> Watching (and surviving) the decline of the
> steel industry from 1966 to date from the
> inside I saw a little different picture from
> the one you have painted. It would appear
> that you have stretched conditions from the
> turn of the century into that time period. I
> saw folks making $50K to $100K/year with
> full benefits (living to ripe old ages) in
> conditions having a lower accident frequency
> then your house.

*I specifically said these industries were BUILT ON the backs of wage slaves. Can I humbly point out that almost NONE of the specific industries I referred to actually survived in the United States once they were forced to pay the enormous wages you described? (Yes, there were also increased costs in making the work environment safer.) If we examine this issue too closely, however, we get locked into a vicious discussion of whether everything we buy in a Target, Wal-Mart, CarMax, etc. should be made in our native country or not, for the "protection" of American jobs--and I farcically note how that policy could be driven to the state, county, and city level for exactly the same reasons. Don't even bring up the discussions of whether or not a Nissan truck built in America is benefitting America or not, or whether we should be importing oil.

We saw the same thing happen to railroads. Branch lines and passenger train operations stayed in place because the "common good" was a greater concern than some corporation's profits, and railroads were forced to retain brakemen, firemen, etc. far longer than necessary. Today, railroads survive and even prosper because they have finally been able to answer to the "invisible hand" of capitalism and use technology to reduce labor costs.

I saw rail being rolled,
> wheels and axles made, structural steel for
> bridges, skyscrapers, railroad locomotives,
> cars, cables, bombs, nuts bolts and brillo
> pads (a difficult application). And you know
> what, the majority of the zillions of tons
> of materials moved, moved on railroads. So
> now all this traffic has been replaced by
> containers from China and seaway traffic has
> jumped due to imported steel. If you are
> shortsighted enough to think the switch to a
> "service" ecomomy has a rosy
> future, I feel sorry for you ..and for the
> folks that have to make a decent wage in
> this "brave new world". This great
> island of prosperity can grow on the backs
> of emerging nations and cheap
> transportation, NOT.

So you're perfectly willing to pay a "decent wage" to someone in your native country, but not to a poor resident of, say, South Africa, Argentina, Sri Lanka, or Mexico?

This is actually an interesting discussion that would be terrific for a high school or college class visiting a railroad museum, if you think about it. Should Pennsy and Reading have bought Baldwins simply because they were located on their rail lines? What about "U.S. content" laws that got Bombardier to set up a Vermont assembly plant?

LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

I know this is a railroad group but it is worth mentioning that the Greatest and Largest Ocean Liner ever built the S/s Norway/France will not reenter service after an engine room fire a year ago. She will be missed by all.
Her bells will ring out no more. Eight Bells to the Norway!


BEDT15@aol.com