What Americans REALLY need

[qdemn7]

I’m tired of hearing about what some Americans think other Americans “need”. It always seems to come up at this time of the year.

“What do you need THAT for?”
“Do Americans really NEED that?

It sounds like a good idea until you realize just how many people work in retail sales. Think about the "Black Friday" phenomenon. If retail business doesn't start to make a profit until the 4Q, logic tells you that we really only NEED 25% of the current retail stores for retail sales to make a monthly profit.

The point is this:

Just how many people would loose their jobs, and thus their cars, homes and other big ticket items? That would have a trickle down effect as home, car and other sales drop. How many people no longer cook, and only eat out? How many restaurants would close? What would those who complain propose to do with all these jobless?

Fact is, we really don’t have the land necessary for everyone to “move back” to the farm. And many people who have spent their whole lives in the city are totally unsuited for a rural farming existence.

The American Consumer may buy a lot of crap SOME PEOPLE don't think they need, but the consumer sure as hell wants. That keeps other Americans employed.

And frankly, my personal opinion is that many people spouting this crap about “need” are obviously thinking that they are special, or have special skills that somehow won’t be affected by an economic downturn.

Unless you are paying other people’s bills, it really none of your business what other people do with their money, and YOU have no place at all telling them what they need.

[defendandprotect]

1. The goal has to be to depower the corporations and to move business back

into the hands of small businesses ---

As we depower corporations, more opportunities open up for people to open their own small businesses .....

Go into Pottery Barn right now; filled with Xmas junk ---
they will suck it out right after Xmas ---
And most of this stuff is NOT made in America ---
let's try to recapture a manufacturing base.

We're going to have an economic downturn because of a loss of jobs to trade deals no Americans wanted ---
We're going to have an economic disaster based on Bush bankrupting our Treasury ---

People actually THINKING about their values and what they truly need and giving consideration to the PLANET . . . is worthwhile!!!

[emilyg]

3. And how many people will each small business employ?

[Blashyrkh]

4. And how many more small businesses would their be?

GE would split into thousands, at least.

[Greyhound]

7. Small businesses still employ about 70% of all employed Americans.

That number has been steadily declining since WWII and is another very unhealthy trend for our economy.

[defendandprotect]

15. See reply #7 if you missed it ---

We need to have "business" where we can see it ---

Where their practices can be visible to customers and citizens of the areas ---

This was well understood during the New Deal era --- and we need to break up monopolies once again.

We now have a situation where corporate power HAS challenged the power of the people's government ---
which do you want to be stronger?

[AdHocSolver]

8. Correct. The wealth of any country lies in manufacturing goods. We need to revive small business.

The corporations which used to run factories in America have converted themselves from manufacturers to marketers. Buy closing their factories and buying exclusively from Asia, they have eliminated the ability of small American businesses to even compete in the manufacturing sector.

A country that eliminates its manufacturing base can only obtain goods by going into debt, since it produces nothing that its trading partners will trade for. The U.S. is currently in debt for trillions of dollars and produces comparatively little of large scale commercial value to export.

Actually, we did export grain and meat to earn international currency. However, adding ethanol made from corn to gasoline has not only not saved oil, but has driven up food prices (reduced corn supply) so that we are losing our competitiveness on world markets. The only other export we have left of significance is weapons manufacturing. Our largest export is war material. (Wonder why the military/industrial complex wants to stir up the Middle East?) While war is profitable, it isn't exactly beneficial to the planet or the people who live on it.

Why is small business better for Americans than the large corporations? Small businesses require more employees. Each business has to have a minimum number of employees to operate. Each business needs its own personnel department, purchasing, accounting, computer operations, marketing, sales, as well as factory workers, if it is a manufacturing business. This means a lot of jobs.

Large corporations merge so as to be able to combine these functions and lay off people. That means fewer jobs.

The tax laws and trade laws were altered to make it easier for big corporations and tougher for smaller businesses to compete. This has to be rectified. There is no inherent benefit to the people or the country to have these huge megacorporations. None! In fact, they are the reason we have huge trade deficits, rising prices, unemployment and underemployment problems, and corruption in government.

[Toots]

13. 90% of Corporations in America are Small Business

I personally am CEO of a Corporation with less than fifteen employees. If we end the year with any Net Profit I feel great let alone having a Net Profit of over one hundred million dollars per day. That is what Exxon makes and has made for over four years now. Net Profit, that means after all expenses have been paid. The money that is put into the pocket. Exxon is not even an American Company. It has it's home office overseas so it doesn't have to pay many American taxes..That is the type of Corporation that needs attention. Not just Corporations....

[pscot]

2. A fucking dope slap

is what Americans need. We are the luckiest people who have ever trod the earth. Are we greatful? Fuck no. We are too busy getting and spending and choosing up sides. WE ought to be ashamed, but we seem to have lost the capacity for shame.

[Tesha]

12. It's coming. Our society is structured to facilitate the next big die-off.

An oil shock or two, and our ability to grow/import cheap
food will end. Our ability to travel miles to our jobs at
a reasonable cost will end*. Riots, then wars will ensue.

Eventually, the human population on this planet will be
reduced to a number much nearer the actual carrying
capacity of the planet.

It won't be fun, but in the absence of an energy miracle,
it *WILL* happen.

Tesha


* Until an awful lot of now-"unaffordable" infrastructure
can be built.

[defendandprotect]

16. Considering Global Warming . . . rather I think we will all be "Katrina" ---

Environmental disasters NOT responded to, except with police enforcement to protect elite property and interests ---

STILL, right now --- Global Warming is being ignored --- and even if it is too late for humanity, we need to try to save the planet --- and even if that is now impossible ---

We need to try to understand what will be happening and try to prepare in some way ---
even if it is simply limiting population ---

WHERE are the discussions --- ????

[Union Thug]

5. Universal access to health care and education,

and economic justice is what we NEED to create a civil society. Everything else follows.

The consumerist concept of need is manufacured by marketers that utilize psychology and cognitive science to create the perception of 'need.' From a biological perspective, all we really NEED is access to nourshing food, shelter from the elements, human companionship. The rest is luxury.

[AdHocSolver]

6. Most peoples "needs" are generated by marketers trying to dump over-priced, shoddy products.

(snip)....
"Unless you are paying other people’s bills, it really none of your business what other people do with their money, and YOU have no place at all telling them what they need."
....

The economy is on the verge of collapse today because a majority of the people in this country spent beyond their ability to pay, ranging from credit card debt to inflated house prices. Global climate change and high prices for gasoline and food are due to American "need" for oversized, gas-guzzling SUV's to commute to work or drive to the mall.

(snip)....
"The American Consumer may buy a lot of crap SOME PEOPLE don't think they need, but the consumer sure as hell wants. That keeps other Americans employed."
....

I guess you haven't noticed that most of what America buys is currently manufactured in Asia. Very few products purchased in the U.S. are made here. This practice of NOT buying American by a majority of Americans has not only caused a lot of Americans to lose their jobs, but has created a huge trade deficit that has put this country in hock (mostly to China and Middle East oil kingdoms) to the tune of trillions of dollars. This huge debt threatens to bring on economic collapse and a depression here in the U.S.

[izquierdista]

9. Places where "needs" are less

I am in strong agreement with everything you said in this and your last post. I just spent a week traveling around the Ukraine, where the average worker's monthly income is a little over $200. Many Americans can blow that much in a single day of shopping, but Ukrainians have to make it last the whole month for food, clothing, and shelter. Needless to say, the difference in lifestyle is very great, but the bottom line is they can satisfy their needs, save for the future and enjoy what life has to offer. The problem there is that they are being flooded by mass produced imports from large corporations that are advertised as being "better" than local, handmade products. The push is on to make them consume; even before their income has risen to a level to be able to afford it, they should become consumers. I had an interesting chat with a Mary Kay cosmetics rep on the bus and she had totally bought into the "Western imports are great" pitch.

What is needed is to return to local manufacturing of locally available materials to make useful products for the local economy. If lots of biomass is available locally, then there is no need to be carting in fossil fuel from half-way around the world just to turn a profit for a major oil company. Local brick and tile manufacturers should be supported instead of rushing to Home Depot to buy floor tile 'Made in China'. The ease at which products can be shipped and transported has caused all sorts of problems and only now are the unintended consequences of trade being seen.

Trade causes the natural cycling of nature to be disrupted in ways that can only be appreciated after the damage is done. It wastes energy by searching out the lowest wage area to manufacture goods and then the highest price area to dump those goods. As an example, the New York City manhole covers that are "Made in India" may save money, but they 1) deplete India's natural resources of iron and fuel that will never be recycled back to them; 2) use copious amounts of fossil fuels to make the 12,000 mile journey from the factory; 3) put coal miners in West Virginia and steelworkers in Pittsburgh out of work; and 4) exploit the local workers in India. Think of all the social problems that could be solved by a little less free trade!

But corporations will keep shoving free trade down the throats of everyone they can. Mary Kay and the tobacco companies can't extract very much money from the average Ukrainian worker's $200, but they sure want to get their foot in the door, get people used to paying them tribute and then they will jack up the prices as time permits. The free trade advocates are probably scheming right now how they can conduct an advertising campaign to get people to replace their kvas, a locally brewed beverage, with beer made and bottled at corporate owned production facilities. :beer:

Time to change that maxim "think globally, act locally" to "buy locally, boycott globally".

[Angela Shelley]

10. A cold shower and a trained optician

[cgrindley]

11. Wrong

it is entirely our business to tell other people if their purchases are wasteful, stupid or foolish. If they or you or anyone else doesn't like it, tough shit.

Simple case in point 1080i. No one needs 1080i. It's actually entirely useless for 99.9 % of consumers. Take Ford, GM and Chrysler products. I demand the right to ridicule anyone who buys a domestic car. They're ugly crap. Take Chili's, TGIFridays, Appleby's, Olive Garden, Dead Mobster, etc. I demand the right to mercilessly insult people who think that those chain restaurants serve "food".

Americans tend to make stupid choices. This country elected Bush twice, Reagan twice, the other Bush once, fuckit, they elected Nixon twice.

No one should be discouraged from trying to stop Americans from being dumb.

[bdamomma]

14. a good swift kick in the a$$.

wait until the shitty economy starts to tank.