On Thu, Mar 10, 2005 at 08:41:49PM -0500, Steven Buehler wrote:
> On Mar 10, 2005, at 8:22 PM, Bryan J. Smith wrote:
>
> >Not! That hasn't been true since the late '80s.
> >The average American worker works longer hours and produces more than
> >the average Japanese or German worker.
>
> And the American family is paying a heavy price in the form of
> workaholics and busted families and a significantly diminished sense of
> community than there was just 15-20 years ago. I don't even know the
> people who live next door to me. Americans get an average of 18 days
> of vacation per year, compared to an average of 25 days in Europe.
> Americans, in general, might be working longer hours and being more
> productive, but they are burning themselves out in the process compared
> to our Asian and European counterparts.
I don't believe hard or long work ever hurt anyone, and I don't believe
Americans are overworked, even if they do work more hours. European
workers are trying to live in that socialist paradise their leaders have
been telling them about, and it's not working.
I think the real problem isn't hard work. It's being _forced_ to work
hard by an economic system that's been geared to penalize production.
You used to be able to have a single bread-winner in a home and have a
comfortable life. Those days are long gone, because our government(s)
taxes us at a crushing rate. If it weren't for the ability of the
American free market economy to innovate (and improve productivity), the
U.S. would have become Mexico long ago. Tax cuts inevitably produce
improved growth, productivity and investment for obvious reasons.
>
> >>but the original ideas are usually from us.
> >
> >Not really.
>
> Actually, the reason "made in Japan" has not been as much of a
> laughingstock as it used to be was because of an American, I believe it
> was Peter Drucker. His ideas about quality control were not accepted
> in the U.S., so he took them to Japan, and they were all ears. They
> even have an award every year in his name.
>
> I was just looking at Consumer Reports...their top rated car in terms
> of reliability was a Korean car (the Hyundai Sonata). While the U.S.
> makes are improving, they're nowhere near the top yet. Chrysler uses
> Hyundai engines in at least one of their vehicle lines.
>
Implementation. American unionized wrench-twiddlers get paid far more
than they're worth, with no real penalty for slow or poor quality
production. Who cares if I make a crappy car? The union says you can't
fire me, and you have to pay me five times as much as the guy who flips
burgers, even though what I do is only about twice as difficult.
The orientals and Europeans have a tough row to hoe in trying to sell
automobiles in the American market. They have to do it better, or they
might as well resign themselves to being purely regional (and small)
manufacturers.
I'm not surprised at Chrysler using foreign engines. It's axiomatic that
a manufacturer will attempt to find the least expensive parts that do
the job, including those from foreign countries. It's kinda like those
call centers in India. I can't blame American companies for doing this,
given the expense (including regulatory expense) of American workers. I
think it's a bad idea service- and PR-wise, but I understand the pure
dollars and cents of it.
Paul
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