dagblog - Comments for "Tales of Globalization: USA and India: a marriage made in... heaven? "

I tend to think the working

Beetlejuice — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 03:46:10 +0000

In reply to Clarification: Living abroad,

I tend to think the working class people of the world look to the US as the model to where they want to be. If the model fails then their dreams are broken too. While Europe is a world leader in many things not American, one can see where the American influence has been introduced and accepted equally with their own concepts of work, play and home. We are the model they strive to achieve. If we loose the middle class there will be repercussions felt globally too. We really are one big village that speaks with many different tongues and has many different customs but we're one.

My neighbor is an auto

Beetlejuice — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 03:33:30 +0000

In reply to German apprenticeship

My neighbor is an auto mechanic. His hobby is overhauling old farm tractors from before the war. It's simply amazing the complexity as well as the simple-minded processes they use to go about and make something a work of art.

I have been enjoying the

Oxy Mora — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:07:46 +0000

In reply to It gets better. I take my car

I have been enjoying the comments about the German approach to mechanics. I once hired a guy to run production in a medical products company--he was German trained as a tool and die maker. Sometimes his rigid approach to things drove me nuts, but he could turn out prototypes on a milling machine that astounded me. He said his original training took four years. A lot of the first year was an exercise--take a 2" square of steel and file it by hand into a perfect sphere. I never forgot that example, I think it speaks to a mindset that is not very well understood by other cultures.

It gets better. I take my car

Beetlejuice — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 01:51:00 +0000

In reply to Like I say, this is all the

It gets better. I take my car to an auto shop off post run by an American that's lived here all his life...dependent. He hires Germans to do all the work. To make things simple the whole engine compartment is clean as a whistle. Over the years, everytime I take it if, they steam clean it at no extra charge. A clean engine compartment is easier to work in as well as making leaks eaasier to find before they become a serious issue. Same too with electrical work. Once you understand why they do things a certain way, it makes sense and then you notice there's no deviation if you go somewhere a else, say Munich. And if something needs to be done, say a storm blown tree has fallen, they get right to work and clean it up...including the leaves...all in the matter of a few hours. It's a whole different mindset.

Thanks for the discussion Art

NCD — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:16:32 +0000

In reply to Art,You are reaching for it

Thanks for the discussion Art and David.

David backs me up on the lack of the one, most true, most PRECIOUS thing held dearest to Americans-guns, and the right to own as many, carry as many you want to, loaded or unloaded, holstered openly or concealed, anywhere, without gov't permits, registration, training, or any knowledge how to use 'em safely. Thus, I assume you both support the general thrust of my competitiveness proposal to spread our gun freedoms.

I am aware of the

A Guy Called LULU — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:53:01 +0000

In reply to Of course, it's a

I am aware of the advertiseing in the U.S.A. and it may be happening everywhere. This is a world market and the biggest sales are in other countries.

Don't forget that betting on an outcome, which is what you are doing when you buy a Krugerand or a bar of Englehardt silver, has a very strong predictive track record in many areas of specultion when great numbers of people actually put there money where their mouth is.

Prediction Markets Defined
Prediction markets are markets in which people bet on the outcomes of all types of eventsâ€”political, economic, catastrophic, scientific, financial, cultural and so on. The most famous prediction market is the Iowa Electronic Market where anyone can bet up to $500 on U.S. politics. Established in 1988, this market has correctly predicted the outcome of every U.S. presidential election since its inception. Moreover, it typically predicts the percentages of votes garnered by the major candidates to within less than one percentage point, consistently producing more accurate results than even voter polls and expert opinion.

Clarification: Living abroad,

David Seaton — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:14:49 +0000

In reply to Tales of Globalization: USA and India: a marriage made in... heaven?

Clarification: Living abroad, you would think that I would have a more "cosmopolitan" view of America and globalization, that I would be in favor of the "flat world", because, what the heck, it would be no skin off my nose if all the jobs were outsourced, would it?

I am not in favor of the present version of globalization, because I am truly afraid that it would destabilize the United States to such a degree that it would put the entire world in danger.

I believe that every American's true "fatherland" is their aspirational view of middle class prosperity and the possibility of upward social mobility for themselves and their children and if these things are threatened too much and for too long there will be hell to pay for America and ultimately the rest of the planet, because of America's military and cultural power.

I am reminded that that Tom

artappraiser — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:09:18 +0000

In reply to If it works for them maybe we

I am reminded that that Tom Wright, even though he was a fairly strong Obama supporter (and also used to disagree with you a lot,) used to make some pretty cogent and interesting pro-protectionism arguments,

Examples here

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/07/simple-economics.php

and here

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/tom_wright/2009/02/prote...

I like doomster Dimitri

David Seaton — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:58:44 +0000

In reply to Of course, it's a

I like doomster Dimitri Orlov's take on gold. He says that if things get really bad, the last thing you'd want to have is gold because people will simply kill you for it. What you really need when times get bad are friends, lots of friends.

That is probably because

David Seaton — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:55:40 +0000

In reply to Up another sixty-five cents

That is probably because Zoellick of the World Bank is talking about returning to the gold standard