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Re: [Shop-talk] (no subject)

To: <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] (no subject)
From: "Nolan" <opposumking@verizon.net>
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:10:05 -0400
> That said, I think they are also to blame.  My personal belief is that 
> they
> got complacent and greedy.  How much does to cost to make and sell
> something?  I needed a set of impact sockets back in about 88.  I went
> to Sears to purchase a Craftsman set.  They wanted $56.  At that time
> NorthernTools was in the area, and they only wanted about $10 for a
> set.  I'd have gladly paid $15 to $20, but 5 times the price of the cheap
> junk?

Ah but there is the rub.  It does cost a whole lot more to make something 
here in the US.  Just look at the US auto industry as a prime example. 
Medical insurance, retirement, workers compensation, liability insurance, 
property taxes, inventory taxes, permit fees, social security, vacation 
time, sick leave, osha requirements, environmental control devices, etc. 
The list goes on and on.  It costs a fortune to run a company in the US, 
especially if you are manufacturing something.

I've spent some time with the importers down on the shipping piers because 
of my job.  several of Pacific rim companies are making money hand over fist 
with their cheap cars because it costs them less than $2,000 per car to make 
it and drop it off here in the US.  Ford can't even come close when making a 
car here in the US with US labor.

Ah well.  To get back to the good vs cheap tools.  I dearly love how well 
Snap-On screwdrivers work.  But I can't convince myself to spend that kind 
of money on a screwdriver.  Not when a Craftsman screwdriver works quite 
well.  So I'll eschew the paper-mache screwdriver at the Dollar Store in 
favor of the Craftsman (or perhaps Stanley or Proto or Husky), but I really 
don't need the super expensive top of the line Snap-On screwdriver either. 
Especially when it means buying that Snap-On screwdriver prevents me from 
buying any wrenches or car parts because there would be no money left over.
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