Strantor's plan to save america

TBayBoy

Joined May 25, 2011
148
What incompatible beliefs? You would be surprised what people can be persuaded to accept if the media spins it properly. Especially now with how uninformed and complacent the masses are.
I see allot of things fear driven, I just can't get my head wrapped around living like that. I see lots of people on the TV talking about the presidential death committee's, government conspiracies, A murderer under every different hat.

Maybe I'm over simplifying it, but there seems to be much more "my life sucks and it's that guys fault" than up here.
 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Maybe I'm over simplifying it, but there seems to be much more "my life sucks and it's that guys fault" than up here.
over Simplifying it? not at all. That's how we run things around here, and I guess I'm so used it (used to ignoring it) that I don't realize that its not like that in other countries. Probably most others don't either. We have good things to learn from eachother. I just hope the blame-mongering is the weaker attribute and loses out rather than taking over.
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
What would you change? You have to begin someplace and that place is YOU. You can't blame others for the state of the world.

The solution is plain and simple. Stop shopping. Conserve. Live with what you've got. Adopt voluntary simplicity as your way of life. Stop depleting the world's resources and damaging the environment. Love your neighbor.

Everything else will fall into place.
I live on $1000 a month pension. My electric bill is $56 on the budget plan. Spend around $150 on food, recycle every thing the will let me, drive a 7 year old car. A 50 mile trip is a long way for me to drive. My carbon footprint is about as small as a person can have. What more should I do?
 

praondevou

Joined Jul 9, 2011
2,942
The solution is plain and simple. Stop shopping. Conserve. Live with what you've got. Adopt voluntary simplicity as your way of life. Stop depleting the world's resources and damaging the environment. Love your neighbor.

Everything else will fall into place.
Very good comment, except for the last part. From what an electronics technician would live for example if there are no products that need to be developped, manufactured, no machines that need to be maintained etc.? I consume very little, I'm insensitive to publicity, but if everybody was like me I would be unemployed or a farmer.

Agreed. but it's the whole of north americans in their "give it to me now, and CHEAP!" mentality that allows the corporate to get away with it. We are so blinded by our greed that we would never let my plan, or any other plan to be implemented to fix the economy if it caused us a brief period of discomfort. no, we will continue on this path until we have bled the economy to it's last drop and it's too late to turn around.
What a wise comment. But it's not just the north american, be assured, every first world human is taught the same way.
I'm with Mr.Chips, but I have no idea how economy would be "not consuming". I doubt it will work any better.

There is one big expense where the US could cut costs, according to this graph:

 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
I see more than one area on that graph that could use a diet. But again, we are going back to the government's money. I'm not looking for the government to fix their money problem. They are worse with money than I am, and I doubt they will ever get better. If we fixed the jobs problem, then the we fix the middle class' problem. Middle class is what drives the country, and the middle class is quickly becoming a minority. No, you give the middle class their jobs back and everything will be fine. The government can continue their merciless taxing of the middle class and wasting of fruitless ventures and it won't matter; we will still make it. but not without our jobs.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,708
I live on $1000 a month pension. My electric bill is $56 on the budget plan. Spend around $150 on food, recycle every thing the will let me, drive a 7 year old car. A 50 mile trip is a long way for me to drive. My carbon footprint is about as small as a person can have. What more should I do?
Congratulations shortbus for taking the initiative. You are not alone. The next step is to engage with others like you who are on the same journey of living voluntary simplicity. If you have a backyard you can grow your own food. Even with limited space you can grow vegetables in containers. Share with others.

Find out what others like you are doing in Ohio and everywhere else around the globe. I don't know what part of Ohio you live. Google Transition Ohio and see who is nearby or search:

http://transitionnetwork.org/initiatives

http://transitionus.org/

Here is what I found in Ohio:

http://transitioninaction.com/group/transitionohiousa

http://transitionanderson.org/Transition_Anderson/Home.html

http://www.simplyliving.org/transition

http://www.transportage.org/

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=138407346185228

The Broad Well Learning Center
22215 Mayles Ridge Road
Stewart 45778
United States

Erie County Coalition for Local Resources
2350 Cleveland Rd
Sandusky 44870
United States

We're all in this together.
 
Last edited:

loosewire

Joined Apr 25, 2008
1,686
Lets start a bucket garden,Someone that knows the time zones
for growing and what,speak up. Lets see who has the first bucket,
if you already have one give some advise. I'm starting with a $18.00
kitty and a bucket.
 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Lets start a bucket garden,Someone that knows the time zones
for growing and what,speak up. Lets see who has the first bucket,
if you already have one give some advise. I'm starting with a $18.00
kitty and a bucket.
anyone who pays 18$ for a kitty does themselves a disservice. I have a bucket. It has some sticks in it that used to be bamboo. Turns out bamboo prefers to be in China, not texas. That's what I get for importing sticks
 

edgetrigger

Joined Dec 19, 2010
133
Iphone 5 retailed at $800 costs $35 to manufacture in China, the same phone if manufactured in USA may cost $ 50. I wonder why a premium brand like apple wants to get its manufacturing done in China when they have such a huge margin. Half a million people are employed(directly & indirectly put together) in China to manufacture “i-apples”, by parting a small portion of their huge profits apple can easily move these jobs to US which will reduce deficit and creates multiple job opportunities. I don’t know why the Havard graduated business managers of apple and other big organisation think otherwise and let lehman brothers to happen.
 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Iphone 5 retailed at $800 costs $35 to manufacture in China, the same phone if manufactured in USA may cost $ 50. I wonder why a premium brand like apple wants to get its manufacturing done in China when they have such a huge margin. Half a million people are employed(directly & indirectly put together) in China to manufacture “i-apples”, by parting a small portion of their huge profits apple can easily move these jobs to US which will reduce deficit and creates multiple job opportunities. I don’t know why the Havard graduated business managers of apple and other big organisation think otherwise and let lehman brothers to happen.
greed; natural human attribute. Why should they give up 2.25% profit for the good of their countrymen? I guess that in a huge stretch one could argue that in a 'world-wide' perspective, they are being benevolent and providing jobs for the impoverished people of china, but those people would be impoverished regardless, as mentioned they are communist.
They have no incentive to move the jobs here. we need to give them incentive. with the numbers you have provided, applied to my plan, it would not be cost effective for apple to move jobs back into the states until after 2 years.
 

JoeJester

Joined Apr 26, 2005
4,390
How did you come up with the $50 figure for building an I-phone in the U.S.?

What did Apple say when you approached them with that figure? If you can build an I-phone for $50 a copy, I'd bet Apple would jump all over that and contract with you and your newly founded company.
 

edgetrigger

Joined Dec 19, 2010
133
How did you come up with the $50 figure for building an I-phone in the U.S.?

What did Apple say when you approached them with that figure? If you can build an I-phone for $50 a copy, I'd bet Apple would jump all over that and contract with you and your newly founded company.
The Break-up is as follows:

1. Enclousure : ABS platic(45grams + 30 gram Stainless Steel Frame) = 0

$.135+$0.09 = $0.225


( This is raw material cost which almost is same
in all parts of the world)


2. Injection Moulding Cost + Deep Drawing cost for these weights = $ 0.104
3. PowerAdapter = $ 2.3
4. Battery Nicd = $ 6.25
5. LCD Display = $ 4.3
6. CCD camera of Hamamatsu Japan = $2.3 x2 = $4.6
7. Chipset and antenna = $12
8. Packing Carton = $0.8
9. Solder paste/re-flow/cleaning = $0.67




Sub Total : $ 26.949
Labour for assembly in china $ 3.00
Wastage @ 3% $ 0.89
Amortisation of tools/jigs/fixtures @ 5% $1.5
OEM Mark –Up @8% $2.59
--------------------------------
$ 34.98

Labour in US is roughly 11 times more expensive than china $33


Still the product can be manufactured at $68 in USA


Honchos in Apple know the costing better than me and i bet it doesn’t cost more than this. For them 20 million pcs x 33 = $ 660 million matters more to their balance sheet and stock pricing than creating employment in USA.



You may use alibaba.com to cross check my pricing.


BTW my company is not newly founded, i am hovering around from the past 11 years making profit but not by profiteering. From $32,000 in 2000 to 12 million dollar in 2011 i have come a long way understanding business and people.
 

loosewire

Joined Apr 25, 2008
1,686
Is it worth going back and polluting our rivers that have been cleaned up.
Some of you were born with arms and legs because they have cleaned the
metals from the water.The transformer oil that was several inches thick at
the bottom of a lot of waterways.Out of sight,out of mind. China will have
to face this soon,the young people are speaking out and want to live like
Americans. American citzenship is worth more than gold. You can't put it
back in the Lamp You will have a hard time bringing jobs back to America.
The U.S. has been the condo of the world for a long time. You can do the
numbers,but that all.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
American citizenship is only worth something because of two things.

1. Freedom - if you have been paying attention lately that is fading fast. We give lip service to it, but things like the War on Terror have chipped steadily away at them, and like as not we're not getting them back.

2. Upward mobility - Or to put it another way, the ability to have a real middle class. Without jobs to earn basic grubstakes there can be no entrepreneurs. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is disappearing. I don't believe this is an accident, the rich do not like competition, but like being the top of the heap. Between the corporations they own and themselves this country is rapidly becoming something other than a democracy.
 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Is it worth going back and polluting our rivers that have been cleaned up.
Some of you were born with arms and legs because they have cleaned the
metals from the water.The transformer oil that was several inches thick at
the bottom of a lot of waterways.Out of sight,out of mind. China will have
to face this soon,the young people are speaking out and want to live like
Americans. American citzenship is worth more than gold. You can't put it
back in the Lamp You will have a hard time bringing jobs back to America.
The U.S. has been the condo of the world for a long time. You can do the
numbers,but that all.
Pollution is the reason not to bring back jobs to America? Well I guess when my kids grow up, they can wallow in poverty, but hey at least they'll be breathing clean air. China has problems with pollution already, and the government isn't taking broad enough steps to correct it. We already have great and continuously improving policies for pollution prevention. It's not the good-ol-days; you can't just dump toxic waste at the thick end of a dirt road anymore. Much more is understood and implemented now that it was back when we were the manufacturing superpower.

American citizenship is worth more than gold? American citizenship is quickly becoming worth only paper notes that used to be backed by gold. Freedom and prosperity is what you think of when you think American. The freedom is soon to be the only thing we have (and we have less and less of it every year). Some would value prosperity over freedom. We will see a trend reversal in immigration (immigration from other 1st world nations; immigration from 3rd world countries likey to continue) if not already.

Have you experienced being a person from a 3rd world country? I have, via my wife, and when you are from a 3rd world country, travel is hard, immigration even harder. 1st world Countries will not let you cross their borders if you cannot prove that you have money and an established prosperous life in your home country. Americans have no such obstacle; tourist visa granted without question. We will be the the next ones feeling like we are locked into our borders.
 

JoeJester

Joined Apr 26, 2005
4,390
Honchos in Apple know the costing better than me and i bet it doesn’t cost more than this. For them 20 million pcs x 33 = $ 660 million matters more to their balance sheet and stock pricing than creating employment in USA.
Nice breadown. One wonders why the politico's don't run with that type of information and brow beat Apple. I don't think Apple would want a PR confrontation eating into their profits.

The newly founded company I was refering to was the association with Apple and your proposal.
 
Top