[Vision2020] Speaking of living wages (was Republicans to Idaho's poor: Drop dead)

[Jeff Harkins]

Lest ye all be fooled about New Balance and its 
worldwide operations, here is a short except from their website:

New Balance started as an American company and 
our headquarters remain in Boston, MA. But today 
we employ more than 2,500 associates around the 
globe and sell our products in over 120 
countries. We have wholly-owned subsidiaries in 
the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Hong Kong, 
Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, 
Canada, Japan, Brazil and South Africa. We also 
have a number of licensees, joint ventures, and 
distributors all over the globe. With the help of 
a committed group of domestic and international 
affiliates, New Balance has grown to be the 
fourth largest athletic footwear and apparel company in the world.

Their website is: http://www.newbalance.com/aboutus/where_we_are/index.html

Market segmentation is a great tool for appealing 
to various elements of a marketplace.

At 01:53 PM 4/1/2006, you wrote:
>Dear Visionaries:
>
>In light of what Tom writes, below, I want to 
>put in a plug once again for American goods made 
>by American workers.  Yes, I know -- some of 
>those workers are not earning a living wage, but 
>I've got a bee in my bonnet (or a bat in my 
>belfry) about doing what I can to preserve American manufacturing jobs.
>
>I have at last located a pair of tennis shoes 
>actually made in the USA, rather than in China 
>or Southeast Asia.  This is no easy task.  There 
>are very few American shoe makers left.  I 
>recently discovered that even Cole and Hahn 
>shoes, which cost more than 200 bucks a pair, 
>are now made in China.  200 bucks is exactly 
>what C&H shoes cost back when they were made in 
>the US, so savings on the manufacturing end are 
>not being passed on to the consumer.  Instead, 
>some rich bastard is lining his/her or the 
>shareholders' pockets with a hefty 
>profit.  Meanwhile, two groups of workers, one 
>at home and one abroad, get screwed.
>
>Anyhow, back to my new tennis shoes.  I have 
>long needed a new pair of trainers.  I've been 
>wearing a pair of Chippewa boots on my Nordic 
>Track because I'm so damned stubborn on this 
>issue.  (It makes for a good workout, what with 
>the heavy leather and the steel-toes, but the 
>boots look pretty stupid with my jogging 
>shorts.)  Anyhow, I found a pair of New Balance 
>shoes made in the US through the Sierra Trading 
>Post catalog.  For those of you who don't get 
>the Sierra Trading Post, you can check it out 
>online at: http://www.sierratradingpost.com.
>Sierra is an outlet store, so everything is 
>discounted (some stuff deeply discounted) and 
>the country of manufacture is listed for all 
>items sold, so you can make informed choices.  I 
>know that Jeff Harkins will choose China because 
>he's just as stubborn as I am only in the 
>opposite direction, but for those of you who 
>would like to buy domestic, here's your chance on a very tricky-to-find item.
>
>Also, just to show that I'm not (as some have 
>accused) anti-Christian, I'll tell you that once 
>you've completed your Sierra order, a verse from 
>the Book of John appears at the top of the page.  10:10, I think?
>I don't know; I didn't pay much attention.  I 
>was too pleased to have gotten my funky 
>American-made sneaks at 40% off.  I'm wearing 
>them right now and reading the small card that 
>came with them: Proudly made in the USA.
>
>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
>www.joanopyr.com
>
>On Apr 1, 2006, at 11:15 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:
>
>>One last comment concerning a simple opinion that gc is struggling with:
>>
>>"Jobs that pay a living wage" - Increase minimum wage.  Only somebody
>>lacking a second neuron would feel the poor to be insulted by increasing
>>their take-home pay.
>>
>>"Jobs that offer careers" - This is where you almost get it, g.  Expand
>>Alturas with more and more high-end jobs (jobs with progressive pay scales
>>that are matched with progressive responsibilities - pronounced "careers").
>>
>>"Wages that put food on dinner tables" - See "Jobs that pay a living wage"
>>above.
>>
>>"not sub-minimum wages that only serve to fatten the corporate bottom line"
>>- Need I really say more.
>>
>>Jeesh, g.
>>
>>Enough said.
>>
>>Now, if you will excuse me, my coffee is getting cold.
>>
>>Tom Hansen
>>Moscow, Idaho
>>
>>"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
>>safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
>>sideways, chocolate in one hand, a drink in the other, body thoroughly used
>>up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO. What a ride!'"
>
>
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