snowbunny

We are in an economy that's been suffering since Reagan at the very latest because it's ignored the fact that we MUST keep cutting-edge technology and employees in EVERY sector instead of farming it out overseas. We MUST invest in research and development instead of lining shareholders' pockets.

The Boeing 777 crash made me think: what if the plane had been designed and made in China? what if the software that controls the computer had been written in India? The scientists and tradesmen who designed and built that plane are ageing and retiring and there's no younger generation to replace them. I swear our children will be pedicuring the claws of poodles belonging to the few remaining wealth-controllers.

Haggerwood

The US economy is going to hell for the following reasons:

1. Billionaires like John Kerry get social security which they don't need which means it will soon run out.
2. Billionaire friends of John Kerry Bribe him and his arse bandit buddies to pass legislation that hurts consumers and helps business owners. In other nations we call this "blackmail" and "back handers" but in the USA it's called "lobbying."
3. People use their houses as ATM machines and well most people have now run out of equity.
4. Illegal immigrants don't pay taxes.
5. Americans in general want too much representation and too little taxation
6. Nothing is regulated to European standards meaning consumers get ripped off all the times by failed companies run by crooks that go undetected as they pay lots of money to John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney.

BritGuyTN

NERD ALERT!

snowbunny

This above post has gone to pot because:

1) the facts given are incorrect (illegal immigrants do pay at least some taxes)
2) the opinions far outweigh the facts
3) the post is a gratuitous polemic to attack politicians that the poster doesn't like.

BritGuyTN

Hmm

1. Billionaires make up 0.001% of the population so this is a silly point
2. I agree, but not sure about the Keryr bashing, i don;t like him personally but this is 2008 not 2004...
3. Yep
4. Not always true, many illegals have TIN's
5. OK, I'll go with it
6. Hmm, not sure how the three you mentioned have the level of clout you imply, Cheney with Haliburton may have been a better example. Still not sure about the Kerry bashing...

ugacrew

Actually when you talk of aviation such the building of the 777 it's already a known fact that the build is global and no plane built by them is completely manufactured within the US. Most parts now days do come from overseas. It's a matter of taking advantage of low cost suppliers. Because of that and great choice in design they are kicking Airbus in the pants. Boeing's focus on manufacturing lighter and more efficient airframes are keeping them in the spotlight. Boeing kicks butt!

As for our stance in R&D we are still doing good in that department. We are number two behind Norway in terms of technological development. As for research we are still number one if you base it on the amount of research documents published. We're doing better than you think in that department.

I do think that there is one sector that we are lacking development in and that's low-carbon renewal energy sources to take place of tradition oil use in this country. I see that as a major weakness in our economy and thats our dependence on Middle East Oil and being a tugged around by OPEC and it's pricing schemes.

Irn-bru

Really? Its been only about 15 years.

And new planes etc are being designed etc all the time by Boeing and others. And there are loads of young 'designers' and engineers. Bit doom and gloom me thinks in your analogy!

meauxna

It's true, sad but true. Boeing was one of my clients at the 777 roll out and we got to go tour the big beast (it's really something!). They just make a handful of parts and structures for it here, but I just had a look.. in the small shop here, there are 13 openings posted. I know from experience that the majority of the guys working out there (yeah, they're mostly guys) are on the downslope of their work years.
This used to be quite a boutique manufacturing market, but instead I read today that our newest arrival is a Chinese shoe company that moved here to slurp up any left over sportswear designers so they can make and sell more sneakers here and scrape off another 1% of Nike's market.

So we can all have more sports shoe choices.

What about the blue collar guys? Those were good, career jobs. Of course the engineers will always have a home (see: Defense Department contracts) but what about the Average Joe?
He's the one putting the Chinese sneakers on his credit card!

Irn-bru

I don't know exactly what you mean by the average blue collar guy - to me that means working on the assembly line etc? If so they are doing well the 737 orders alone are excellent.
Boeing has also finished doing a big engineer hire (going to the UK, RR as they usually do) though they stopped doing international hiring for the time being (I think).

snowbunny

I'm an engineer.

Read this:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/03/03/engineers

The beginning of the article is about the head of the electrical engineering department at UC Berkeley, one of the finest EE departments in the country and arguably the best public school program, having to *reassure* parents and students who've been admitted into the program that there will be a job for them when they graduate. And anyone admitted to UC-B has impeccable credentials and outstanding math and science ability. These kids used to walk out of school and into a great job, and now -- they wonder if there will be *any* jobs for them.

cpltony

I'm a renter right now, but plan to take advantage of the downward slide of housing prices and purchase at the best possible time with a nice low interest rate.

Best thing to ride this out is to have an emergency fund in your savings account of 3-6 months of expenses and to get out of debt bit by bit.
Its the first thing I did when I moved to OKC.
If the government does give out the $800 or so refund checks....I'll go buy a new $800 TV.
May not be the best thing, but I would like a new TV. I don't need the money, but it is my money They're just giving it back to me.

BritGuyTN

good luck trying to time that one

Xebedee

Realistic starting pay for an ME undergrad with no experience about $40-45k
With 10 yrs exp, in my area between $50-60k - staff jobs.

Not salaryforcast dot com or any of those others, cuz they are rubbish.

Considering 80% of Engineering work requires common sense and your basic understanding, I question the real value of "Ivy League" education. Its nice for the high flyers, but for the average ME, its eventually experience that matters and not your alma mater. A mentor of mine told me "you have to do your time in the trenches" - it seems too many engineers want the big bucks and those jobs are getting fewer and fewer.

lapin_windstar

I did done think about it , and it won't. People that use the rebate to dig themselves out of debt aren't going to go out and spunk their first "clear" paycheck on consumer goods and stimulate the economy out of a hole. Either they're still going to be paying off debt, or they're going to remember how they almost hosed themselves last time and wait until things get a bit better.

Actually, you might be right - the above assumes that the consumer is rational and realizes that it's not the right time to be buying stuff they can't afford, but that's not been the experience of the last few years.
Wow, you must be the last person in the US to believe that John Kerry has his hand on the lever of power - not even John Kerry believes that now!

lapin_windstar

Even people that go to Ivy League schools to do science generally expect/hope that they're going to go into management/policy/corporate side of those industries rather than be problem solvers with test tubes/blueprints etc, afaics. There are still a few innovators, though.