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Made in America
After reading parts of Tim Geithner's interview on Charlie Rose,
one part struck me.
be fair, that does sound a little like one of those "When did
you stop beating your wife ?" type questions. Any answer
would have been the wrong answer.
He adds at then end "I think capitalism will be different, and
the financial system will be dramatically different. It's already
dramatically different."
Well capitalism has been different for quite some time, around
30 years. Let me explain...I am of the "Baby Boomer" generation
and I remember when people, even company owners, had an
appreciation for what people did and how well they did them.
And for people themselves. America did at one time build
good cars, electronics, houses, furniture...you name it. Stuff
worked and lasted a long time. But starting with my peers and
after, we as a country...as a society...became more and more
interested in quantity and less and less interested in quality.
Bigger, faster, cheaper, etc. but not better. And industry just
gave consumers what they thought the consumers wanted.
We had plastic toys, plastic clothes, eat plastic food and started
living in plastic houses while we drove our plastic cars. If it broke,
and even if it didn't, we replaced it. Generating tons and tons of
plastic garbage.
What we are looking at is the economic manifestation of our
attitudes. An attitude that is, at least partially, responsible for
the housing bubble and tech bubble before it. A me first and
the devil take the hind most outlook. In order for Obama's
vision to take hold and work, this attitude will have to change.
This will be the most difficult part. Far more difficult to change
than the economic dynamics.
America has to start making things again and start appreciating
what we make and those who make them. If one was considered
a "Master Craftsman" this was something to be proud of. I see
little of this today and even less of those who would aspire to it.
Right now you would be hard pressed to find anything in my
domicile that is made in this country. Except for a few pieces
of electronic test equipment and those things I made from scratch
myself, nearly everything else is made over seas somewhere
by over seas companies. Not because I am necessarily enamored
of the companies but because the American versions are simply
not to be had or prohibitively expensive.
I would like to see this change and I believe it must for our country
to regain anything in the way of prestige.
C
one part struck me.
[CR] Is there a risk we'll slide intoAs you can see he totally avoids Charlie's question. But to
something as severe as a great
depression?
[TG] Charlie, we're going to be very
aggressive. You've seen this
administration work at a pace unlike
you've ever seen before in history,
moving very quickly to put in place
this very powerful economic recovery
act, to lay out a budget that makes
some very powerful investments in
things critical to our economic future,
things that are going to make the
economy grow more rapidly in the future
by improving education, addressing
healthcare costs, moving us to a clean
energy economy, all in a framework
that's fiscally responsible framework.
We're moving to fix the housing crisis.
The president laid out very quickly a
comprehensive strategy to help bring
interest rates down. Allow Americans to
refinance, take advantage of lower
rates. And again, help millions of
Americans stay in their hopes with some
meaningful reduction in monthly
payments. We're also moving very
quickly to get credit markets flowing
again and help strengthen and save
lives, the banking system. And those
things are all critically important.
You're going to see him lead and
ambitious agenda to try to get the
world moving with us so that the global
economy is firing on all cylinders,
those four things: getting recovery
back on track with aggressive stimulus
here, fixing the housing crisis,
helping get credit flowing again,
making our financial system work with
recovery rather than against recovery.
And getting the world to move with us
are the necessary and critical -- they
have to happen together for them to
work.
be fair, that does sound a little like one of those "When did
you stop beating your wife ?" type questions. Any answer
would have been the wrong answer.
He adds at then end "I think capitalism will be different, and
the financial system will be dramatically different. It's already
dramatically different."
Well capitalism has been different for quite some time, around
30 years. Let me explain...I am of the "Baby Boomer" generation
and I remember when people, even company owners, had an
appreciation for what people did and how well they did them.
And for people themselves. America did at one time build
good cars, electronics, houses, furniture...you name it. Stuff
worked and lasted a long time. But starting with my peers and
after, we as a country...as a society...became more and more
interested in quantity and less and less interested in quality.
Bigger, faster, cheaper, etc. but not better. And industry just
gave consumers what they thought the consumers wanted.
We had plastic toys, plastic clothes, eat plastic food and started
living in plastic houses while we drove our plastic cars. If it broke,
and even if it didn't, we replaced it. Generating tons and tons of
plastic garbage.
What we are looking at is the economic manifestation of our
attitudes. An attitude that is, at least partially, responsible for
the housing bubble and tech bubble before it. A me first and
the devil take the hind most outlook. In order for Obama's
vision to take hold and work, this attitude will have to change.
This will be the most difficult part. Far more difficult to change
than the economic dynamics.
America has to start making things again and start appreciating
what we make and those who make them. If one was considered
a "Master Craftsman" this was something to be proud of. I see
little of this today and even less of those who would aspire to it.
Right now you would be hard pressed to find anything in my
domicile that is made in this country. Except for a few pieces
of electronic test equipment and those things I made from scratch
myself, nearly everything else is made over seas somewhere
by over seas companies. Not because I am necessarily enamored
of the companies but because the American versions are simply
not to be had or prohibitively expensive.
I would like to see this change and I believe it must for our country
to regain anything in the way of prestige.
C
Advertisement
"Bigger, faster, cheaper, etc. but not better. And industry just gave consumers what they thought the consumers wanted.
We had plastic toys, plastic clothes, eat plastic food and started living in plastic houses while we drove our plastic cars. If it broke,and even if it didn't, we replaced it. Generating tons and tons of
plastic garbage."
Remember that song:
Little boxes, on the hillsides
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Good post. I love my new President. But here we have a Treasury Secretary that sounds like every smart beaurocrat you have ever heard.
It really was good of you to attempt to parse his comments.
March 11, 2009 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
To add to it, I recall John Mellencamp's lyrics:
Well theres people and more people
What do they know know know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the gulf of mexico
Ohhh yeah
And theres winners, and theres losers
But they aint no big deal
cuz the simple man baby pays for the thrills,
The bills and the pills that kill
Chorus:
Oh but aint that america for you and me
Aint that america were someting to see baby
Aint that america, home of the free
Little pink houses for you and me
... and this is from 1983. Mid-to-late in Reagan's first term, and twenty-three years before the current meltdown. I suspect that Mr. Mellencamp saw what many are now "discovering": Mismanagement denied for too long.
Who benefitted from the extended delay?
March 11, 2009 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes I do. Pete Seeger. There is an update or two to the lyrics also.
C
March 11, 2009 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
What I have noticed is that everyone accepts that the front of something, or the outside of something will be decorated, while the back or inside will be as cheap as possible. So the tract mcmansion will have a brick veneer that changes, at each front corner, to thin vinyl siding that oil cans from the sunlight. Furniture has "solid" wood veneer, but the particle board shows through after the slightest abuse.
March 11, 2009 10:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
The shiny bells and whistles as it were. Tinsel and glitter. Superficiality and glitz.
Ray Stevens
C
March 11, 2009 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
In the elder days of art
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part,
For the Gods are everywhere.
March 12, 2009 12:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
It sure is. They're gonna need a whole lot of good advertising to make the public aware things ain't like they used to be and probably never will be again. Maybe they can hire the admen that sold us all the plastic.
March 11, 2009 10:58 AM | Reply | Permalink