From: kevin@taronga.taronga.com (Kevin Brown)
Subject: Re: 1991 Lincoln Continental.
Reply-To: kevin@taronga.taronga.com (Kevin Brown)
Organization: Minimal.
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 21:01:49 GMT

In article <1992Apr7.105122.8407@uniwa.uwa.oz.au> gunter@uniwa.uwa.oz.au (Gunter Ahrendt) writes:
>The thing you (oh stuff america, i only care about my pathetic self) people
>miss is, well just look at all the west's unemployed, massive economic troubles
>and debt's, so all you 'high-on-a-horse' self-centered fools are saying, stuff
>the US worker, i have a job, i buy what i like, japs make it cheaper, so i'll
>take that, 

It's not that the Japanese build less expensive cars (American manufacturers
seem to do that).  It's that the Japanese build cars that are more in line
with what the average American (U.S., for those of you who don't like the
current naming convention) consumer is looking for.

>sure they have no financial troubles, sure they earn less and can
>thus make it cheaper, sure they have no unemployment by comparision, sure they
>are real open to trade with the west...but hell what do you care, why don't you
>go and live in japan if you think so highly of them, 

It's not that the average American consumer thinks highly of the Japanese
necessarily, it's that the average American consumer thinks highly of their
PRODUCTS.  Namely, their automotive products (and their electronic products).

>don't you have any pride,

Just what does pride have to do with this?

And speaking of pride, what about the pride that comes from building a high-
quality product?  Where in your scheme of things does THAT fit in?

>just how the hell do you expect the Americans to compete with them, lower all
>the wages for the workers?

No.  Lower the wages for the MANAGEMENT.  Make members of management do some
of the real work.  Train the work force so that it's multitalented.  
Continuously rotate people from management to the work force and vice-versa,
in order to minimize political problems and keep everyone aware of what is
*really* going on.  It should keep people interested in working, too, as
rotation like that should relieve boredom...

>This is really great, i love seeing all these selfish people, who care stuff
>all about their own country, saying one one hand, "Gee, isn't the unemployment
>situation bad...etc etc" and on the other, i'm gonna buy nothing but imports..

You are operating under a huge misconception: that people intentionally buy
import products independently of considerations about the products themselves.
That is false.  People tend to buy the products that they perceive meet their
needs the most.  This is INDEPENDENT OF ORIGIN.

>THINK.

I do.  Constantly.  It would seem that you should try it.

>maybe just maybe...you are so shortsighted and stubborn...you really don't
>care.

I don't care if a company, whether it is Japanese, American, German, or
whatever, goes under because it fails to supply the products the consumer
demands.  Because if it fails to do so, it is the fault of nobody but the
people running the company.

>Hey if all our economies get back on track, sure buy what you like, but when
>times are tough like they are now, think about your country and your fellow
>countrymen...not yourself.

Hypocrite.  Here you are saying that we should "think about our country and
our fellow countrymen and not ourselves" during the BAD times and not during
the GOOD times.


I've got news for you: companies are out there to serve the consumer, NOT
VICE-VERSA.  Companies obviously need to make a profit while doing so, but
it is the responsibility of the COMPANY to look out for its own well-being
(and the well-being of its employees) and NOT the responsibility of the
consumer.

And while you're thinking this over (if, indeed, you are capable of doing
so), you might also contemplate the fact that various Japanese manufacturers
employ AMERICAN workers to build their products, while various American
manufacturers employ FOREIGN workers to build their products.  Now just who
do you think we should buy our products from, eh?



		Kevin Brown (kevin@taronga.taronga.com)