Bike Forums - Bicycle Manufacturers Rant

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti (Post 18590113)

The US economy isn't strong. It is already falling apart, and if you think the "economy is strong" I got a platinum bridge to sell you.

I will take that bridge! I agree with many of your points but.... We have 20% of China's population but our economy is double the size of theirs( 17 trillion VS 9-10 trillion. We certainly have some isses here in the US but we do a lot right! Besides that we are a world economy now. Arguing USA vs. China is ike arguing Minnesota vs. Wisconsin! That would be like Surly vs. Trek!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti (Post 18590113)

The US economy isn't strong. And most companies have poor business models, that look no further than next-quarter.

Companies selling goods require consumers. Consumers require income and therefore jobs in order to be consumers, IOW consumers need to be employees. Companies need employees to have consumers. Companies sending their jobs elsewhere are destroying their own consumer market. And everyone is looking at everyone else expecting them to do the employing, while they themselves don't. It is already falling apart, and if you think the "economy is strong" I got a platinum bridge to sell you.

The result? What we have now. Consumers barely getting by with lots of part time jobs soon to be replaced with automation. A time where everything more expensive than a big mac has a purchase-on-credit scheme available from the retailer.

The alternative? How about we start invalidating patents and trademarks of companies that don't want to make their patented/trademarked goods here and/or reverse-incorporate? The parasites prevent competition here with patents, send their own jobs elsewhere, and then use and abuse our legal system in their patent wars.

Nonsense. In your view of the new economy would US companies stop exporting? Or is it OK for other countries to import goods from the US while the US prevents imports from more efficient producers because it might cost some jobs.

I asked you for an example of a large scale economy employing your ideas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by modelmartin (Post 18590245)

The problem with discussing our "economy" is that much or most of it (in dollar terms) is phantom products which don't require many or any employees and don't produce actual goods.

Facebook is the perfect example. A company which arguably produces nothing, but is somehow valued at $50 billion USD in equity. Look at our stock market, then read Flash Boys, then you'll see that our stock market is basically a video game for billionaires where almost all the trading is done by the computers of the golden-parachute-class. The mortgage derivatives market is another great example, phantom products with less than no value that were grossly overvalued-and the realization destroyed a ton of people's finances and retirements and jobs.

We"re a "world economy" only for as long as we have enough money to buy products from those that had our jobs shipped there...which with the rate of offshoring and automation won't be for very long. You see it already with the Bicycle Retailer article I linked above, where bike labels have product they cannot sell so they're finally "correcting" the price for the falling economy of consumers.

That is true but economic activity is economic activity - goods AND services. I agree that a chunk of our economic activity is seemingly pretty silly or worthless. Wall street is giant casino!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BluesDawg (Post 18586808)

I do wish the economic realities would support and encourage US manufacturing at affordable pricing for more products.

There's the rub. Either you have a US plant that is paying employees what Chinese workers make (sorry, not going to get away with that), or you raise the price of your product to cover the differences in labor/HR costs.

Paying $7k rather than $6.5k, when the builder is right there in the room with you and measuring your shins with a caliper, nobody is going to holler about the $500. So, yes, the high end / custom market can still manufacture in the US.
But paying $2000 rather than $1500 for basically the same bike at your local bike store - for all their protests to the contrary, few will pay that extra $500 for the "made in USA" label.

My wife rides a 1983 Trek 620. I just took it through its spring checkup, ready for this week's over-70-degree temps for her.

That Trek sure did make a mean bike!

Today's Trek...meh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cb400bill (Post 18587000)

Please leave any political content out of this thread.

Failure to follow directions has caused this thread to be closed.