[motorhead]

Originally Posted by Heavymetal454

No argument here. One of the things we have gotten really good at is being offended by everything. Take a look at that video of Detroit and tell me that's not offensive. It's a travesty that we have allowed it to happen to ourselves.

Fear keeps you alive. Too bad we weren't afraid enough of ourselves to stop this from happening.

We are the Romans all over again. If you look at the 8 main reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire they parallel very closely to what is happening with the USA today. Get ready to live under Barbaric rule folks.

[Heavymetal454]

Originally Posted by motorhead

We are the Romans all over again. If you look at the 8 main reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire they parallel very closely to what is happening with the USA today. Get ready to live under Barbaric rule folks.

I know we started talking about a Fifty badge but the horrific truth is we are headed towards destruction.

I'm an optimist!

[SSport16]

Originally Posted by motorhead

unfortunately Detroit is repeat of what is going on all over this country and we are more concerned with who uses what potty and not hurting someone's feelings. We use to be feared. Now we are laughed at.

Lol...you have that 100% right!

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by Heavymetal454

I know we started talking about a Fifty badge but the horrific truth is we are headed towards destruction.

I'm an optimist!

I know. I try to be, but I'm formost a realist. If someone can show me proof of how we aren't a speeding train heading into the station without brakes Im all eyes. I fear f9r the world my daughter and her childern will have to endure.

I don't think even Keanu Reeves can stop it. Lol

[Heavymetal454]

Originally Posted by motorhead

I know. I try to be, but I'm formost a realist. If someone can show me proof of how we aren't a speeding train heading into the station without brakes Im all eyes. I fear f9r the world my daughter and her childern will have to endure.

I don't think even Keanu Reeves can stop it. Lol

You're saying I can dodge bullets?

No. When you're ready, you won't have to.

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by Heavymetal454

You're saying I can dodge bullets?

No. When you're ready, you won't have to.

So very true.

[Number 3]

Wallmart...............enough said.

Apple could easily make their phones here. They don't. You know why? Nothing compels them to. We buy them regardless of where they are made. For the most part it doesn't matter to Americans, even though we bitch about where the good paying jobs are/went.

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Wallmart...............enough said.

Apple could easily make their phones here. They don't. You know why? Nothing compels them to. We buy them regardless of where they are made. For the most part it doesn't matter to Americans, even though we bitch about where the good paying jobs are/went.

That's because we have no choice with most things. The policies of our regime in control have seen to it. All of them, not one side or the other. Make it very expensive for Apple to build phones in China and sell them here, and also invest in educating our youth as China does to have a skilled workforce. No one is interested in that. They don't need to be because they are making billions as is. But yet they keep wondering why their tax base is declining.

As I said above. Rome all over.


Insanity and greed is incharge.

[hotlap]

Detroit's decline started decades before the circumstances that are dragging America down today. Social engineering that drove families to the suburbs, crappy schools, irresponsible city government that bled the golden goose.

Alot can be said about the moral decay of our society but I boil it down to one overriding need for change. Who do you want to negotiate trade agreements? What do you have to lose?

[cellsafemode]

globalization is a blessing and a curse. But rest assured. It's pretty much guaranteed to equalize all parts of the globe eventually. once the cost of labor is the same everywhere and everyone's gone through many cycles of unemployment and market crashes, then businesses will be back to sourcing local labor to where a product is sold again. It just takes time for cost of living to catch up with efficiency of transportation.

[Heavymetal454]

Originally Posted by hotlap

Detroit's decline started decades before the circumstances that are dragging America down today. Social engineering that drove families to the suburbs, crappy schools, irresponsible city government that bled the golden goose.

Alot can be said about the moral decay of our society but I boil it down to one overriding need for change. Who do you want to negotiate trade agreements? What do you have to lose?

War is a business as much a strategy of conflict. When the war machine stopped after WWII there wasn't as much to do. Eventually the decline of the auto industry contributed to Detroits decline. All the manufacturers were bust supplying things for the war effort. Tanks, planes, vehicles of all sorts.

Look at the city today and you cant help but feel it has been cast aside as if it was disposable.

[DGthe3]

Let me get this straight:


There is a general consensus that Camaros (and cars in general) are too expensive and GM is using too many parts (more than 0) from low cost countries like China instead of being domestically sourced.

Improving one requires making the other worse.

[PinLover]

Originally Posted by Heavymetal454

It's a sad fact but having just returned from Detroit and the Woodward Dream Cruise I will tell you I feel for the city and its people. Right after WWII Detroit began to decline. A city that was once inhabited by 2 million has dwindled to several hundred thousand now. In addition to the plant tour in Lansing and obviously the events around Camaro Fifty and Woodward Ave we took a drive to a few places most never visited. It's not hard to find signs of urban decay whether you're downtown in Detroit or in the now vacant neighborhoods surrounding the city. We went to see Central Station where the trolleys and trains came from. Many who parked at Joe Louis Arena most likely saw the Memorial Bridge in the background. The same owner of the bridge owns Central Station. Recently new windows were added to the station which is now abandoned. It's a fabulous building and the architecture is really cool. It tells a story of what Detroit once was.

We also strayed off of Woodward up near Detroit and running along a few of the side streets which are now a wasteland. It's a pathetic site as homes which were once grand and adorned with classic architecture are slowly consumed by the land. Many were collapsing and burnt out. The ghetto is stark contrast to the shine of all the cars on Woodward which were born out of this once thriving metropolis.

Sadly many industries did not survive. The drive to manufacture products off shore has led to the destruction of a great city. When jobs disappeared so did the people. Detroit in many areas is turning into a post apocalyptic wasteland. We had a great trip but I return home deeply saddened for the city.

As much as it was a good vacation I'm glad I saw what has happened there. Your badge came with a price.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bx7tF1Ov8Vs

You're right, it is sad. But I wouldn't blame it all on the outsourcing... it was a solution to the problem. It goes back to the unions demanding extreme wages for factory workers that put together the cars. Many were replaced by robots to do their work in an attempt to make up the costs and improve efficiency, and the rest of the workers continued to whine because making $30-$40/hour was apparently not enough along with all the benefits. A company can't stay in business if it costs more to make something than to sell it - simple economics. The city of Detroit put all their eggs in one basket with the Auto industry instead of branching out to sustain itself should the unthinkable happen (which it did).

It's happening in many other industries... look at McDonalds/fast food workers wanting $15/hour to flip a burger and server fries. Jobs like McDonalds are stepping stones to learn work ethics and responsibility, not to make a living unless you make it to upper management. Higher wages = higher costs and higher inflation which still keeps those $15/hour workers at the bottom.

And it's only getting worse with this entitlement Generation Y/Z thinking everything should be handed to them on a silver platter coming out of high school. No one is a winner, everyone is an equal and gets a trophy for just showing up whether they did anything or not. If the tests are too hard, the standards are lowered instead of increasing the accountability. Where is the education and responsibility in that? Blame it on the politically correct BS nation we've become - as many call it "The Pussification of America". I've worked hard since I was 14 for everything I have. I don't take handouts from the government and live off it for nothing. I work for satisfaction that I'm making my contribution to society, not to try and make millions. If I should happen to have a great idea, market it, and make a million that way, then so be it (sadly, that hasn't happened yet... but I'm not disappointed). People need to learn to live for happiness, not for money!

[Heavymetal454]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Let me get this straight:


There is a general consensus that Camaros (and cars in general) are too expensive and GM is using too many parts (more than 0) from low cost countries like China instead of being domestically sourced.

Improving one requires making the other worse.

The double edged sword. Make the cars less less expensive but sacrifice long term prosperity through lost jobs and poverty stricken economies. We have become our own worst enemy. I wonder if it were possible to show people what would happen. If we could show people from the 50's what Detroit would look like a half century later if that would change their minds. I doubt it would. Many would respond not my problem. Whether we say that it was workers who created it, politics, the war. It's all driven by money. Like I said, everything we do comes with a price regardless of whether we understand what the ultimate cost is.