danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

When we bought this house in 2005, we also began procuring the tools and paraphernalia associated with home ownership and gardening.  Among these were loppers, shears, and pruners.  I remember being very particular about what I bought.  I wanted tools that were manufactured in the United States.  I sometimes had to go out of my way to find them: Home Depot for the shears, Target for the pruners, Wal-Mart for the rake, George’s Hardware for the machete.  But, in the end, I got all American-made tools.

I was in Lowe’s last weekend, and on my way through the garden department I came across a display of Fiskars tools.  They made my loppers, pruners, and shears.  If I had considered adding more Fiskars equipment to my collection, I won’t anymore: all their products are now made in China.  Just to check and make sure I wasn’t mis-remembering what I bought, I went home to check.  Sure enough, each piece is stamped “Made in USA”.

This situation troubles me deeply.  It means that there was once a factory somewhere in the United States, where people like you or me were employed, where people had healthcare and retirement benefits, where people enjoyed company picnics and softball games.  One morning, a mid-level manager probably received a memo from the factory owner–who probably received a memo from Fiskars–stating that the plant was being shut-down so production could be moved off-shore, where labor costs a small fraction of what it does in America.  The mid-level manager probably went out on the floor that afternoon and told everyone that they’d better start looking for work somewhere else.  Some of the lucky ones may have found jobs quickly.  But I suspect many others didn’t, and shortly thereafter lost their health insurance, and maybe their cars and homes.  Their town, if it is small enough, sees some people move away, while the ones who stay have a lower standard of living.  Property values drop, and so does tax revenue.  Schools get worse, and the next generation has fewer opportunities to make something of themselves.  Crime goes up.  So does the divorce rate.

What is it worth to prevent this?  About $2.00, apparently.  That’s the difference between what I paid for my made in USA pruners and the ones now made in China.

The United States’ trade deficit is astonishing (something like $800 billion).  If you believe the Milton Friedman-types, all this is good, since it means the dollar is strong, and that consumers are able to buy more things at lower prices.  To the first point I respond: that’s nice when I travel overseas, but I’m not in the business of trading currency, and, even if I were, I wouldn’t be betting on the dollar, since we owe China trillions, and by any standard our CAB looks pretty bad.  As to the second point: low prices are nice, but what you don’t see printed on the price tag is what I wrote above – the death of manufacturing in America.

We can deceive ourselves into thinking that we have it good, when we go to Wal-Mart and find aisle after aisle of cheap, made in China merchandise.  But if things go on like this, there will come a day when retail, hospitality, and other service  jobs are the only thing left for people without a college degree.  The middle class will disappear.

Filed under: Current Events, Rantings on June 9th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Earlier this year, I purchased a Fender ’65 Reissue Twin Reverb guitar amplifier from my local independent music store, Lipham’s.  I not only got a great deal, but I was glad to support local business, particularly one that’s been around for so long.  I’m not saying that Lipham Music is the best store in history–their selection is fairly modest, and they seem to be stocking many more Chinese-made instruments these days–but they do sell Fender and Martin guitars, and, what’s more, they’ve outlast most of the other shops in town.

Last night, after dinner, Miriam and I went somewhere I haven’t been in a long, long time: Best Buy.  I used to go there a lot in days of yore, especially back when HDTV was just being introduced, and I was eager to see what it looked like.  Their service was always lousy (not as lousy as Circuit City, of course), and just about everything I ever bought there broke within two years, but they’ve always had a lot of stock.  Last night, I discovered a new department in an area where CRT televisions were once displayed.  Best Buy now sells musical instruments.  They have drums, keyboards, DJ equipment, and guitars, including Fender and Gibson.

A number of things bother me about this.  First, I don’t think their staff cares about these instruments, since I found every guitar grossly out of tune.  Second, their prices were absurd.  The same Twin Reverb I bought for $899 at Lipham’s was marked $1,699 at Best Buy.  Maybe that’s what they’re going for elsewhere, but it just seemed extreme to me.  Finally, I think musical instruments are just Best Buy’s latest passing fancy.  That’s what troubles me most.  In a worst-case scenario, here’s what I imagine occurring:

1. Lipham Music loses sales to Best Buy.  There are only so many new electric guitars and amplifiers–particularly higher-end models–that will sell each week in Gainesville.  If Lipham loses those sales, it could hurt them significantly.  Lipham’s closes.
2. Musical instruments make up so little of Best Buy’s bottom line that they give up on the endeavor.
3. Gainesville has no music store.  Since Best Buy’s decision is made at the national level, they don’t care that Gainesville is left with nothing.

I don’t know how likely this scenario is.  I may just be paranoid.  But I know that I’d never get a deal on an amp at Best Buy like I did at Lipham’s, and Best Buy doesn’t have the tradition of heritage that Lipham’s does.  After all, a little more than ten years ago, the Best Buy was a Montgomery Ward.  Lipham’s has been in business for fifty years.  But these are hard times.

I hope they can weather the storm.

Filed under: Gainesville, Rantings, Technology on May 30th, 2009 | No Comments »

I’m not going to go Ted Kaczynski here, but I cannot fail to notice the ways technology has caused me immense frustration over the course of the last year.  In 2008, I had to buy a new television to replace one I had purchased less than two years before; I had to buy a new computer to replace another that failed in data-losing fashion; and I experienced a months-long plumbing nightmare.

My new HDTV is the greatest thing ever, and thanks to the good folks at Quality Plumbing, the drain is clear, so that horror has ended.  But no sooner had the water begun flowing than more trouble has come along to take the place of the old.  This weekend, after being at work all afternoon for back-to-back beg-a-thon shifts, I arrived home to find the house exceptionally warm.  The air conditioner was blowing hot air.  Thanks to help I received in the past from the Clays–who had a similar problem–I knew the culprit was a bad capacitor, and I did replace it today at minimal cost.  But, that’s just the beginning.

Miriam began complaining recently that the laptop–my expensive replacement for the old computer that failed so horribly–was behaving oddly.  For instance, when she would turn it on, the screen would be blank.  Not having experienced it myself, I couldn’t guess the cause.  By Sunday morning, however, it happened to me.  Indeed, after starting Windows, the screen would go blank and stay blank.  Sara told me that that is precisely what her HP laptop did to her less than a year after she bought it.  This computer is less than ten months old, so it is still under warranty, and, if it’s going to break, now’s the best time, being the holiday between spring and summer classes.  But, hell fire, what is the world coming to that we cannot make a product that lasts more than a couple years any more?

I’ll confess my share of the blame: I have allowed myself to become captive to the power and convience of computers.  Indeed, I use a computer every day for many important tasks.  Consequently, when I have this sort of problem, it’s a cripling predicament.  I spent an hour and a half on the phone this morning with HP technical support (not being jerked around – it just took a long time to run some diagnostic tests), and now I will be without my laptop for two weeks.

I’m not planning on going off the grid, but sometimes I’m tempted.

Filed under: Rantings, Technology on May 4th, 2009 | No Comments »

Things are steadily improving around here.

The toilet nightmare which began on the 23rd seems to have ended.  Early that Tuesday morning I awoke to an overflowing commode.  Tuesday is my long day; my first class begins at 8:3o AM, and my last class ends at 7:00PM.  But I went to Lowe’s that morning at seven o’clock in the morning, stopped at Walgreen’s to get some medicine for the ailing Mrs. Hill, and did my best to repair the toilet before school.  But I ran out of time before I needed to leave.  I took a brutal midterm in the afternoon, and was preparing to head to my evening class when Miriam told me they were sending her to the hospital because her symptoms suggested possible appendicitis.  It wasn’t, thank goodness, and my professor was understanding when I wrote to him later.  But the toilet defeated me that night.  And when I reached the point of maximum frustration–when I stood in the doorway of my bathroom, staring at that filthy sewer hole in the floor with the roaches crawling out–I was on the verge of tears.

It was emasculating to have to call a plumber, and I worked all day Wednesday, so it was Thursday afternoon before anyone could come out.

Meanwhile, we spent Wednesday night at Sweetwater Branch Inn, in the charming 1895 McKenzie House.  The Giovanna Room was delightful, and Cornelia, who makes the breakfast the bed comes with, was very sweet.  In spite of the horrible circumstances, I still had a nice time, and would like to go back some day.

Sara was nice enough to offer to wait for the plumber for me, and he was a nice guy, too.  I was going to have him repair the rusted out cast iron flange the toilet gets bolted to, but he told me I could do it myself and save hundreds.  He told me what I needed to buy, I went to Home Depot, bought it, and had the toilet together by the time Miriam got home from work.  All was well.  Until this past Thursday night.

Thursday night, following a brutal midterm in my Early U.S. Novels course, I took a long shower, and was just beginning to mentally transition into spring break.  After I got out of the shower I flushed the toilet, and it happened again.  The plumber came back out on Friday afternoon, but I missed a chance to go to the beach with Sara.  I’ve talked to both my neighbors, and they, too, have experienced the same problem.  I am going to call GRU on Monday and have them install a clean out by the street, so if I have another blockage I might be able to clear it myself with a rented auger.  I put the toilet in place, caulked it really well, and, as of Saturday night it is doing its job.

And Miriam’s all better.

Filed under: House, Rantings, School on March 8th, 2009 | No Comments »

On NPR this morning, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor said, “the default rate on mortgages that have been modified thus far is very high”.  This statement caught my attention because, first, I have been saying for quite a while that getting people out of ARMs and into 30-year fixed-rate loans is the best way to prevent foreclosures, and, second, it is intentionally misleading.

Last week I read about two people in south Florida who had their mortgages modified.  One woman’s interest rate dropped 11% when her terms were changed.  Another man saw no change in his monthly payment because the bank added so many fees and penalties.  She kept her house; he went into foreclosure after all.

Rep. Cantor is right that the default rate on modified mortgages is high, but only if your definition of “modified” is very broad:

“It’s becoming more and more clear to us that if you do real modifications the default rate is significantly lower”, said Tom Miller, the attorney general of Iowa, who has led a group of state officials pushing the industry to modify more loans. “They shouldn’t be called modifications if people pay more or approximately the same”.

The facts are that genuine modifications keep 75% of borrowers in their homes, and allow them to stay current.  If the “modifications” Rep. Cantor criticizes fail, it’s because they aren’t modifications at all.

Filed under: Current Events, Politics, Rantings on February 25th, 2009 | No Comments »