The US Census - Not Made In America?

[BenPanced]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/2155316,CST-NWS-SNEED13.article

(Chicago SunTimes columnist Michael) Sneed is told the Census Bureau, which is attempting to count a population heavily beset with unemployment, is distributing T-shirts, shirts and hats manufactured OUTSIDE the United States for use in its community programs.

[veinglory]

Um, so they bought some cheap T-shirts. I doubt many of mine were made in the US either.

[Mac H.]

Why would anyone care?

The pens they use in the office probably aren't made in the USA either.

Their job is to count people. Why would the manufacturer of the pen or T-shirt matter ?

It would be the height of hypocrisy for someone to expect other countries to buy America's exports but to be against Americans importing T-shirts and pens !

Mac

[BenPanced]

Hey, you know. Just thought I'd try to point out the irony involved since the census is to county people to help improve funding and possibly improve the economy but I'll just keep my trap shut next time.

[Don]

Tough crowd here when you try to go up against Uncle Sam, Ben. I should know. :ROFL:

I'm with you, though. It'd be nice if some of those stimulus dollars went to actually increasing our productive capability, instead of our paper-shuffling skillset.

[Bird of Prey]

Hey, you know. Just thought I'd try to point out the irony involved since the census is to county people to help improve funding and possibly improve the economy but I'll just keep my trap shut next time.

Well worth pointing out, Ben. In fact, the simple but profound point that your thread makes will not be forgotten no matter how so many of us try. . . .

[veinglory]

I think the job of the census is to count people. The rest is basically propaganda--so I guess the T-shirts are working.

[Bird of Prey]

I think the job of the census is to count people. The rest is basically propaganda--so I guess the T-shirts are working.


Well, I don't think it's propaganda, I think it's a sales tactic. So if you're going to sell something to so many unemployed and struggling in America, you would think the least you could do is use an American pen to seal the deal. But the real insult is that a foreign pen - that which was manufactured with a foreign job while Mr. and Mrs. America lose their house and go bankrupt - is that they get to divulge personal information with say a Chinese pen, made in Communist China?? And the IRONY is lost on. . . . ??

[veinglory]

Is lost on me as a non-resident alien from a socialist nation.

Maybe I just never noticed how evil we are will our ability to compete in the global economy all that. Bad commie, no t-shirt.

[Bird of Prey]

Is lost on me as a non-resident alien from a socialist nation.

Maybe I just never noticed how evil we are will our ability to compete in the global economy all that. Bad commie, no t-shirt.

Veinglory, um, the US gets plenty of insults hurled by the no t-shirt set in the "global economy." And admittedly, there are some reasons for it. However, right now our actual, unadmitted unemployment is hovering near seventeen percent. I'm sorry to say that ninety-nine percent of that is due to GREED by a very small minority, who would rather hire foreign labor at an appalling dismal hourly rate than pay a living wage in the country that actually keeps their asses safe. . . .

[IdiotsRUs]

You get a t-shirt?

*complains to MP*

It's a thingy to count you. Anything else is just stuff to make you want to vote for them. So it's made out of the US this is a big deal because...? Half the stuff you buy isn't made in the country you buy it. Why the beef with this in particular? I mean it would be nice if our economy was good enough to make it cheap enough but...

[William Haskins]

with the number of people counted who weren't made in the USA, it's all sort of fitting.

[kuwisdelu]

Some American somewhere probably had to sign something to approve of the color of ink used in the pen, and that was probably a job. Or something.

[Bird of Prey]

with the number of people counted who weren't made in the USA, it's all sort of fitting.

Very few of us were ultimately "made in the US" as you well know. It's all some kind of "on the soil" versus "immigration/generation genetics" authenticity that makes for membership. The ultimate irony is that the real Americans were cornered into reservations, but then, they probably came from Siberia, so um, it's all some kind of contrived deal that establishes us as Americans, but as we feel we must, we cling to it. . . .

[William Haskins]

Very few of us were ultimately "made in the US" as you well know.

that was my point.

The ultimate irony is that the real Americans were cornered into reservations, but then, they probably came from Siberia, so um, it's all some kind of contrived deal that establishes us as Americans, but as we feel we must, we cling to it. . . .

yeah, but then where did the siberians come from?







st.louis, of course. but before then, africa. so native americans are really african-americans.

let's see your precious census acknowledge that.

[Bird of Prey]

that was my point.



yeah, but then where did the siberians come from?







st.louis, of course. but before then, africa. so native americans are really african-americans.

let's see your precious census acknowledge that.

They won't. But then the spin just gets dangerously bizarre from here. And everybody knows that Saint Louis is comprised of a weird sect of direct descendents of Maurice Chevalier and his not well known liason with Margaret O'Hara. . . .

[William Haskins]

and that's why the household demographics are often fudged.

[kuwisdelu]

The ultimate irony is that the real Americans were cornered into reservations

Someone called me?

[Bird of Prey]

and that's why the household demographics are often fudged.

Careful. . . .

[kuwisdelu]

st.louis, of course. but before then, africa. so native americans are really african-americans.

I'm black?

Most people think I'm mexican.

[William Haskins]

I'm black?

Most people think I'm mexican.

they're also african-american.

[kuwisdelu]

they're also african-american.

Holy crap.

Everyone's an African American.

Ergo, America is Africa!

Sweet, I just annexed the Sphinx for us.

[William Haskins]

one world.

[Bird of Prey]

Holy crap.


Sweet, I just annexed the Sphinx for us.

Yes. I see the resemblance. . . .

[Williebee]

Saint Louis is comprised of a weird sect of direct descendents of Maurice Chevalier and his not well known liason with Margaret O'Hara. . . .

That's not true.


Everybody knew about the two of the them. It was all over the news.

[Bird of Prey]

That's not true.


Everybody knew about the two of the them. It was all over the news.


HA!!

What about Clarke Gable and Cher's mother?? Bet you didn't know about THAT!!

[Zoombie]

Well, maybe if Americans didn't demand annoying things like fair wages and working hours, and maybe if there were 2 billion more of us, and maybe if we didn't have regulations that prevented our factories from using child labor and screw people over as cost saving measures, then we'd have more jobs in America and less in China.

The global economy has stacked the odds against America becoming great through manufacture.

Whining or whinging isn't going to change that fact. So we should come up with actual solutions.

We could...

Destroy the global market: make it illegal for companies to interact with other places. Force them to work in American soil by...force. Don would be a BIG fan of that idea, am I right?

Make production cheaper: Make it so that one American worker can compete with...uh...300 Chinese workers (i think that's the ratio, I may be off by a zero or two). I'm thinking robotics and automation. That way it'd be cheaper to hire Americans than to buy distant Chinese jobs.

Change our production: Find something that China can't make and make it. I've offered up that idea in the Recession thread. My suggestion was biotech, nanotech and cybertech advances.

Nuke China: Tada, no more competition!