denverpilot
Tied Down
Some of the crap is manufactured to US-acceptable standards. Since this is an aviation forum, the 162 is one example.
Cessna sent them all to the crusher... probably not the best example. Hehehe.
We make the mistake of pretending corporations are still beholden to their patron countries... that hasn't been true for at least the last 20 years.
Maybe it was because I worked for a multi-national in high school and beyond, but I've never understood the concept of "patron country" or definitely never felt like any business I've ever worked for was beholden to a geographic place. This would be oil, telecom, and tech ... none of them have ever given a damn about where their mailing address is located. One of the telecoms I worked for (acquired by them) still has a broom closet in Bermuda listed as Corporate HQ.
I have a family member there who would import clothing and then cut the label off and sow her own label on (which would carry a Made in RSA tag), to increase the value for resale. She would also take some generic clothes and sow Billabong logos on and then gift those as gifts to her grandkids - she's quite proud of this in fact. Bizarre person.
I have a fake NFL classic throwback jersey assembled from parts by some dude on eBay. Family member who gave it to me as a gift told me when I exclaimed that they'd spent WAY too much on me for that particular gift and I was concerned about it for them.
Know what else? If the NFL wants over $200 for a shirt, I don't care mine is a counterfeit at all. Screw 'em. It's a shirt, not a freaking dinner for two at the Ritz.
That is, in part, due to the US Federal Reserve Banks collectively increasing balance sheets from about $800 Billion in 2004 to $4,400 Billion currently. Most of it is in T-bills, T-bonds and mortgage backed securities. The Fed also holds in custody for foreign official sector accounts about $2,800 Billion in Treasuries, up from $1,200 B in 2008 but down from a record of over $3,000 Billion a year ago. That declining trend is an indicator of the current difficulties in China, which is selling foreign reserve holdings including US Treasuries in an effort to prop up the Yuan as part of its efforts to control significant capital outflows from the mainland - prior to this recent selling it was the largest single foreign holder of US Treasury debt, just ahead of Japan.
The big concerns are whether the Fed can reduce its balance sheet without disrupting the US economy, and how much more it can increase its balance sheet if needed when the next US recession finally arrives. In the meantime I think betting against the US economy has been a lousy trade for many decades, and I don't see it being particularly good odds at present despite the histrionics of the internet "crisis pundits" predicting the demise of the US$ or the decline of the USA itself. Global capital flows, including those continuing to pour in FROM China, suggest quite the opposite at present.
If there's a bank that's "too big to fail", and poses a very real threat to he nation's economic health, the Fed is certainly it. No histrionics here about doom and gloom, but central banking is a serious problem in the modern world. They screw up as much as they fix, at this point. But we really have little choice in such a debt laden society, at all levels.