Month: August 2024

Fly American!

No this is not some diatribe about American Airlines…..but rather a flag post.

It seems that the flag you fly in the front yard may not be American at all and the Congress wants to do something about that….

Soon, Old Glory will have to be born in the land of the free and not merely flying over it. Congress has passed a proposal to require the federal government to purchase only American flags that have been completely manufactured in the US. The US imports millions of American flags from overseas, mostly from China, and the sponsors of the proposal said it’s time for American flags to originate in the country they represent, the AP reports.

  • Supporters of the proposal, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, said the change is more than just symbolic—they believe it will support American jobs and manufacturers while preserving the nation’s most recognized banner.
  • The American flag serves as a symbol of our identity, resolve, and values as one people. To honor its significance, the federal government should only use flags entirely manufactured in the United States,” Collins said.
  • Supporters of the proposal said Monday that they expect the measure to be signed into law soon. It was sent to President Biden on Thursday.
  • Federal rules currently require the government to buy flags that contain half US-made materials, supporters of the proposal said. The rule change, called the All-American Flag Act, requires government-purchased flags to be produced entirely with American-made materials as well as manufactured in the US.
  • The value of US flag imports in 2015 was well over $4 million, according to federal data. The vast majority of those imports came from China, supporters of the rule change said. In 2017, the US imported some 10 million American flags, and 99.5% of them came from China, supporters of the proposal said. Those figures include all American flags imported into the country and not just those purchased by the federal government.
  • Collins and Brown have been pushing for American flags to be manufactured in the US for several years. Previous efforts to change the rules to require US-made flags found success in the Senate but stalled when they reached the House of Representatives. The bill finally passed in the House last week.

How gracious of them to do this for the country.

But I believe there are many more problems that need attention….hunger, prices, housing pop in mind….but they do something this lame that could probably be done with an Executive Order.

So if you are flying an American flag made in China can you claim to be all that patriotic?

This effort is a waste of energy and time….but that is what Congress does best.

Anything?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Are Prices So Damn High?

****This post may seem a bit redundant to some…..but there are many factors that go into making the price situation in this country and if I tried to explain them all in one post most people’s heads would explode.****

This is a continuous question being asked by consumers these days. We all know the food and gas are too damn high but they are not alone….housing and airline travel are extremely high.

There have been many answers offered up…..some are accurate and others not so much…..the one that increase in wages is driving the rise is bull squirt…..but not to worry the ‘free market’ will fix everything.  More bull squirt!

The only thing ‘free’ about the ‘free market’ is that corporations are free too gouge and cheat the consumer (that would be you)….but let’s look shall we?

You’ve probably been told that the main causes of rising prices are wage gains and excessive government spending. Wrong.

Prices have risen and remained high — especially in critical sectors such as energy, drugs, and food — largely because giant corporations have been raising their prices to increase their profits.

They can do this because they face so little competition.

Worried about sky-high airfares and lousy service? That’s largely because airlines have merged from 12 carriers in 1980 to only four today.

Concerned about drug prices? Between 1995 and 2015, 60 leading pharmaceutical companies merged to only 10.

Upset about food costs? Four large companies now control 85 percent of beef processing, 70 percent of the pork market, and 54 percent of poultry.

Worried about grocery prices? Just three giants — Albertsons, Kroger, and Walmart — control 70 percent of the grocery sales in 167 cities.

And on and on through almost every sector of the economy, including rental housing, ad-tech, chemicals, and health care.

https://www.alternet.org/debunking-the-myth-that-inflation-is-caused-by-wage-increases-and-too-much-government-spending/

Monopolies are not the ‘free market’….there is very little regulation of these drivers of inflation…..creative bookkeeping.

The Federal Reserve is no help whatsoever….

Right now, the Federal Reserve Board has responsibility for fighting inflation. When prices rise, the Fed raises interest rates to slow the overall economy.

But slowing the economy with high interest rates causes many people to lose jobs. It keeps wages low. And it raises credit card fees as well as the costs of home loans, car loans, and every other borrowing cost. These burdens fall especially hard on people with lower incomes.

Call this for what it is…..”greedflation’…..

“Greedflation” (also known as “shrinkflation”), which describes a practice where corporations raise the prices of goods and services while providing less, has been a hot topic over the last few years. Corporations hiked prices during the pandemic citing supply chain issues and shortages, and high prices have largely stuck. They’re taking a toll on consumer confidence and inflation. 

(observer.com)

All efforts to try and change the direction has been met with fierce opposition and lots of cash in the ‘right’ pockets….and that would have the heads and eyes looking in other directions.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”