isnt education non profit,, doesnt seem to do much for motivating people to do their jobs though,,,,


I think teaching and healthcare are both pretty 'skilled' industries,

Im not being fecetious,, but how would we propose paying those in the healthcare field,,,?

You realize that professionals make up a larger percentage of the US workforce than blue collar jobs dont you? Professional is about 38% while blue collar is about 23%.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_attainment_in_the_United_States#Occupation

Are you saying we can't toss in almost 40% of the work force when we are discussing the work force?

Non profit doesn't mean people don't get paid. It means the company makes enough to cover its expenses. Salaries are expenses.

A lot has been changing socially in Asia over the last 20 years more so than ever before. Japan has been shaping up perfectly. Of all of our allies they are the only ones I really trust! S Korea likewise having been involved in a larger political scene has had reason to have a lot of their prejudice stripped away especially considering how high our casualties of protecting them from the N Koreans and China were. Unlike previous occupations our presence has raised their standard of living to levels they never thought possible Pre Korean War. They also prosper being a major manufacturing presence in Asia. Trade between them and Japan has done a lot to curb previous hostilities.

China has been living in an isolationist veil since Post WWII and their isolation will eventually be their undoing. I could argue Disneyland and Levi's Blue Jeans did a lot to undo Communism in Russia. In the same breath the western way of life is slowly poisoning China's isolation. But China is also more adaptive than people give them credit for. The administration China has profits from N Korea. If they didn't see a benefit to having them around China would have let N and S Korea unify without interference which means the Jong Il family would be hiding in China rather than saber rattling threats of nuclear force in our faces.

But the thing is hoping the current Chinese administration will go the way of Communism in Russia is a pipe dream of a drug soaked crack addict. They have sold out to Globalist Corporations but in reality they are going by what Marx said, "pay out the rope of finance to the capitalist pigs and let them hang themselves with it."

Now as far as Germany is concerned there are a number of reasons why we cannot compare ourselves to them:
Tight Immigration policies and also strict enforcement of illegal immigrations.<---------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Governmental transparency.
Better justice and legal system.
Tight regulations on credit and banking.<--------------!
A functional education system.<-------------!
No trade imbalance with China. Heck, no trade imbalances at all!
Personal responsibility within their government.
It is a much smaller nation.
They don't have the UN leading them around by their nose like they do to us!
A balance between unskilled labor and skilled labor.
A balance of industries and a healthy Industrial Complex.
Financial solvency!!!!!<------------!!!

I am sure I could add to this list a lot more.

of course. and most employees will take the highest wage and benefit package possible.



interesting. here's a quite different outlook on germany which you call "very unionized."

"Union density in Germany has declined remarkably during the last two decades. We estimate socio-economic and workplace-related determinants of union membership in East and West Germany using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel by means of Chamberlain- Mundlack correlated random effects probit models." http://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp2193.html



then how do you explain that the two most populous countries, china and india, are moving more toward "the amereican form of capitalism" every decade for the past four decades? and explain how those two countries and ours have gdp growth over those decades far out pacing any country of a socialized economy.



sounds not unlike my working career other than i seem to enjoy more free time today having retired at an early age and i did it all with a high school diploma having never been a member of a union.



ah yes, we do agree that labor productivity is important if jobs are to stay in america. i suppose such effecient productivity from it's workers here in america is why toyota is kicking the big three auto manufacturers in america big time with their "dinosaur" unions who've had them by the gonads for almost a century.



a much higher percentage of non-union workers pay their fair share of taxes than union members do.




al queda would like to see us our military industry too.

public education is a service paid for by our taxes and is not suppose to make a profit. the health care industry is a for profit industry as is the private education industry and both industries pay their workers as well or better than the public shools and health care facilities.

You said it yourself East and West Germany merged I do not think that east germany had many unions. God help us if we are becomeing more like China and India.

Japanese manufatures in the US do not have an aged work force as the american auto companies do. Its not an apple to apple comparison.

A new factory built in the southern US has a younger work force and less liabilities in term of healthcare, vacation time, pensions etc etc.

So since you retired non union I would like to know what type of pension you have, healthcare etc etc.

Chazter:


Part of my response to Andy. His fantasy wars include countries whose regimes (not necessarily their people) obviously have a dislike of America. My point was that if you start leveling nations, many many more countries will start to hate America and we can't fight them all.

Andy:


And you learned all this by watching Fox News, right? Enough said. BTW, lumping EVERY person of middle east residency under one negative adjective is called "racism" ... look it up.



Prove indefinitely that even half of the people in that area are lending "comfort" to "our enemies" and I'll jump aboard your racist train. Until then, innocent people are called "civilians" and don't deserve to be a part of your genocidal plan of attack.



Wrong. These are mostly third world countries ... on what do you base the idea that their "evil" is stronger? The fact that we COULD wipe them out with relative ease (as you've stated) contradicts this idea.



George W. Bush dragged us into Iraq. Sorry. And much of the contempt we're facing now is because of it.



Again, show me that every Pakistani was in on harboring Bin Laden and I'll jump on your train. Not going to happen.



Really? Ok, then ...



I can agree with "too many humans on this planet". I've been saying that for years, but I don't call it upon myself to decide which CULTURES should be eliminated to make the rest comfortable.



I could say the same about theological degrees. I'll not bother to make some silly anti-conservative statement here ... I think you speak for yourself well enough.

not what i said at all. said just the oposit in reply to your remark that capitalizm cannot compete. you keep losing track of what you say here. our biggest emerging competitors in the world market are patterning their economies after the u.s. capitalizm system that you say cannot compete. now you say, 'god help us if we are becoming more like china and india. china and india are becoming more like us as it happens. why? because in a global economy we are the most effecient competitor and the two most populous nations on earth have caught on.



of course it is. what does an aged work force have to do with anything? does ford not hire young people anymore? where their workers never young when they began working at chysler? what is the average age for workers at gm, ford, chysler? what is it at toyota? you obviously have those numbers if you're position is that the big three have an aged work force. so let the rest of us understand what you understand.





my finances are personal but suffice it to say that i took personal responsibility and maximised the advantage of my retirement planning capabilities that many americans outside the unions have available; ira, 401k, roth, etc. coupled with other investments and self educating myself in retirement planning and preparation. with that and social security i'm set for life. as a vietnam veteran, WHO ONLY LATELY HAS BEEN THANKED FOR SERVING, my medical care is in the hands of the va.

were you drafted?

no

Really?????? MOST of the 'white collar' people I know that live around me are making $9-16 an hour (with degrees,certifications, etc.) while most of the 'blue collars' are making $12-35 an hour (depending on their skills/occupation).

he said nothing about 'white collar' workers. 'professional' was the word used. a scientist holding a phd in archeology is not a white collar worker but is a schooled professional. likewise, a salesman of cell phones is not refered to as a blue collar worker who might make as little as nine bucks an hour but like the 'blue collared' worker who works in a ford plant making thirty five bucks an hour is not considered a professional. white collar, blue collar have overstayed their time in today's rhetoric.

This is very true. A secretary would be considered white collar as would a telemarketer. These, however, are not professionals. If you would have looked at the site I posted the 40% are professional and management, then there is blue collar. If you added the percentages up you would see its only about 60%. There is one more category. On the chart it says "sales, services, administration". Those would be considered white collar without being professionals. Those are probably the people you know making that little money.

I sorta have some bias against people that produce nothing.

Maybe I am old fashioned but I get a kick out manufactureing and actualy makeing something.

The service jobs are a joke for the most part they pay nothing and offer little benefits.


While I respect those who go to work every day wether it be a lowly mall cop or a administrative assistant I take alot of pride in manufacturing something.

It creates wealth.

No country can ever prosper by selling pizzas to each other.

Exactly. Bullying is what you boil down to.




Worked with, maybe, but I find it hard to believe you have friends "across the cultural spectrum" considering the hatred you are spewing for the rest of the world.

BTW, its not about a "bleeding heart" ... its about the golden rule. I don't wish to be lumped in with every other American (especially the radical right-wing warmongers), so I'm not going to lump in foreigners with their governments.



You can call me BHL all you want. I'm not offended. Again, the golden rule. You can't claim that you "judge people on individual merit" while lumping all middle-easterners together and evoking a genocidal outlook for the area. That doesn't work.



Our nation shows more restraint ... but your argument is that we should show NO restraint. What has the UN done? What are WE supposed to do? Nothing. Its not our business ... we are, once again, not the World Police. As for the "war machine" ... again, we are not World Police.



I state again. George W. Bush dragged us into Iraq. Also quoting from Wikipedia:

"An authorization by Congress was sought by President George W. Bush soon after his September 12, 2002, statement before the U.N. General Assembly asking for quick action by the Security Council in enforcing the resolutions against Iraq.[4][5]

"Of the legislation introduced by Congress in response to President Bush's requests,[6] S.J.Res. 45 sponsored by Sen. Daschle & Sen. Lott was based on the original White House proposal authorizing the use of force in Iraq, H.J.Res. 114 sponsored by Rep. Hastert & Rep. Gephardt and the substantially similar S.J.Res. 46 sponsored by Sen. Lieberman were modified proposals. H.J.Res. 110 sponsored by Rep. Hastings was a separate proposal never considered on the floor. Eventually, the Hastert-Gephardt proposal became the legislation Congress focused on.

"Introduced in Congress on October 2, 2002, in conjunction with the Administration's proposals,[2][7] H.J.Res. 114 passed the House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. EDT on October 10, 2002, by a vote of 296-133,[8] and passed the Senate after midnight early Friday morning, at 12:50 a.m. EDT on October 11, 2002, by a vote of 77-23.[9] It was signed into law as Pub.L. 107-243 by President Bush on October 16, 2002."

I do not stand corrected.



Irrelevant. A) Again, I don't care what their government knew, I was speaking about the ENTIRETY of the country. B) How the country came about is a moot point. I never argued when or how it was created ... only that it doesn't "deserve to be CRUSHED" on your say so.



"I'm a bad guy. How does this make me a bad guy?" Why did that have to be explained?



Religion is poison, no matter which book it starts with.



Is there any way you can use that "Critical Reasoning" in regards to something other than yourself and your own goals for America's world domination? Apply the golden rule, at least.

can you name one country on the planet who's market economy is made up entirely and exclusively of people 'selling pizzas to each other?'

hmmmmmm. health care is a service industry. doctors and nurses offer little benefit? you get a kick out of manufacturing. i know several doctors and nurses who get a real kick out of serving their patients. a former neighbor was an auto service manager who loved serving his customers. as a pilot i couldn't wait to go to work and take my passengers from point a to point b. none of us ever manufactured anything for a living yet you see that we offer little benefit? my career was a joke?