitors, Please." signs.

 

[Y_K]

We extrapolate and generalise too much, and things are not as linear as we would like them to be. I have seen tons of German junk and high quality made in China. The differences are cultural. Germans will buy any junk as long as it is made in Germany and Americans will buy any junk as long as it is 'a good deal'. 57 million Americans are on some sort of public assistance, e.g food stamps, even though it is a [censored] assistance. Germans have excellent Sozial, yet they do not abuse it as much. And add to the numbers millions of phony SSI cases. Consumerism became passive addiction be it goods or politics. Germans have a lot to be proud of, so do Americans. Most of it is in past, sadly. Mercedes C-Class is a symbol too. Not a happy symbol. Still Germans are far more competitive.
Sad truth is 90% of modern Americans would fail if they had to do what their ancestors did, when crossed the ocean. They do not know English, let alone other languages. Nor do they possess portable skills. The schools are the middle class factories. How can we save the middle class, when the schools are in shambles? They have so many superintendents, assistant principals, conflict resolution coordinators, multicultural officers, counselors and no discipline and respect for the most ignorant and unqualified teachers in the world..

 

[sciphi]

Glad to see a country still making the little stuff. There are lots of at least high school educated people around me who would kill for a chance to make that kind of stuff.

The Bosch radiator fan in my Cruze says "Made in USA" on it. Only 64% US parts content since the transmission is Austrian. Apparently Americans are too good to make manual transmissions, too. I'm doing what I can to help my fellow Americans economically, both with my job and with my purchases.

 

[zyxelenator]

We just switched to new system. Still have one old VT sitting in OPS room. Keyboard is made in Germany, VT in USA. They are here since 1998. Still work perfect,except VT has letters burned on screen. Will go check our new server racks, to see where is stuff made.

 

[zyxelenator]

IBM racks with servers say "Assembled in US from US and non US parts" Old cisco routers and switches say made in US, I believe same as for new ones. Seen some cables say "China", KVM splitter said Malaysia, Power stripper/surge protector inside the rack said Taiwan. Wonder about IBM servers itself, probably asian made. Old circuit board from "Racal Datacom" said USA.

 

[Smokescreen]

Calgary used Light Rail Transit cars that were manufactured in Germany when it first opened in 1981. Nearly all cars remain in operation today. All the newly acquired cars for expansion are also German made. There is a very old (50years+) flour Centrifugal Impact Mill in a plant near where I live, been in operation day in day out, all they do is replace the pins and grease it once a week, also made in Germany.

When I think of industrial or specialized equipment German made is synonymous with obvious quality and longevity.

 

[zyxelenator]

If I have choice, I would buy product made in Germany, US, Russia, Ukraine,France(Yes, the all have good quality products, each different ones) instead of China. "Stingy person pays twice".
I can see lots of old abandoned tobacco factories here in downtown Louisville for example, Toilet factory, some warehouses,unknown buildings, Colgate factory closed across a bridge in Indiana. It all happened before last crisis, and some way long before. Unemployment rate 9.5% is here right now. City would really benefit if those old factories would be rebuilt and produce even those simple cables and connectors. I would gladly buy them.
Good thing, at least GE and FORD is growing locally.

 

[Y_K]

Unemployment rate in Australia is 5.1%. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark for sure.