Chinese Gardening
Last week as I was clearing the leaves from the culvert under the driveway, I noticed that my rake handle was beginning to bow and soon enough it broke. An examination of the fracture revealed that the handle was not made of American ash as it should have been. Nope, made in China of some inferior kind of wood that I did not recognize.
Lesson learned.
This morning, bright and early, I went down to Delp Lumber to select my annual load of bark mulch. As I walked towards the office I heard a voice coming from somewhere inside a logging vehicle:
"Ain't nobody in there."
"Oh, I was looking for some mulch."
"Ain't got none."
"What?"
"Ain't sawed a log since last September."
"Why?"
"China."
Their largest customer was the furniture industry and a great deal of the manufacturing of furniture has gone to China. They don't use hardwoods from Alleghany County over there.
That, and the downturn in home construction after the sub-prime lending fiasco.
When it got to the point that Delp were only getting $80 for the lumber that was costing them $100 to produce, they shut the mill down.
"What happened to the people who worked here?"
"Most of 'em went to Charleston Forge over in Sparta. But, that's being shut down this week."
Charleston Forge makes, or more accurate stated, made metal home furnishings.
I gotta tell you, folks, I'm not certain that the old saying that "What's good for business is good for America" is true in these days of "Equity Owner" dominance of business in which short-term profit is the primary concern. And, I'm not certain of exactly how we got there. All I know is that I'm not as proud to be an investor in the equities market as I once was. And, I sure as hell didn't bring up the subject with that fellow down at Delp Lumber who hasn't had a regular job since September.
Indeed, the idea of long-term in business is the next quarter's earnings. Miss a forecast by a penny a share, heads roll and jobs are on their way to China. And, as for investing in the future with research and development, forget it. The days of AT&T inventing the transistor are over. The second wealthiest American, Bill Gates, built the DOS operating system on a shoestring. Steve Jobs stated the micro-computer ear in his garage.
On the other hand, the wealthiest American, Warren Buffet, has build his business, Berkshire Hathaway, the old fashion way with investments in solid business having solid management and solid employees. When he buys a company, he doesn't gut the management and ship the jobs to China. Instead, he buys the company, nourishes it with capital and helps it grow. Indeed, one of the best things that can happen to a business is to get bought by Berkshire-Hathaway.
And, yes, Buffet is the same guy who says the wealthy are not paying their fair share of taxes.
Go figure.
Lesson learned.
This morning, bright and early, I went down to Delp Lumber to select my annual load of bark mulch. As I walked towards the office I heard a voice coming from somewhere inside a logging vehicle:
"Ain't nobody in there."
"Oh, I was looking for some mulch."
"Ain't got none."
"What?"
"Ain't sawed a log since last September."
"Why?"
"China."
Their largest customer was the furniture industry and a great deal of the manufacturing of furniture has gone to China. They don't use hardwoods from Alleghany County over there.
That, and the downturn in home construction after the sub-prime lending fiasco.
When it got to the point that Delp were only getting $80 for the lumber that was costing them $100 to produce, they shut the mill down.
"What happened to the people who worked here?"
"Most of 'em went to Charleston Forge over in Sparta. But, that's being shut down this week."
Charleston Forge makes, or more accurate stated, made metal home furnishings.
I gotta tell you, folks, I'm not certain that the old saying that "What's good for business is good for America" is true in these days of "Equity Owner" dominance of business in which short-term profit is the primary concern. And, I'm not certain of exactly how we got there. All I know is that I'm not as proud to be an investor in the equities market as I once was. And, I sure as hell didn't bring up the subject with that fellow down at Delp Lumber who hasn't had a regular job since September.
Indeed, the idea of long-term in business is the next quarter's earnings. Miss a forecast by a penny a share, heads roll and jobs are on their way to China. And, as for investing in the future with research and development, forget it. The days of AT&T inventing the transistor are over. The second wealthiest American, Bill Gates, built the DOS operating system on a shoestring. Steve Jobs stated the micro-computer ear in his garage.
On the other hand, the wealthiest American, Warren Buffet, has build his business, Berkshire Hathaway, the old fashion way with investments in solid business having solid management and solid employees. When he buys a company, he doesn't gut the management and ship the jobs to China. Instead, he buys the company, nourishes it with capital and helps it grow. Indeed, one of the best things that can happen to a business is to get bought by Berkshire-Hathaway.
And, yes, Buffet is the same guy who says the wealthy are not paying their fair share of taxes.
Go figure.
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