York Peppermint Patties Now To Be Made in Mexico

[jdavionic]

As long as consumers are tolerant of it, corporations will continue to take actions like this one. I don't think the government should intervene. But I do think the people need to respond. If American consumers were to boycott this candy, sales would take a hit, their profits would disappear and their attention to the matter would change. But without the first catalyst for change, don't expect the trend to change.

I don't know a lot about the automotive industry but it appears to me to be an industry that is sensitive to consumer behavior. I remember the days of the Pinto and American dedication to buy American cars regardless of the quality. Then the Japanese seemed to catch on and made better quality vehicles than the jokes they used to make. American manufacturers just kept with the status quo. Then oops...there went the American car manufacturer profits & jobs. Then the next cycle where Americans got concerned about jobs going elsewhere. Japanese manufacturers started some of their assembly plants to the US. Anymore, it's difficult to put a label on a vehicle and claim it as "foreign" or "American."

Folks here can make a difference when they put their minds to it. But it takes a lot of people to have a voice heard.

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Our government shares a large part of the blame for companies who bring jobs overseas.

If it weren't for excessive regulation and excessive taxation, the cost of doing business for large companies wouldn't be so high.

The unions also share a large part of the blame for inflating wages higher than what the free market would otherwise dictate.

If a government makes doing business very expensive and time-consuming, expect businesses to look elsewhere to be prosperous.

If we want the jobs back, we need to lower taxes, deregulate (to a certain point), and give people incentives to doing business in this country.

The modern-liberals seem to want to ban companies from bringing jobs overseas AND increase the costs of doing business. Sorry, but that will spell doom for the economy.

Frank

[Etta Place]

The average hourly rate for workers in maquiladora plants in Mexico is $2.78 per hour. Do you think the workers in York, Pennsylvania would work for that? Would you?

[cjive134]

Originally Posted by Etta Place

I don't know why but this comment by cjive just strikes me as hysterical. I can't stop laughing about it.

sarcasm is by far my favorite form of humor and taking a friendly shot at Judge is always enjoyable.

[Judge]

etta, you list the hourly wage as if you really believe that is all there is.

It's a matter of productivity. We have tons of advantages - better education, understanding of the markets, no import difficulties, closer to the destination markets, better communication skills, we can innovate and outproduce - if we can't we don't deserve the job.

Thoughout history (since the industrial revolution) low tech, manual labor jobs have always shifted to lower income nations while the skilled labor, capital innovation takes its place. Most Americans won't do manual labor jobs, certainly not as well or work as hard as most Mexicans. Their productivity is much higher than most Americans in the construction industry - which is why they are so prevalent there. Most new homes would cost 20% more if done with American only labor and we wouldn't be able to afford food.

Originally Posted by Etta Place

The average hourly rate for workers in maquiladora plants in Mexico is $2.78 per hour. Do you the workers in York, Pennsylvania would work for that? Would you?

[one-eyed-fatman]

Originally Posted by Judge

etta, you list the hourly wage as if you really believe that is all there is.

It's a matter of productivity. We have tons of advantages - better education, understanding of the markets, no import difficulties, closer to the destination markets, better communication skills, we can innovate and outproduce - if we can't we don't deserve the job.

Thoughout history (since the industrial revolution) low tech, manual labor jobs have always shifted to lower income nations while the skilled labor, capital innovation takes its place. Most Americans won't do manual labor jobs, certainly not as well or work as hard as most Mexicans. Their productivity is much higher than most Americans in the construction industry - which is why they are so prevalent there. Most new homes would cost 20% more if done with American only labor and we wouldn't be able to afford food.

That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard anyone say on this forum, EVER! You've never even come close to a mexican worker in your whole life have you?

[mgeoffriau]

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard anyone say on this forum, EVER! You've never even come close to a mexican worker in your whole life have you?

Can't wait to hear the explanation for this comment.

[Etta Place]

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard anyone say on this forum, EVER! You've never even come close to a mexican worker in your whole life have you?

I think I would have to second this, primarily because his post is full of generalizations.

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard anyone say on this forum, EVER!

Don't worry, Judge's comment will be quickly replaced by something else he thinks is the "stupidest thing", probably as soon as tomorrow.

Frank

[Judge]

After just berating Frank for 'not checking his facts"... can you say hypocrite?

Anyway, I've worked with them repeatedly. Here's my bio:
Post # 205: "Punished with a baby"

The private placements I used to structure involved agriculture - generally in the San Joaquin valley and Cochella valley. In 84 or 85 Congress passed a law penalizing employers for not using legal workers. We'd bot an asparagus farm (picking it is backbreaking work) and decided not to use the Mexicans (we paid them like 3.00 an hour) and hire Americans. So we ran an ad in the paper. Offered 18/hour - in 1984, which was dang good money.

The first day we had approximately 98 men show up. We hired them all. You know how many were left at the end of the day???

2.

You know how many showed up the next day???

0. Zero.

We had two choices - let the crops rot, or hire the mexicans for the work Americans didn't want to do. The rest of the San Joaquin valley (which produces like 30% of this country's fruits/vegs) had the same choice. That's why the law was never enforced, we couldn't afford to loss the production in those valleys.

Years later I was painting/remodeling houses. I handled the finishing. Had 18 men working for me at the peak. Saw my first mexican painter - guy was amazing, he would roll 5 gallons a day. My guys were luckly to do two, two & a half. I didn't hire any mexicans, I didn't trust them at first, and didn't speak spanish. But I've stayed in contact with some of the other contractors and subs, and they all agree - the housing boom that was taking place in the mid/late 90's couldn't/ wouldn't have taken place if not for the mexican labor. They worked harder and longer. Drive past a construction project and feel free to see who's working it today. As the contractors about hiring mexicans... They'll work 12, 14 hours a day some days to finish a project - without complaining. They work solid, you don't have to watch them, they don't sit down on the job if you leave them. I've talked to contractors who do business in 3 states as well as paint distributors, some who used to be my competitors before they went to work with the paint co's - while not a scientific survey, in the SE and SW, the responses are consistent.

So again, you are consistent in your track record for error. When do we get to see the next display?

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard anyone say on this forum, EVER! You've never even come close to a mexican worker in your whole life have you?