More FL Builders Heading to NC

Fantastic. While we're fighting double digit unemployment here in FL other states are bending over backwards to steal our jobs. Why can't Florida get its $hit together and figure out how to keep these factories down here?

When operating a business, it's easy to shut down when the prices for rent, taxes, regulation and labor become a problem. Labor attitude can be a huge problem too and even more of a problem than ALL the rest ... and vary wildly from place to place. My company recently shuttered a Denver, CO office and even though we still will have to pay full rent for another six months, it was a great decision.

I had extensive work (in this case, another way of saying taken to the cleaners) done to my boat in Orange Beach Alabama. And ... I can say "good riddance Orange Beach Alabama".

What goes around ... comes around.

Who wants manufacturing? It's messy and employes those dreaded wage workers. Service industries that cater to executives and tourists are so much cleaner and bring in big bucks for very little actual work. Of course once we depend completely on other countries for our products they can raise the prices to where only those executives can afford a home (Long Island is another fine example), and chew out the base of our ecconomy. As long as the stock market, banks, hedge funds and outsourcing make people rich all is good. The last couple of years however have shown what can go wrong when you go this route. Looks like the Carolinas have recognized this and are trying to rebuild their economy from the bottom up instead of just loading onto the top. Good for them. Unless Florida (Long Island and many other places) recognize this they will soon find that they have nobody left to mow their manicured lawns or clean their pools. We need to build and support factories and small businesses, not push them to other countries.

NYC hits it on the head. I own several large warehouses in class A industrial parks here in SFL that have near 50% vacancy rates. The companies that occupied these spaces are gone and never coming back. Funny thing is that Perko is one of the largest tenants and one of my neighbors, its nice to know that everything the make and sell is still made in the USA.

But not their steel, computers, office and manufacturing equipment. Until we get back the base our economy is not under our control.

Whose is?

I'll go out on a limb and guess Perko, since they're the only manufacturer named in the quoted post.

Not who are we talking about; whose quality is what it used to be. I can't think of a single company or product who/which hasn't decreased quality and raised prices.

I can think of several whose quality has remained or increased while relative prices have decreased.

For example, the computer you're using now. Try affording that power and storage 20 or 30 years ago. Cars are another example - even today's econobox has more features and is more relaible than any econobox of the 1980s, and new cars can still be had in the $10k ballpark.

Wines are universally better than they were 30 years ago - even some box wines are better than the typical "good" wine of 1980, and they haven't shot up in price. There are a lot of food products that have remained the same or gotten better - even your produce, depending on what you eat and how you shop.

There are a lot of manufactured products, some with less intervention than others. To say that none of them has improved is a great bit of hyperbole but it isn't true. Maybe at the Wal-Mart level of consumer goods you have a point.

My typewriter and adding machine from the 70's are still working, any bets on how long my computer will work.
My phone cost me $19 and was built to last 2 lifetimes.
My 1976 Plymouth Fury got 16 mpg and cost $6,000. There's still some on the road. And where do you find a car for $10K? My Sonata cost $15K in '02, and at the bottom end my '71 Pinto cost S1,900. (I know, bad example. ). When my $10 1960 Ford went head first down a hill and into a tree we pulled the front end out with a chain, tied down the hood and radiator and rolled on. Today that would be a $2,000 total.
In the 1980's you wouldn't even consider drinking box wine and you wouldn't serve a screw top. Besides, anything that someone would pay $100K for a bottle of is a major hype & snobery. I'll stick with Coke.
As for food, a pound has become 12 ounces, salads come in a bag, and potatoes are harvested so young that you can't find anything near the size of a normal potatoe. Plus, whatever happened to my Pepridge Farm Irish Oatmeal cookies.
And those "Wal-Mart level of consumer goods" are about as close to getting your money's worth as you'll find today. Unfortunately we're buying them from China who's putting lead and whatever other chemicals into toys, kids jewlery and whatever else so our next generation will walk around muttering to themselves.
Then you have our schools. Passing used to be 75, there was no curve and you didn't dare fail. Ask a kid to do math in his head lately?
Hope you don't mind me having a little late night fun with you Seafarer. In all seriousness I enjoy progress, but I truly believe we don't build things to last today, and we settle for less or pay way more than we should. I heard on the news last night that some joker in NYC is offering hair cuts for $1,200. 30 years ago he'd have been laughed at if not thrown out a window. Today some fools will pay it.

NYC - you are not addressing the fact that Americans simply do not want to pay for quality. Everything here is about getting what you are buying for as little as possible, and then some. Do you want to pay up for better quality or squeeze every penny out of the purchase price ? To say nothing about how Americans are willing to settle for such crap in or daily lives, in the first place.

On the other hand, fact is, things that were built 15+ years ago were not built with only 2-3 year life cycles while today, everything 'progresses' at such an astounding rate. E.G. you buy a car today. Of course you want it to be as safe as possible. OK. The car you might buy in 3-4 years is likely to have so many enhancements (safety e.g. better ABS, better GPS, better sound system - whatever) ...

Home entertainment ? When was the last time it was cost effective to have a TV fixed ? or even a washer/dryer ? A camera ?

The list goes on and on...

I just sent out a Nikon D70 for a repair that will end up costing me about $20 more than what I could buy another D70 (in E condition). I could have simply tossed my camera way but that's not how I was raised.

Unfortunately for the state of the planets' natural resources, we are now conditioned to exist in a disposable environment.

I want to address Shazam'a comment. first please know I am not bashing him. I actually feel his pain........

I want english to be the default lanquage that is required to work in our country. I am tired of being required to "push 1" to listen in my native tongue, english should be the defaut. I want american companies to require that their subcontractors (when the subcontractor is located in the United States) employee a majority of natural americans, not green card carrying americans. I want full disclosure of all materials used in my house, car, boat, etc. drywall from China for my house is the same as out of date epoxy supplied by a subcontractor, applied by a non english speaking minimum wage non american on my boat build to me.

unions drove us offshore to reduce/maintain price points. just look at the auto industry to see that. and don't give me the crap about lack of vision. R&D dollars were used to fund pension funds and healthcare after retirement for union workers. screw that.

nobody in the world makes convertable fishing boats as well as in america. has anyone wondered why? that will change if we don't do something now.

Should Bertram move to North Carolina? In my opinion, hell yes!

you may figure out I'm a republican. fine. so your a democract. fine. at least we are both americans ( I hope).

Florida. anywhere else in America, who cares where the boat is built. as long as it's built by a staff of accountable people, who are skilled in their trade.

please forgive my tirade but the reason Bertram (near and dear to me) is behind Hatteras and Viking isn't due to Italian ownership, it's because of ****** quality levels of finish executed by sub standard subs.

when I get around to it, I will post this in the other native tongues so they may respond in our equal opportunity world.

54' Bertram, Most of what you wrote is correct or at worst debatable. The one exception is:

Remember, we are a nation brought to greatness due to our diversity; a nation of immigrants. Anybody who comes here the way my mother did and declares or wants to declare themselves as proud Americans is welcome in my book.
jhartog

Actually, I think it's more a matter of them being deprived of it for so long that they don't understand it. They don't realize that quality is actually cheaper in the long run. Do I buy a boat that is cheap but loses 70% of what I paid in the first two years or do I buy something that costs twice as much but will still be worth 80% of what I paid in 10 years?

Actually, I think it's more a matter of them being deprived of it for so long that they don't understand it. They don't realize that quality is actually cheaper in the long run. Do I buy a boat that is cheap but loses 70% of what I paid in the first two years or do I buy something that costs twice as much but will still be worth 80% of what I paid in 10 years?[/QUOTE]

ok, I'll stick to this since the second comment is not mine. I am a 2nd generation American. My grandparents (both sides) entered the US from Ireland in the early 30's.

replay to NYCAP123

if I cannot interact with the people building my....house...boat.... when it is in excess of 1 million, should I consider it to be a problem? I think so

I'd be proud to work along side of them. That's my point. Now, someone who sneaks across our borders, from anywhere, is a totally different story...and I'm an Independent.

If you can communicate with the person who gives the orders, and he can communicate with his employees and subs, my only concern would be the quality of their craftsmanship.