WINCHESTER, VA. - The last major GE factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month, marking a small, sad exit for a product and company that can trace their roots to Thomas Alva Edison's innovations in the 1870s.
The remaining 200 workers at the plant here will lose their jobs.
"Now what're we going to do?" said Toby Savolainen, 49, who like many others worked for decades at the factory, making bulbs now deemed wasteful.
During the recession, political and business leaders have held out the promise that American advances, particularly in green technology, might stem the decades-long decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. But as the lighting industry shows, even when the government pushes companies toward environmental innovations and Americans come up with them, the manufacture of the next generation technology can still end up overseas.
This really pisses me off.
ReplyDeleteALL INCUMBENT CONGRESSMAN
ReplyDeleteshould be voted OUT OF OFFICE
except maybe Ron Paul
Americans will not do anything
until their job is gone and then
what they will do is file for food
stamps and suck up to the government.
Perhaps Bob Chapman and others are right
they just want to destroy America and
its freedom ... already doing that.
globalization is bad.
ReplyDeleteCorporate profits more important than people's jobs. This is the Republican Mantra.
ReplyDeleteThis is why LOWERING taxes on corporations always fails. Why bother paying ANY taxes when you can just pay a couple of cents on the dollar to some third world worker and then ship the stuff into the US?
ReplyDeleteIf the US actually started taxing on imports/shipments in, THEN and only then would you see that practice stop. Corporations are always about the bottom line. There is no such thing as trickle down economics, because the elite are always looking for ways to make MORE money, not give it to somebody else.
After WW II Japan pretty much taxed the US auto industry out of existence in Japan so as to give Japan's auto industry a foot hold to develop. Initially their cars were far inferior to our cars. Now their cars are for the most part better.
Everyone claims we can not compete right now in manufacturing because we've lose the infrastructure for so long. Well, just make it illegal to sell goods manufactured outside of the US and that problem goes away, although it's a crock of shit in the first place and the US could easily manufacture if the jobs were here. We are not in any way inferior to anybody outside our borders.
8:48,I agree with you, until this country/present admin. reconizes that unless we become isolationist or a least more protective of our mfg. base, we are certainly doomed.
ReplyDeleteIf the corp. continue to fail to appreciate the loss of our mfg. power, they too will become a entity of the past.
Most are missing the point. The reason US manufactures go to foreign countries is because the tax, EPA, legal, OSHA, Unions, massive Gov't regs, welfare, health care etc. produces an unfavorable environment to produce goods and provide jobs in the US. Manufactures can't produce profits under these constraints. Such overheads are non-existent in foreign countries for the most part, so how can anyone criticize a company that desires to survive financially? The US has to clean up all the overwhelming regs and overhead costs to allow businesses to remain in the US. There is NO level playing field internationally. The Progressives can't make China pay the higher labor rates that must be paid here as well as force them to institute legal controls, unions, EPA regs, etc. Unfortunately this condition has developed over the last 50 years and won't be turned around quickly.
ReplyDeleteBye-bye quality control! I`ve been waiting since 1962 to rip the inspection tag off of my Sealy mattress; now I can do that without breaking the law...I`ll have to drag it out of the dog house first, tho. lol
ReplyDeletehear the CF bulbs are considered hazmat?
ReplyDeletethe sheep are to stupid to stand up.
ReplyDeletethey just fight amongst themselves.
we are so screwed
save evey cent prepare for worse case scenerios
because until we collapse it will be steady decline
obama and congress are guilty of treason
but most americans are happy slaves
is nj housewives on tonight
4:02 Yeah, they`ll tax the residue that falls out of them after you twist one off -(92%) fail rate.
ReplyDeleteThem CF light bulbs totally SUCK! I switched to them 3 or 4 years ago to save money when they were $15 each.They were supposed to last 10 times longer than the regular bulbs.Bullshit not one of them lasted over 3 months.I have since gone back to the old 130 volt bulbs. They truly will last forever theres one burning in a firehouse in Mass. I think has been burning for 80 years. I have also stocked up big time from my local dollar store. $50 bucks 40 cases of six, anyone need a light? you will in a few years.Haha
ReplyDeleteTheir are no practical idea light bulbs lighting up over americans heads any more america has been de-industrialied and they would have no practical application in high waged unprroductive America .
ReplyDeleteSo even Edisons light bulb must be produced elsewhere.
All that is left in creative america is creative accounting by economists of the great Ponzi.
These economists ,like Ben , all have smart beanies with helicopters wings on top for dropping off money to Wall st .
And none of them know how to change a light bulb collectively ,let alone how to create lightbulb manufacturing recovery for America .