they actually do have k-mart and home depot, but i'm sure the fact that the virgin islands has to get everything shipped there has something to do with the inflated prices...

over 90% of the population in the US lives within 15 miles of a walmart, that's just astounding to me.
what i don't like about them is the pressure they put on suppliers to shift production to china to lower costs, otherwise they terminate them and find another supplier who is willing to do that. i don't mind paying a little more to shop for groceries and stuff at other places, i usually only shop at walmart if i really have to. plus, the one nearest to me doesn't carry pepperidge farm verona's, so i assume they must be communists or something...

anyway, this is a good resource to learn a little more about walmart:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

 

No Veronas? That's a good enough reason to boycott right there! I could definitely imagine a world without Walmart, but Lowe's and Home Depot sure come in handy. I hear there is a HD coming to St. Croix but like anything there, believe it when you see it. At least the K-Mart has Cruzan Rum for $1.99!

 

Ok it's not letting me quote but all the strength you pointed out with education, healthcare, low crime, and cleanliness didn't come without a price. In fact-the things you pointed out are the benefits of socialism.

What are the costs? How about hellaciously hard to get ahead! Sure you guys in the praries have the oil sands to thank for your increased salaries but you can thank it for your increased cost of living too.

I couldn't even ponder owning a house where I was (Victoria) and from the people I've talked to in Edm & Calg it's not a whole lot better there.

It's all what you want out of your gov't I guess. I enjoy my lower taxes and low cost of living that I enjoy here! To each their own...Stars>Oilers, Flames & Casucks

 

stars over flames? Get over yourself, lol...sam number of Stanley cups, 3 points difference in this year's standings...besides, most of your players are canadian.

 

yeah i know this. it sucks some times but im over it no matter how you look at it there is always some thing bad. and the only thing you can do is cut you losses and go with the brighter side of things. hell i thought my car was crap. one cheap part changed that it runs so well right now i am in shock. all that is left is trany and smog passing. maybe port and polish in the next few months.

 

well i had a short run in my car to my home while on a 15 min brake from work
i live 15 min from work. i riped my pants at work and had to go home to change.
well i thought the car would blow or some thing to make my day suck.

well i got to say drifting is fun burnouts rock and the whole making it to my house and back in a short 11min and having time to smoke was nice.

for not alot of hp the overdrive is nice to have in this car. driveing on those old dead tires i had in the rain thought me alot for keeping the car from crashing. that came in handy to day

now you can start your flaming on how im stupid and should not drive like that i dont care. but let me tell you this i drive this car like i should be driven. i dont baby my. and never will

 

No that's not what I'm saying. Mercedes is not american and buying a Mercedes and Mercedes parts means your not buying American and American parts. It would be obsurd to compare walmart to mercedes, however it could be viewed by some to be hypocritcal to say that Walmart sucks but drive a foriegn car of anykind. Just adding a bit of perspective. I grew up in a small town where walmart shut down a bunch of stuff so I understand the economics of it and the impact on the little guy but there are also businesses that Walmart has really helped to grow. There is not much I am going to do to change it either way so I respect both views and try to add my perspective where possible and folks can do what they want with that. As I often say it is your life do what you want with it, who am I to tell you not to do something. I will tell you why I do or do not do it myself but I am not the forum father so I am not going to wax poetic about all you should or shouldn't do (except drive under the influence of anything ) I drive a Mercedes and My wife won't drive anything not American I am fine with that.

 

Ripped pants? How does that happen? You have quite an entertaining life. Have you ever considered filming it? You could set up a website: RioTV.com. I wouldn't worry about getting flamed, Rio. Might as well enjoy your car while it lasts.

 

.....You really can't make this stuff up.

 

Nothing wrong with a little Rally driving in the old 124...so long as you don't curb a rim or something.

 

I'm just giving my opinions and experiances. I don't hold anyone to them, we have different backgrounds with different prespectives. I don't take your comments in any way other than being your own. BTW, I drive a 69 Mustang too.

Opinion:
I actually do belive we should buy american and manufacturing should come back to the U.S or atleast this continent. I also think gas prices will bring back american jobs. If shipment and fuel cost go up it will become more cost effective to bring back manufacturing to America. Since this hasn't really had an impact just yet we have do depend on what we have. I always say....If life gives you lemons, sell lemonade.

 

That's cool. I agree with buy American. That's Why all my reman parts I get from Delco or other US companies when I got the option. The way I see it Buying my W124 was buying American. It was at an American car lot, An American company will paint it and Everything I will put into it will come from American companies. Better than going out and buying a new car from a foriegn company and then have payments (i hate payments)

Also I don't offend very easy so no harm...even if you did I would deal with it.

 

I'm going to inject a dissenting opinion on the US manufacturing thing. I know there are a lot of people in the middle of our country who are employed in manufacturing, and I don't mean to minimize that in what I'm about to say...

But I'm afraid we're spending far too much energy resisting globalization. We have politicians pointing the finger at each other about who is allowing or will allow our jobs to go overseas, etc. Basically fighting to maintain the same structure our economy had 30 years ago. While there has been a lot of great advancements in technology and as we've transitioned into the information age, labor has gotten too expensive in the US to compete with global markets in manufacturing. Labor unions have forced ridiculous demands on our car manufacturers and are basically forcing them out of business (talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!).

It's not that I don't think the workers being represented by these unions don't deserve good pay and benefits... But I think they're barking up the wrong tree (their manufacturing employers who are trying to compete with more effecient foreign competition). Rather than clutching on to what America's economy used to be (manufacturing-heavy), they should be getting job training suitable for the information age. We need to continue to lead the world on new technologies to stay competitive.

I believe globalization is a moral imperitive as well. The US is very rich. Lots of other people in the world can barely afford (if not afford at all) to eat... while we shut off our borders to their less expensive, but often higher quality goods... Nothing wrong with protecting our interests, but at what cost here? While letting the world equalize economically may result in a decrease in the quality of living in the US, isn't that the right thing to do morally?

Let those manufacturing jobs go overseas. Buy foreign goods if it makes economic (and moral) sense (meaning don't support sweat shops and companies that destroy the environment to save a buck). The US government should be spending money on job training for manufacturing workers who will be displaced in the future rather than fighting the innevitable forces of globalization and global competition.

okay, I'm done!!!

 

^Hmmm...couple of problems with that. First, there isn't anything that is made in China that doesn't come out of a "sweat shop" or is made by a person earning more than 15 cents an hour. Also, people in most other countries have a MUCH lower standard of living than I would ever dream of. I do not feel rich. My family does not feel rich. I sure don't want to take a step backward. America is a sovereign nation. Globalization is a great thing for other poor countries but a bad thing for America. We were doing fine until we opened our borders and started giving our secrets away. Now they are killing us economically speaking, and will be ruling us before long.

The biggest problem is that people of other nations are willing to live in tiny huts, ride bikes to work, and eat twigs for dinner. Equalization can only mean a lower standard of living for Americans. I vote "No". Let the other nations fend for themselves like we did and have for the last 200 years. No one rushes to our aid when we need it, why should we be funding half the world?

 

Simply because everyone feels that we are obligated to assist because we are the "priviledged" nations, but will damn us for every cent they take from us calling us capatalist *******s.

 

The whole league is Canadian but we have a surprising number of yanks. For the record I am a Canadian citizen

Stars over the Flames yes! Wish we didn't have to play the Ducks tho

 

stars will not beat the flames....sorry!

 

Your way of viewing the world is exactly what I'm challenging. You view the rest of the world as an enemy... like we're fighting against other countries... "us or them". I don't get that and I never will. No offense, but that's a 1920's way of thinking, IMO.

If you don't see yourself as "rich", then your understanding of how the world lives is warped. You may not be rich compared to fellow Americans, Canadians, or Western Europeans. But you are filthy rich when you compare yourself to anyone outside of those countries/regions. So am I.

One might also say that your viewpoint is hypocritical... If you aren't willing to "eat twigs for dinner", how can you think its okay for others to have to do that? Why wouldn't you try to spread the love?

 

Egalitarianism (in this sense, covering world economics) never works. Someone always will be oppressed, its the way of the human world.

 

I just wonder what you do for a living?

The sad truth is that china and other countries are underselling their labor. That is not fair to the American worker. How do you want U.S to embrace a world market when other countries are not playing by the rules.

We have been in a world market by trading stocks and currency between nations. When we compete for jobs it's a different story, that has a negative effect on a lot of people and businesses.

Sorry, but there isn't enough love here to spread around the world. Everyone should be responsible for their actions and their situation.

 

good lord... are you serious?
they need to make it mandatory for everyone in the US to live abroad for 2 years, study macroeconomics, and recent world history.

 

study the effect of US and European economic policies on third world countries, and you'll see why most of them are so poor.
90% of poor countries have only had independence for about 50 years, that's nothing. the europeans left them with no form of political and economic training, how did you expect them to compete on the world market? they exploited these countries for their natural resources, and didn't bother to develop them into real economies with multiple sources of income or exports. they then left them overnight. they still OWE these countries.
look at iraq. we wonder why they don't get along. the british drew a line on the sand and said 'this is iraq'. but the people in that line were from ethnic groups that have hated each other since the dawn of time. but now, because they are all in the same country suddenly, they have to agree on who will lead them, etc. it's impossible. in europe, after the world wars, country boundaries were adjusted to encompass people of the same ethnic group, language, etc. hindsight is 20/20, right?
read this random article on cooking (don't ask how i cam across it!). in it alone, two references to botched US policies in haiti, leading one of the poorest countries in the world to be a little poorer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...ne/7302535.stm

if you think that we can follow an isolationalist policy and forget the rest of the world, you're wrong. as for love and responsibility for actions, just remember how many countries sent us money and help after katrina while we were still figuring out what to do, and spending all our money on toxic trailers

 

Some random thoughts: (glad this is Rio's thread and we were off topic to begin with )

Life was great in America in the 1920s. Why change the philosophy?

I dunno. You make some valid points but somehow I don't think it's a good idea. Every nation in the past who has done what you are suggesting was destroyed by its enemies soon after. People are just too greedy to share. There will always be a few who want everything for themselves and will do anything to get it.

I get what you're saying about being rich, but I know how I want to live and I'm not there yet. My wife reminds me of that if I start getting too content.

 

Unfortunately, the 20's was an era of hedonism and moral dispair, hence some of the most powerful and influential books I know being written during/about that period of time. I do see your point in saying it was a golden age, for it truly was, of sorts. Many prospered and lived the true American dream, but there were still those who were forced to live in abject poverty. I'm not sure I wish for a return to the era of moonshine, gangsters, and harlots. Well, I mean, any more than we have already returned :C

 

curb a rim i have and dont really care to much it is never hard when i hit it so it should not do any thing to the car. and rims what rims mine are brown or black no matter how hard i wash them. yeah the car rides striate never pulls to one side or the other. tires wear fine and like they should. i have never had any major problems to speek of just little things that get on your nervs from it just being old and out of date. other that that i would say it has been a joy owning this car

i feel like im needed every time some thing is wrong with my car. and it is a joy to me to pull things apart to see what makes them work. and how to fix what is broken. i find it like a stress reliever and it helps me get away from things that bug me