Shopping in London or Paris – It’s Really the Mall of America

We just visited London and Paris in the last week of August. To our surprise many of the stores are the same brands we see at our local indoor upscale malls. What a disappointment!

Steven Erlanger wrote about this very same disappointment in his September 14, 2012 piece in the N.Y. Times. His article titled “The Champs-Élysées, a Mall of America” points out that you can see the same old stores you saw back home on this boulevard that was supposed to be “the most beautiful avenue in the world.” The same stores are also seen on Oxford Street and elsewhere in London.

You know – the Gap, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, and Tiffany & Company. The only stores missing were Macy’s and Neiman Marcus.

8-30 #34 Champ Elysee — Champ Elysee next to McDonald’s

Mr. Erlanger’s article included pictures of street vendors selling junk from sidewalk blankets outside McDonald’s. That is an accurate depiction. The above photo was taken by me on August 30, 2012.

There is a 15 minute wait for food service in McDonald’s and that busy store is short on available tables. A 50 something French woman standing in front of me said she loves McDonald’s.

Actually the variety of unique retailers was more interesting in Toronto’s Eaton Centre.

Manufacturing in the U.S.A.

Can manufacturing thrive in the United States? Consider the cost of labor in China, Mexico, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Hourly rates are 50 cents USD to $1.00 USD. My contention is that even with lowered income taxes those other countries will continue to provide products that cannot be put together in the USA at competitive costs.

However, PC World has run this article that indicated there is a possibility the USA can still compete.

By Karen Haslam, Macworld-U.K. Jun 30, 2012 1:15 pm

Apple’s been criticized in the past for not manufacturing its products in the U.S., and has given a number of excuses when pressed on the matter. However, Google has now proven that high-tech goods can be produced in the U.S., the company’s new Nexus Q is “Designed and Manufactured in the USA” according to the inscription on the device.

There are a number of reasons why Apple manufacturers products in factories in China and other Far East countries, not only are workers cheaper, but overseas factories offer more flexibility, diligence and industrial skills. A report has also claimed that Apple has to manufacturer the iPad in China in order to get access to rare earth materials.

When asked why Apple isn’t manufacturing the iPhone in the US, Apple’s late-CEO Steve Jobs told U.S. President Barack Obama in February 2011: “Those jobs aren’t coming back,” complaining that there is a massive skills shortage in the US prohibiting the manufacturer of such goods there.

Google’s Andy Rubin said that the company had made a conscious effort to test the possibility of manufacturing in the U.S. with this product: “We’ve been absent for so long,” he said, referring to manufacturing not happening in the U.S., and added: “We decided, ‘Why don’t we try it and see what happens?'”

The report in the New York Times notes that consumer electronics manufacturers will be closely watching this case, to see if it disproves the accepted wisdom that consumer electronics products can no longer be made in the United States.

However, Google’s device has a high price than similar devices manufactured outside of the country, notes the report. The report also notes that Google is not disclosing details about where components of the device were manufactured.

Investment Scandal is Standard Operating Procedure

You Can’t Trust Banks or Brokers

The Madoff scandal seems like many years ago but it was December 2008. Then there was the Allen Stanford February 2009 scandal that the SEC called a “massive ongoing fraud” involving $7 billion. We had to wait to December 2011 for the MF Global bankruptcy. Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase announced in May of this year that the bank lost $2 Billion but as things turned out the amount may be closer to $7.5 Billion. A mere $15 Million is missing in the accounts of an Iowa futures brokerage named Peregrine – the 64 year old founder is suspected of falsifying customer accounts for at least two years (sounds like the Madoff affair). He tried to commit suicide – we should have let him – It would have saved the government the cost of his imprisonment.

Not to be outdone, the banks that set the Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) has been rigging the rates and Barclays has been fined $450 Million. Some American banks may be involved. Many American consumer and home mortgage loans are based upon this rate.

Mere mortals, such as myself, are at the mercy of the wheeler dealers.

If there was another failure of any of our large banks the United States would come to their rescue even though politicians say they won’t. Why? Because just four of the conglomerates have assets totaling 51% of our annual national economy.

The list:

Bank of America
JP Morgan Chase
Citi Group
Wells Fargo

Their assets total $7.7 Trillion. The national GDP $15.1 Trillion.

Do You Own an Offshore Bank Account?

I know that few of you do. One person that does is the Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney. Just Google the above question and you will obtain quite a few responses. Google, “Romney’s secret offshore bank accounts.” You will see articles posted by Vanity Fair, Huffington Post, and the NY Daily News. I know what you are thinking. Those are all Liberal news companies. You would be wrong. The NY Daily News is owned by one wealthy businessman, Mort Zuckerman. The same Mort Zuckerman who also owns U.S. News & World Report. The same Mort Zuckerman who has been appearing as a guest on many political talk shows and slamming Barack Obama.

This is the New York Daily News report.

Mitt Romney’s massive fortune – estimated to be as high as $250 million – is held in a complex and opaque network of offshore havens that are impossible to penetrate, according to a report in Vanity Fair.

By Kristen A. Lee / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Mitt Romney’s massive fortune – estimated to be as high as $250 million – is held in a complex and opaque network of offshore havens that are impossible to penetrate, according to a report in Vanity Fair.

Romney had a Swiss bank account and has interests in tax havens like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The Romney campaign has insisted he does not use the havens to avoid paying U.S. taxes, but Vanity Fair wrote it is impossible to confirm that he is not seeing a savings.

The Republican candidate paid a 14 percent tax rate on $21.7 million in income in 2010 – far lower than the rate paid by many Americans because his earnings comes from investments rather than wages.

Vanity Fair noted that Romney has continued to receive large payments from Bain Capital since leaving the private equity firm in 1999.

Romney has personal interests in at least a dozen of the 138 or more funds organized by Bain in the Cayman Islands. Vanity Fair said the Romney-related funds are worth as much as $30 million and hidden behind confidentiality disclaimers.

The report also raised questions about Romney’s blind trusts, which are used by politicians to remove conflicts of interests by turning investment control over to an independent trustee.

Romney’s financial disclosure form lists 25 such investments in an open-ended category labeled “over $1 million,” Vanity Fair reported. Many of them are set up in tax havens like the Cayman Islands.

Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is distancing itself from the CEO of Barclays, who stepped down from the British bank Tuesday amid an interest-rate fixing scandal.

Robert Diamond will no longer co-host a London fundraiser scheduled for July 27 when Romney will be in town for the Olympics.

“Mr. Diamond decided to step aside as a co-host for the upcoming London reception to focus all his attention on Barclays,” Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul told The Financial Times. “We respect his decision.” The fundraiser will go on without the former CEO.

Barclays was fined $453 million last week by U.S. and British regulators for submitting false reports on interbank borrowing rates between 2005 and 2009.

Can Anyone Fix This Economy?

Read Mitt’s plan then read Barack’s plan. If it’s “the economy stupid” then where is the plan to set the nation on a course to recovery?

The number of new employees added to the job payrolls has been less than breathtaking. With 5 million long term unemployed is anything other than low pay service sector jobs going to be created in the coming years? The number of new June jobs is 80,000. The unemployment rate remains at 8.2% for a second straight month. That is less than the number required to keep pace with our growing population according to most economists. Perhaps the better question to ask is what are the plans of the two candidates for president?

From Mitt Romney’s campaign web site.

Mitt’s Plan

Mitt Romney sees two important objectives that America can pursue immediately to build on the extraordinary traditional strengths of its workforce. The first is to retrain American workers to ensure that they have the education and skills to match the jobs of today’s economy. The second is to attract the best and the brightest from around the world.

Retraining Workers

Mitt Romney will approach retraining policy with a conservative mindset that recognizes it as an area where the federal government is particularly ill-equipped to succeed. Retraining efforts must be founded upon a partnership that brings together the states and the private sector. The sprawling federal network of redundant bureaucracies should be dismantled and the funds used for better purposes. One particularly promising approach that Romney supports and believes states should be encouraged to pursue is a system of Personal Reemployment Accounts for unemployed individuals. These accounts would facilitate programs that place individuals directly into companies that provide on-the-job training—as governor of Massachusetts, Romney helped create just such a program.

Eliminate redundancy in federal retraining programs by consolidating programs and funding streams, centering as much activity as possible in a single agency
Give states authority to manage retraining programs by block granting federal funds
Facilitate the creation of Personal Reemployment Accounts
Encourage greater private sector involvement in retraining programs

Attracting the Best and the Brightest

To ensure that America continues to lead the world in innovation and economic dynamism, a Romney administration would press for an immigration policy designed to maximize America’s economic potential. The United States needs to attract and retain job creators from wherever they come. Foreign-born residents with advanced degrees start companies, create jobs, and drive innovation at an especially high rate. While lawful immigrants comprise about 8 percent of the population, immigrants start 16 percent of our top-performing, high-technology companies, hold the position of CEO or lead engineer in 25 percent of high-tech firms, and produce over 25 percent of all patent applications filed from the United States.

Raise visa caps for highly skilled workers
Grant permanent residency to eligible graduates with advanced degrees in math, science, and engineering

Barack Obama jobs plan is not posted on his campaign web site. Instead his site points to the growth of jobs and offers these successes and plans.

Barack’s Plan

 489,000: Jobs added in the manufacturing sector since January 2010

 233,000: Jobs added in the auto industry since June 2009—the most growth in a decade

 100%: The percent of investment in plants and equipment that businesses could expense under a tax cut extension President Obama proposed, which would spur investment in the United States

 18%: Tax deduction President Obama has proposed for domestic advanced manufacturing technologies—which would double the current 9 percent deduction

 20%: Income tax credit the President has proposed providing to companies on expenses related to moving operations back to the United States

Neither candidate offers any idea to re-employ those middle class wage earners that have faced a devastatingly long unemployment period. As matter of fact no one has offered one sensible plan. If Mitt Romney believes that the independent voters will elect him to office by just saying Obama has failed to re-invigorate the economy he is not likely to gain my support. He should not gain your support either. Vague references to re-training programs when the there are no growing industries are not enough.

If my choice is between just another face and no plan then I will vote for Obama. At least he has the experience that no other job in the world can provide. Then again why should I vote for a leader who has not been able to change our course?

The Astonishing List of Products Made by One Company

I was casually looking at a Sunday paper a few weeks ago and was flipping through the coupon packages when I noticed a group with the cover page titled Procter and Gamble.

The list was astounding. I realized that many of the items in my house are all made by the same company. Just read the list. This is not their complete list. This is just the items in my house past and present.

Columns are not aligned. It’s a problem for me.

Beauty & Grooming

Always Clairol Professional CoverGirl

Crest Head & Shoulders Herbal

Gillette Essences Ivory

Nice ‘n Easy Olay Old Spice

Oral-B Pantene Scope

Tampax Vidal Sassoon

Household Care

Ace Bounce Bounty

Cascade Downy

Charmin Cheer Comet

Duracell Febreze

Mr. Clean

Pampers Pepto-Bismol Prilosec OTC

Swiffer Vicks

Obama Care is the Wrong Plan

No doubt, health care for all Americans is a wonderful idea.

I oppose this law for one single reason. There are no controls or limits on the cost of insurance. The explanations I have read say that insurance companies can make reasonable rate increases to cover their costs. What is “reasonable?” It appears that costs will increase for three reasons.

1) 10 to 15 million people will be added to insurance company rolls without adequate payments to cover their enrollment.

2) Those excluded from insurance because of pre-existing conditions will be now be added to the plans.

3) Insurance companies will be permitted to earn 20% of the fees they charge.

Without a plan to control medical costs no plan can survive.

Just today I received a plea from change.org to sign a petition addressed to Blue Cross of Idaho. The insurance company refuses to pay the bill for the chemotherapy drug, Avastin. It may prolong the life of a victim of stage four colon cancer for an additional three months. According to the New York Times the cost will be about $8,300 per month. It seems to be OK, in the minds of many people, for insurance companies to make these decisions but many people object to a government committee making the decisions. Why? What is the difference?

A better solution to this would have been a single payer system like Medicare. The plan that has been adopted (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) is one that was proposed many years ago by Republicans. It is the Massachusetts plan that was implemented by Mitt Romney.

Canada and most European nations seem to have addressed the issue of health care. Care is available for everyone. I am certain there are situations that their health care plans do not cover. Considering America is listed as the 41st in child mortality with the highest health care cost of any nation on Earth says we are doing a lousy job. Quite shocking when we consider that the USA is the wealthiest nation on earth.

Banks are Too Big To Fail! Is it true?

“SAN FRANCISCO(MarketWatch) — Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the ratings late Thursday of 15 financial firms with global capital-markets operations from one to three notches.” The list included Bank of America Corp. BAC, Citigroup Inc. C, HSBC Holdings PLC. These three are on the list of America’s largest banks.

Largest banks and thrifts in US by total deposits

Company City, State Deposits in Billions of Dollars

JPMorgan Chase & Co. New York, NY 1,127.8

Bank of America Corp. Charlotte, NC 1,033.0

Citigroup Inc. New York, NY 865.9

Wells Fargo & Co. San Francisco, CA 920.1

U.S. Bancorp Minneapolis, MN 230.9

Capital One Financial Corp. McLean, VA 211.2

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. New York, NY 219.1

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Pittsburgh, PA 209.2

HSBC North America Holdings Inc. New York, NY 122.6

State Street Corp. Boston, MA 157.3

This identical data was printed in Forbes and The WSJ.

Yes, you read it correctly, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has deposits of One Trillion, onehundred twenty eight Billion point eight dollars.

Moody’s says “All the banks affected by these rating actions have significant exposure to the volatility and risks inherent in the capital markets business, which have led many to fail or avoid it only through the receipt of support from a third party.” We can all conclude that the third party is a government or government sponsored entity.

Banks receive aid but the aid to small business and home owners is minimal. If it isn’t called welfare, what do you call government support for banks?

A New Frontier for Americans

Business Week June 11-17, 2012 offered a new consideration for everyone searching for employment. Have you ever considered employment outside the United States?

Americans are most likely to look for work in their home country. Even though you hear about many people traveling overseas, the number of Americans working elsewhere is relatively small. Consider the fact that many people in other nations immigrate to the United States. I know my father considered moving from Canada to England to obtain work in 1939 (near the end of the Great Depression).

Today the USA has a large population of Filipinos who still consider their home the Philippines. Many Latin Americans still feel loyalty to their home country even though they have been in the United States for years. I base these statements on empirical evidence. It’s the Filipino care givers and the Hispanics who fly their home country flags.

So where does Business Week suggest Americans move to obtain those jobs?

Brazil:

Why: Last year, Brazil became the world’s sixth largest economy. And according to a 2011 study by Manpower Group, 64 percent of employers there find vacancies hard to fill. Plus it may soon ease visa requirements.

Jobs: bankers, executives, hedge fund managers, lawyers, and engineers.

India:

Why: Outsourcing has led to a burgeoning tech industry, which has in turn created pockets of economic opportunity. The number of Americans moving is still small, so be first among your friends!

Jobs: tech, mostly. But there are also positions at English language newspapers and schools.

Australia

Why: The Chinese demand for ore spurred a mining boom in Australia. Because of its isolation, the country has an inflexible supply of workers, which means that outsiders are needed. The cost has been rising, but still beats theU.S.

Jobs: mining.

Canada

Why: With a healthy economy, no language barrier, lower corporate tax rates, and free health care, Canada is drawing more Americans than before (though still far fewer than during the draft-dodging heyday of the 1970s).

Jobs: whatever you’re currently doing.

Russia

Why: Exxon Mobil’s newly expanded access to the country’s off shore Arctic.

Jobs: oil.

You could think of these places as more of the pioneering spirit that induced so many Americans to travel to our own western frontier in the 1800s.

The Koch Brothers

What You Need to Know About the Financiers of the Radical Right

from http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2011/04/pdf/koch_brothers.pdf

The Koch brothers’ issue agenda

A list of the top policy issues in which the Koch brothers are engaged

Issue Koch brothers fighting?

Repealing health reform Yes

Denying climate change Yes

Fighting Wall Street reform Yes

Dismantling collective bargaining rights Yes

Fighting reductions in carbon emissions Yes

Keeping corporate money in elections Yes

Fighting Internet neutrality Yes

Supporting the NRA Yes

Sponsoring the Tea Party Yes

Forbes magazine ranks Charles and David Koch the fourth-richest people in the world, with a combined net worth of $44 billion. Charles is the chief executive of Koch Industries, Inc., the family’s oil-and-gas conglomerate started by their father, Fred C. Koch. David is vice president of the company.

From http://www.theshannonfiles.com/2011/02/some-of-koch-brothers-holdings.html

Some of the Koch Brothers Holdings…

Angel Soft toilet paper
Brawny paper towels
Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups
Mardi Gras napkins and towels
Quilted Northern toilet paper
Soft ‘n Gentle toilet paper
Sparkle napkins
Vanity fair napkins
Zee napkins