I haven’t posted anything in about two weeks, and I just noticed it. I can’t say there is a particular reason for that. I haven’t been any more or less busy than usual.
I guess I’ve just been distracted?? Not really. Maybe I haven’t thought anything good? Well, I can’t say I’ve reinvented the wheel in the past two weeks or anything, but my thoughts are about as good as usual. Take that for what its worth.
Actually, I know why. I went out of town last weekend, and I usually post on the weekend….I just haven’t gotten around to doing it during the week.
I played tennis tonight. I bowled yesterday. I played tennis on Tuesday. I think I did something Monday too….just can’t remember what.
I guess its a matter of priority. I can say for certain that right now my priority is sleep. It is past midnight, which is too late for the kid…or at least it will be tomorrow.
I should have some sort of update in the next few weeks on any number of items of import(ance). I am moving apartments. I am moving floors at work. I am switching roles at work. I may get a new job altogether. I am going to Peru for three weeks.
Change is very non-traumatic for me.
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EMA!
Change is fun. I am excited about your many opportunities.
Change is fun???
This coming from a man with habits bordering on OCD, who lives in the same house, has the same car, worked for the same company, and self-admittedly hasn’t changed in 30 years??
The only major personal change I’ve seen you go through in the past decade is retirement, which was forced on you rather than chosen. That has been so much fun you decided to go back to work rather than adapt!?! Now that is embracing change!!
You must mean change appears to be fun for other people, or perhaps for people that you aspire to be more like. The decisions you make clearly demonstrate you do not like change.
I wish nothing ever changed! If it was up to me, I’d still be wearing shorts with a rip up the side to my belt loop and a cut-off breaker football t-shirt.
I don’t think you could fit in those clothes anymore…..and anyway, you went the whole summer without washing them.
If nothing ever changed you’d have been wearing the same clothes, unwashed, for 15 years. That’s gross.
E:
Sorry I missed your call. Ya don’t have to post this one, but I ask you for your dabbling experience in economics.
I asked this question to 3 different people today and nobody could easily answer. The question was simple.
What are US’s 5 major manufacturing contributions to the US economy today?
I don’t know if the question explains the thought, so let me be blunt, what the hell are we leading the charge in? What are we creating that keeps our economy strong?
Most people rattled out tobacco, textiles, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no economist, and God knows I don’t pay that much attention to all that’s around me, but I couldn’t really answer this one either. And I’m not talking about service oriented business either.
Just a thought, and probably one you can easily answer.
Your pal
Jho
Jason,
That isn’t really an easy question because it is very difficult to distinguish between what is actually made here and what is made here of parts made elswhere, or perhaps just quality reviewed here. Or maybe done completely elsewhere, and a Made in the USA sticker just put on it (by a Mexican).
The CIA factbook says this about US manufacturing:
leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
My guess is that those are pretty good places to start. We make all of those things.
It is a misunderstanding that the US no longer manufactures stuff. Production continues to rise every year (seriously); it is employment that continues to drop. We are still making lots of stuff; it just takes fewer of us to do it.
Also, as a percentage of economic output (GDP) manufacturing is decreasing. That doesn’t mean manufacturing output is decreasing….it just means that services are growing faster, and employing a larger percentage of people.
Here is the approximate breakdown of GDP by sectors:
Agriculture: 1%
Industry: 20%
Services: 79%
There are about 110 million folks employed in services, and 22 million employed in manufacturing.
So employment per sector breaks down about like this:
Agriculture: 1%
Industry: 16%
Services: 83%
So as for “what the hell we are leading the charge in?”….the short answer is: Lots.
Albeit most of it seems to be in the technology/knowledge/services industries, but keep in mind that manufacturing countries depend on our knowledge industries to increase productivity….so the line is blurred. Our management/patent technologies push their production capacity.
We are at or near the top of just about every industry that isn’t labor intensive.
It is sort of like 3M’s motto. We don’t focus so much on making stuff anymore (although we still make lots of it); we make the stuff that makes the stuff other people make better.
We still make plenty of stuff too. Production output increases every year.