Tag Archives: made in china

Morning Bunker Report: TGIF 5.4.2012

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—————————–—WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY STANDS FOR TODAY

PAUL KRUGMAN fired back at Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) after the influential Republican laughed off the New York Times columnist’s criticisms by saying, “I’ve always figured I’ve got three certainties in my life: Death, taxes and attacks from Paul Krugman.” In an exclusive interview following the release of his new book End This Depression Now!, Krugman told TPM, “That’s not a substantive remark. I’ve never attacked him just for nothing in particular. I’ve gone after his arithmetic and said it doesn’t add up at all. And he has never offered a response to that. All he does is make scary noises about the deficit, with mood music, with organ music in the background about how ominous it is, and then propose a plan that would in fact increase the deficit.” “So if he wants to joke about it, that’s fine, that’s his right. But he has not actually offered any response at all to my criticisms,” added Krugman, a relentless critic of both Ryan and the journalists who lionize him as a deficit hawk. – TPM

MITT ROMNEY’S pro-America “Made in China” flag pins — Mitt told a story about the “We Stand United” American flag pins he commissioned for the [2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games], which took place just months after the terror attacks on 9/11. Romney touted his creation of the pins as a means to explain how he hopes to bring Americans together. [...] Complicating Romney’s patriotic message is the fact that the pins were made in China, according to a website run by the Utah state government’s culture department… [...] Meanwhile, Lynn Sweet at the Chicago Sun-Times notes that a conference call hosted by the Republican National Committee (RNC) yesterday attacking President Obama for “high unemployment” was hosted by a firm in The Philippines (apparently a subcontractor of Verizon, whom the RNC used). – Mitt Romney Commissioned Pro-America Pins, Made In China

(VIDEO) RICK SANTORUM’S own words on Mitt Romney: “’If Mitt Romney’s an economic heavyweight, we’re in trouble.’ Senator Santorum, We Couldn’t Agree More,” the DNC says in a new video:

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NEWT GINGRICH made sure to single out his chief benefactor during his concession speech Wednesday, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson: Yes, we’re through the looking glass here. The Adelsons spent $25 million on Gingrich’s campaign, and so I suppose a “thank you” is in order. But that’s the problem. Imagine the “thank you” if Gingrich had won the nomination and then was elected president. — Bob Cesca

THE RON PAUL insurrection in Tampa – The McCain camp was forced to fight off an insurrection on the 2008 convention floor from delegates supporting Ron Paul in what was at the time a very underreported story. It looks like the Paulites are burrowing themselves in deeply this time around, too, controlling more delegates than he “deserves” by taking advantage of the byzantine delegate-nominating process. — TPM

MITT AND MRS. MITT meet the wingnuts, allow their rings to be kissed: The attendees came from numerous conservative sites and right-of-center publications, including National Review, Daily Caller, American Spectator,Washington Examiner, Human Events, RedState, Right Wing News, Powerline, Townhall, Ace of Spades, RiehlWorldView, White House Dossier and PJ Media. RNC chairman Reince Preibus also attended. — HuffPo

PRESIDENT OBAMA / DEMOCRATS————————————————————

SWIFTBOATING OBAMA — Can Obama be swift boated? That’s the idea behind this attack ad from Veterans for a Strong America, which slams the president for taking too much credit for Osama bin Laden’s death. The group’s founder tells Mother Jones’ Adam Weinstein that he’s recruiting Navy SEALs to openly criticize Obama: “We’re gonna be rolling some of those folks out soon.” Want to know who’s funding the group? Sorry, it’s a 501(c)4, so it doesn’t have to reveal its donors or how much money it has. – Mother Jones

PAYING TAXES is, in fact, patriotic – It’s un-fucking-American is what it is. I don’t want you to apologize for being rich; I want you to acknowledge that in America, we all should have to pay our fair share. That our civics classes never taught us that being American means that—sorry, kiddies—you’re on your own. That those who have received much must be obligated to pay—not to give, not to “cut a check and shut up,” in Governor Christie’s words, but to pay—in the same proportion. That’s called stepping up and not whining about it. That’s called patriotism, a word the Tea Partiers love to throw around as long as it doesn’t cost their beloved rich folks any money. — Stephen King

  • King… regularly lands on Forbes’ highest-paid authors list; in 2010, he was at No. 3. His net worth is estimated to be as much as $400 million — that’s huge for a writer but small change when it comes to big finance. Warren Buffett, another tax-the-rich advocate, is worth about $4.4 billion.
  • Rich Americans renouncing U.S. citizenship rose sevenfold since UBS AG (UBSN) whistle-blower Bradley Birkenfeld triggered a crackdown on tax evasion four years ago. About 1,780 expatriates gave up their nationality at U.S. embassies last year, up from 235 in 2008, according to Andy Sundberg, secretary of Geneva’s Overseas American Academy… – Bloomberg

WHOEVER WANTED to let Detroit go bankrupt must be pretty embarrassed by this news: GM (GM) posted a profit of $1 billion in the first quarter, beating Wall Street expectations on strong demand in its key North American market. GM also said the U.S. economy was improving and it expected its core North American results in the second and third quarters to largely match the first quarter due to scheduled downtime at its large truck plants. – Daily Kos

ELEVEN DEMOCRATIC state party chairs are pushing to include support for gay marriage in the 2012 national Democratic platform.  – TPM

OBAMA’S BELOW-THE-RADAR push builds support for healthcare reform law: “The Obama administration is employing an aggressive ground game to build support for its controversial healthcare law that often reaches beyond the Beltway.” – The Hill

NEVER FORGET: President Obama did something Donald Rumsfeld would not – Donald Rumsfeld now says the raid to nab Osama bin Laden was not a tough call, but five years ago Rumsfeld pulled the plug at the last minute on a Navy Seal raid against high-value al Qaeda targets. — TPM

Walmart costs taxpayers $1,557,000,000: the Conservative Circle of Life

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image: questionall

WAL-MART Costs Taxpayers $1,557,000,000,00 to Support its Employees

  • “The Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce estimates that one 200-person Wal-Mart store may result in a cost to federal taxpayers of $420,750 per year – about $2,103 per employee. Specifically, the low wages result in the following additional public costs being passed along to taxpayers:
    • $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
    • $42,000 a year for Section 8 housing assistance, assuming 3 percent of the store employees qualify for such assistance, at $6,700 per family.
    • $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families, assuming 50 employees are heads of household with a child and 50 are married with two children.
    • $100,000 a year for the additional Title I expenses, assuming 50 Wal-Mart families qualify with an average of 2 children.
    • $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children’s health insurance programs (S-CHIP), assuming 30 employees with an average of two children qualify.
    • $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.”
  • The total figure is based on the average $420,750 per-store figure, multiplied by 3700 (the approximate number of stores currently in the United States).
  • Source: Rep. George Miller / Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, “Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart”, February 16, 2004.

Also, too: Rob Walton, Chairman, Walmart — How the 1% Exploits America:

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When confronted with facts like these, how do you suppose the majority of Teabagistan would react? If you suppose that they’d defend Walmart’s cost to the American taxpayer as Freedom Loving Capitalism and Rob Walton’s wealth as rightfully earned through his own “hard work” and “God-fearing American Patriotism,” you’d probably be right. And it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to note that these self-loathing toads would also likely dismiss this information immediately by saying the need for health care reform is a Socialist / Fascist / Communist Kenyan Plot.

With the Republican Party and their presidential candidates at war with labor unions and working and middle class Americans, one day a job at Walmart is going to be the best any of us can hope for.

If the GOP wins, the difference will be that none of the benefits today’s Walmart employees have to rely on to simply live will be available for tomorrow’s Walmart employees. Still, when that day comes, Walmart and Rob Walton will have great tax rates and loopholes because of the Republican party — and they’ll be celebrated as job creators to boot. That’s called the Conservative Circle of Life.

More on Walmart: Horror stories (people who worked there)

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Four Walmart employment tales from Gawker:

“We got 10% every day and 20% off of one item at Christmas. (Who needs a union with employment incentives like that.)

“I worked at Wal-Mart for almost a year and can definitely attest to all the negatives that were posted. I specifically remember not just a lecture about how bad unions are, but at least two videos as well. I’m sitting there, as a history major, just incredulous at the blatant propaganda. I looked at the people around me to see if they were as stunned as I was, but they were taking it all in and were completely non-plussed…

“The issue of feces is an ever-present problem at all Walmart stores, even at the relatively upscale location I worked at in Carlsbad, California. I once saw a woman stash a soiled diaper behind items on a store shelf. With several trashcans nearby, I could never figure out why she did it. The cheap thrill of knowing that there was an employee who’s life was probably worse hers that would have to clean up after her child, that for once in her miserable life, somebody else would have to dispose of her kid’s crap? I will never know. Another time, a detached, distracted mother refused to walk her young son the bathroom. After he finally soiled his pants, she became irate, and humiliated him by forcing him to continue walking the store with her, even as he left a trail of smeared feces on the ground behind him.. 

“But the absolute worst thing about working there had to be the Walmart cheer. In case you’ve never been fortunate enough to witness the daily Walmart pep rally, it basically consists of all the available “Associates” gathering in a big circle to hear about how much money “our” store had brought in the previous day and how we all needed to work even harder so “our” store would bring in more money than all the other Walmarts nearby tomorrow. And to seal the deal we would all take part in the Walmart cheer, a ritual that simultaneously drains you of all hope for the future while at the same time somehow numbing you to the point of lethargic resignation to your lot in life.”

Listen to these poor people:

There are lots more stories here… And here:
Life at Wal-Mart, Vol. 1
Live at Wal-Mart, Vol. 2

“The U.S. fabrication industry could [not] put a project like this together.” Right… ANYMORE!

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Or ever again…? Gah!

Depressing post from Balloon Juice:

The new Oakland Bay bridge is being pre-fabricated in China by workers earning $12 for a 16-hour day, working at times 7 days a week:

“I don’t think the U.S. fabrication industry could put a project like this together,” Brian A. Petersen, project director for the American Bridge/Fluor Enterprises joint venture, said in a telephone interview. “Most U.S. companies don’t have these types of warehouses, equipment or the cash flow. The Chinese load the ships, and it’s their ships that deliver to our piers.”

He’s absolutely right: As long as government—which, after all, builds all the bridges—can outsource major projects like this to the lowest-bidding, most exploitative employer in the entire world, we’re not going to have an local industry able to build new bridges. Such is the monumental, self-serving stupidity of our Galtian/governmental confluence.

Thanks, state government ‘patriots.’

From the comments of that post: MikeBoyScout – June 26, 2011 | 10:13 am · Link

Ambridge, Pennsylvania where today about 16.4% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line.

American Bridge attracted thousands of immigrants who came to fulfill their dreams of work, freedom, and peace. The steel mills became the focal point of the town. Most of the employees were relatives of relatives and the small town grew, with wards separating the town into ethnic sections.

With the growth of the steel mills, Ambridge became a worldwide leader in steel production.[citation needed] The borough became known for bridge building, metal molding, and the manufacture of tubes (large iron pipes). During World War II, the American Bridge Company fabricated steel for the building of LSTs (Landing Ship Tanks). The steel was then sent by rail to the adjacent American Bridge naval shipyard in Leetsdale, PA where the LSTs were built. The area was also home to several other steel mills like Armco, the pipe mill which manufactured oil piping, and A.M. Byers, a major iron and tool fabricator. Eventually competition by foreign steel producers began to cause the share of the steel market for U.S. manufacturers to dwindle. With the shift of steel production overseas, the Ambridge Bridge Company ended operations in Ambridge in 1983. The legacy of American Bridge can be seen today from coast to coast, from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

But wait. Michele Bachmann has a solution!

You see? Americans, too, could proudly earn $12 a day for 16-hour workdays!

I’ll say it again: Watch The Company Men. The ending of this movie is really going to be the only solution for America.

The Hypocrisy of Donald Trump: Wednesday morning edition

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Hilarious:

Leaving aside the fact that Obama, who went on to graduate Harvard Law magna cum laude, seems like he was probably a very good student, Mr. Trump might need a refresher course in how unqualified people actually do manage to get into the prestigious Ivy League Universities .

Let us take, as an example, the story of a student so obviously unqualified, so transparently unworthy, that a book was written about what his admittance into Harvard said about the sorry behavior of supposedly elite colleges.

That student — that dull, below-average student who somehow made his way into Harvard — was Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Kushner’s father, real estate developer Charles Kushner, bought Jared his Harvard acceptance. It cost him $2.5 million. (Kushner later went to jail for tax evasion and witness tampering, so it was also, technically, dirty money that bought Trump’s daughter’s husband’s entry into the Ivy League.)

Read more…

Also, too: Donald Trump’s signature clothing line is made in China:

Donald Trump has emerged in recent years as the nation’s foremost China basher, going after the Asian superpower for undervaluing its currency and for taking American manufacturing and jobs. So it’s at least ironic — and at most an example of gross hypocrisy — that Trump’s own line of men’s wear, the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, is manufactured in China.

Read more…

What happened to American manufacturing? Why is everything made in China now?

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David Neiwert explains that as financial services rose, manufacturing declined  [emphasis below is mine]:

[...] this shift came about because both political parties in Washington — well fed with Wall Street money — decided America’s economic future lay in the financial sector, not in manufacturing.

[...] In the process, both of America’s political parties have largely been subsumed by the financial-services sector. The most recent manifestation of this is the work of the supposedly bipartisan Catfood Commission, whose recommendations, if followed, would produce “a major transfer of income upward, from the middle class to a small minority of wealthy Americans,” according to Paul Krugman.

What’s particularly striking about its work is that it quite patently intends to place all the burden for solving the deficit on the backs of working people (mainly through serious Social Security cutbacks) while steadfastly refusing to consider new ways of improving its revenues, as Matt Yglesias has observed.

And atop that list of ignored potential revenue sources: The financial sector.

Dean Baker made an acute observation about this:

The deficit report put out by the commission’s co-chairs, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, had one striking omission. It does not includes plans for a Wall Street speculation tax or any other tax on the financial industry.

This omission is striking because the co-chairs made a big point of saying that they looked everywhere to save money and/or raise revenue. As Senator Simpson said: “We have harpooned every whale in the ocean – and some minnows.” Wall Street is one whale that appears to have dodged the harpoon.

Read full article.