End of an Era...

[K6JEK]

I just read a piece in the local Carmel paper that was the usual dreary stuff about the economic forces we all know about that have sent jobs packing, trade deficits growing.  It made the continued decline of the US economy sound inevitable. 

But not all western economies are in the same boat.  Germany runs a trade surplus.  Can you imagine that?  Here's a democratic country with high wages, strong safety net, strong worker protections, universal health care for heaven's sakes, not a whole lot of natural resources, stronger environmental laws than ours not to mention lousy weather and it runs a trade surplus.

 Something about their system works.

[steve_qix]

Not to mention all the dirt bags in the beltway  providing tax cuts to send middle class jobs to china.

Couldn't agree more !  The government should not be ABLE to tinker with taxes in this way and create policies such as you pointed out.  We NEED a FLAT RATE National Sales Tax.  This is a tax on consumption, not on work.  Think about that - what business would NOT want to be here in the US if the business were allowed to just be in business, buy stuff, hire people, produce stuff (or services) and do what it wants with its profits?  Since virtually all money the money made in this country is eventually spent - althought it may take a while, but it does get spent - there would be sufficient tax revenue.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Most Germans are better educated and more industrious than the average American. We get what we deserve.

I don't recall one tax cut that sent jobs anywhere. Labor is cheaper overseas than it is here. It's really that simple. Labor intensive industries in the US either adapted with automation, crapped out or moved operations out of the country. Most of the laborers here were way overpaid anyway - part of the fat and dumb syndrome.

Flat tax is just another tax. Do away with ALL Federal income tax. If you don't want the gov doing stupid stuff - de-fund them. All the rest is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

I just read a piece in the local Carmel paper that was the usual dreary stuff about the economic forces we all know about that have sent jobs packing, trade deficits growing.  It made the continued decline of the US economy sound inevitable.  

But not all western economies are in the same boat.  Germany runs a trade surplus.  Can you imagine that?  Here's a democratic country with high wages, strong safety net, strong worker protections, universal health care for heaven's sakes, not a whole lot of natural resources, stronger environmental laws than ours not to mention lousy weather and it runs a trade surplus.

 Something about their system works.

[k4kyv]

Do away with ALL Federal income tax. If you don't want the gov doing stupid stuff - de-fund them.

That's the way it used to be, prior to the 16th Amendment, with the exception of the emergency income tax imposed during the Civil War.  The federal government was funded primarily by tariffs imposed on imported goods. The tariffs did double duty and protected home-based manufacturing by artificially raising the prices of cheap imports so that US manufactured goods remained price competitive.

[steve_qix]

Flat tax is just another tax. Do away with ALL Federal income tax. If you don't want the gov doing stupid stuff - de-fund them. All the rest is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

That's what I said - get rid of the income tax, do a national sales tax.

As a practical matter, we are not going to just de-fund the federal government, at least all at once and it's never going to happen in that manner.  We can and should start to systematically elminiate portions of the federal government one agency at a time if necessary, until most of it is gone.

In order to get there, the populus MUST elect constitutional conservatives who believe in this sort of thing AND they must have a supermajority in congress to override vetos.

Will we get there?  We'll see, but I am rather skeptical.  We do have someone running in our district who is a self-declared constitutional conservative.  Running against John Olver.  I recently attended a town hall style forum with this guy, and he's pretty much right on the money.  The press, of course, is trying to portray the guy as a kook, but I'm hopeful that after what's happened in the recent past, the electorate is starting to understand the lame-stream press has a generally socialist agenda.

One can hope !

[K5UJ]

The secret to saving incandescent lamp filaments is to treat them like they are boat anchors and bring them up slowly on a circuit controlled by a variac.  What pops the filament eventually is the sudden surge that comes when you snap on one of those wall switches that has a spring loaded contact, the click-bang types. 

I am not convinced the current administration is as aggressively anti-business as some people seem to think it is.   Some facts:  This administration tried to get a tax cut for small businesses and it was blocked by Republicans in the Senate.   It resuscitated General Motors so that they could issue in IPO.   The second quarter this year corporate profits were up 39.2%, the best results in 3 years.  The auto industry bailout is now expected to cost less than $24B, far less than was originally predicted.  In September, consumer sales were up 29%.  The Dow and NASDAQ in September posted the best gains in 71 years for that month.   

America is a powerful economy and I think we are going to recover more quickly than expected.   

Rob

[WA1GFZ]

Tie congress life long benefits to SS and everything will get fixed fast.
Tie congress health care to the rest of us and that will get fixed fast also.
We have a ruler class now

No child left behind is a friggen joke. My kids tell me it is just an excuse to stop teaching. All kids do now is prepare for a test.
Homeland security another joke give the money to the FBI and park the Army
at the border.
 

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.

- - Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835

[WA1GFZ]

That's a fact HUZ.
We pay to get screwed more.
We pay taxes to reward outsourced jobs.

[k4kyv]

America is a powerful economy and I think we are going to recover more quickly than expected.    

The problem is, although "jobless" is probably an exaggeration and a scare-word, it's going to be a job-deficient recovery.  Where are the jobs to come from, when  so much of our production has moved overseas, and more is still moving? The kind of employment we had a generation ago is never coming back.  Many of the jobs that do appear will be low paying. Ross Perot proved correct when he talked about that huge "sucking sound" made by jobs moving out of the country. "Sucking" can be interpreted two ways.

I'm afraid our standard of living has taken a plunge, better termed a permanent readjustment. The myth of "American Exceptionalism" has finally crashed and burned. We are now competing with the rest of the world for resources of world-wide provenance. Not just oil, but the rare-earths essential for producing high-tech hardware like solar panels, IC chips, catalytic converters, batteries, etc.

All the hype we hear about government (at all levels, local to federal) spending beyond its means with borrowed money it doesn't have, is only part of the picture.  The other half: we as "consumers" (I hate that word) are equally to blame.  Our whole "consumer economy" is based on two things: (1) waste and (2) credit (buying stuff  with money we don't have).

Congress and politics have been completely ineffective in dealing  with  the new reality. Politicians to-day of all stripes have turned out to be a bunch of spineless wimps looking no further into the future than the next election. Instead of attempting to realistically deal with the issues at hand, political debate in this country has become stalled in knee-jerk politico-religious dogma.

Politicians talk a lot of nonsense: vague statements, contradictory claims and overly general answers. For example, practically every candidate for every office claims to advocate "smaller government" in Washington.  But what exactly do they mean? Should we cut the defence budget? The budget for the US Dept of Education? Funding for highway construction and maintenance? NASA? FCC enforcement? Doesn't this really mean cutting well-loved services that everyone has come to expect and take for granted? Most of us are all for reducing the size of government and cutting services EXCEPT for the ones that benefit us most directly. Sort of a not-in-my-backyard mentality.

The tragedy of it all is that we saw this coming decades ago.  I recall hearing predictions in 1974 of an eminent collapse of the economic system, pretty much describing exactly what happened two years ago. It just took longer than anticipated. One problem is that existing policy has been a victim of its own success.  For example, the recent stimulus package and bank bailouts probably saved us from a second Great Depression, but has left us drowning in even more debt that we'll never be able to pay off. We averted a full-blown economic crisis, but that placated the population enough to ward off 1930s and 1960s style protests in the street and popular demand for reform - whatever  that would have ultimately meant.  In this country, public intolerance is crisis-oriented. Little meaningful reform ever gets done until the faecal matter physically comes in contact with the fan blades.

Hopefully, the pressure won't build up to the exploding point as it did in the US in 1861, Russia in 1917 or Germany in 1936. In the meantime, I'll keep on hoarding my long-life incandescent lamps, and continue run my QRO tube-type transmitters built out of flea-market scrap that nobody else wanted, without griping too much about the extra pennies added to my electric bill every month because of the measures taken by the power company to reduce the sulphur content spewed out of the nearby coal-burning power plant that has been causing my tower to rust away.  And while I am at it, I am looking at wood burning heating systems, and wishing I could eradicate the poison ivy that creeps all over the unlimited supply of firewood growing on my property.

[Bill, KD0HG]

Most Germans are better educated and more industrious than the average American. We get what we deserve.

I agree with that.

There is something else, though. No matter how motivated or educated a worker might be, it's meaningless if your employer is mismanaged. Dilbert was started by an ex-phone company employee.. based on personal experience.

If you think about it, from pharmaceuticals to automotive to manufacturing, it's obvious that many German companies are better run than their American counterparts. Not all, but a good many.

[W1UJR]

The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.

- - Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835

"When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
- Ben Franklin

“I sincerely believe ... that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
- Thomas Jefferson

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I wrote: Most Germans are better educated and more industrious than the average American. We get what we deserve.

My statement includes ALL, not just workers (an anachronistic term), but management, leadership (or whatever you choose to call it) and government too.

Most Germans are better educated and more industrious than the average American. We get what we deserve.

I agree with that.

There is something else, though. No matter how motivated or educated a worker might be, it's meaningless if your employer is mismanaged. Dilbert was started by an ex-phone company employee.. based on personal experience.

If you think about it, from pharmaceuticals to automotive to manufacturing, it's obvious that many German companies are better run than their American counterparts. Not all, but a good many.

[W8IXY]

I have begun hoarding some incandescent bulbs in several wattage categories.

Has anyone done any studies of the visible light spectrum of available CFL's?  I wonder if they produce several specific "frequencies" that appear to our eyes as white (or whatever color temperature you choose)?   Is the spectrum "spread out" like incandescents, or concentrated on several wavelengths to look like "white"?   To my aging eyes, I find that a 2700 degree K tungsten glow is "yellowish" looking, and 3200 degree K looks "white". 

Also, has anyone done any studies on the 60Hz "flicker" rate?   I remember years ago while I was visiting London, UK, that even the 220 volt @ 50Hz incandescents had a perceptible "flicker".  When I was there in 1989, the British TVs that used a 50Hz vertical scan rate were hard to watch due to the flicker.

I haven't tried any LED bulbs on 60 Hz.  What if we ran LED lamps on pure DC to eliminate all the flicker?  Or has anyone heard of longer persistence phosphers on the CFL's to minimize flicker?   Or can CFL's run on pure DC?

Meanwhile, I am stocking up on incandescents, and a few fixtures to hold them....to keep me going for the next 10 or more years that I may be around.  Hmmmm, maybe I could use some of my older 12 volt DC power supplies to run some small incandescent bulbs in the shack, or for reading?  I am pretty sure that 12 volt incandescents will be available for some time yet due to the automobile market. 

You just don't know.....He who controls the gold etc......

73
Ted W8IXY

[K6IC]

This Wiki article is interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp

...  In the past,  have seen graphic spectrum of different flourescent lamps,  but googleing around now,  cannot seem to find it.

I have no problems using CFLs..  Seem to me to work fine.  Have used an 8-ish inch circular flourescent swing-arm  liamp at the computer desk/OP position,  with very good results.

I see NO flicker in almost any flour lamp,  unless the tubes are cold,  and it is not of the HO or VHO variety (those designs start and run well at low temps).

Incandescent light is more pleasant,  but with our electric rates in CA (as high $0.75/KWh , IIRC, on Time-of-use plan),  I usually use flour.

BUT,  I,  too have been collecting incandescent bulbs.  In CA,  with great wisdom,  our State legislature has mandated that the standard incandescent bulb power ratings be reduced.  So now the "Standard 100 w" bulb is 87,  or 90W IIRC.  There may even a power step-down table vs time.  Some day,  the 100 W bulb may be 20 Watts !

To me,  it is like the low flo toilets.  For those who collect their own water,  and have their own septic systems,  there should be the option to flush with 5 gallons if so desired,   BUT for me,  we still need some government,  and definitely some REGULATION on the mega corporations ... OOOPPPSS too political !   73     Vic

[k4kyv]

It's not only incandescent lamps, but the socket bases that are being taken off the market.  A couple of years ago I tried to buy a ceiling fan lighting fixture, and all I could find were ones with the miniature screw-in sockets that take the expensive "novelty" bulbs.  The vendor told me that new regulations allowed only the smaller bases and that the standard bases had been outlawed for lamps and light fixtures.  As I recall, he said the reasoning was that the miniature lamps are available in low wattage sizes only, and that this would prevent the customer from installing 100 watt or larger bulbs that exceed the ratings of the fixture.

I ended up finding a junk light fixture at a second-hand store and re-used the old standard sockets to repair the fixture I was going to replace. Less convenient, but I saved a few bucks in the process.

BTW, I was able to modify my toilet to flush with more water.  Just a matter of adjusting the float.  Most toilets have a tank that holds several gallons, but the float is set to allow only 1.6 gallons per flush.  Mine was on a little chain, and all I had to do was move the hook that holds  the float to a different link on the chain.  I don't think it uses a full 5 gallons per flush, but I adjusted it to the point that it gets the job done in one flush, thus saving water.  And I need to save water since I use a septic tank and the soil doesn't percolate very well, so flushing with too much water causes problems when the ground gets soggy in winter.

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Flourescent lights cause my son migranes - believe it or not.  I wasn't sure but I replaced various CFLs in the house and his migrane count dropped  a bit.  they don't bother me, physically,  but I wonder if they flicker or if the light frequency is something that can affect individuals?

I used the screw on light sockets to make my dummy load, they were brown plastic, with two screw terminals for the wires, and two holes for screws to be mounted directly on a board or wall.  Worked great.  Can't find them anywhere now.

I replaced yet another one in the kitchen fixture. The LAST one I will buy.  They cost 5x an incandecent and last about as long, and when they go they overheat. This one was burnt brown along the flat part the bulb comes out of.  

At this point, even if they were as inexpensive as incandecent bulbs, I wouldn't buy them based on the hot failure mode.  

Besides, with all the wall warts and appliances with microcontrollers sitting on standby in the house, I'm sure the lighting is a fraction of the real waste of power.

I gotta find a big generator and start making my own...

[k4kyv]

Flourescent lights cause my son migraines - believe it or not.  I wasn't sure but I replaced various CFLs in the house and his migrane count dropped  a bit.  they don't bother me, physically,  but I wonder if they flicker or if the light frequency is something that can affect individuals?

When I was a kid in school, the old fashioned standard long tube fluorescent lights seemed to give me a headache. 

Blue light from the computer screen is like caffeine and keeps me awake at night if I use the computer too close to bed time.  So I bought a pair of special safety goggles with lenses that filter out blue light, and I now sleep fine even if I spend 2  hours on the computer right before I go to bed.  I am thinking maybe blue light from fluorescent lamps may have the same effect.  When I first take off the goggles after the computer screen is turned off, the CFLs seem to give out a bluish glow until my eyes become accustomed to being without the orange filters.  I don't notice the effect with incandescents.  Maybe blue light is also what causes the headaches.

[WB3LEQ]

I predict that sometime around the year 2025 there will be a news flash about a study of CFL's in use for the last 15 years appearing to be a leading cause of skin cancer in young adults.

[WA1GFZ]

don't worry, they are working on a pill for it now

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

The spectrum of an incandescant bulb is pretty broad and skewed towards the red, actually peaking outside the visible range at about 1100 nm. There are strong, narrow spectral lines around 540 and 600 nm in newer fluorescent bulbs. Older ones had some stronger lines even more in the blue end at around 430 and 540 nm and also a broad hump in at the red end closer to 600 nm.

[The Slab Bacon]

FWIW, I have yet to have a CFL bulb last as long as the blown out incandesent bulb that i replaced with it. they seem to last maybe a year at best and crap out. some of the cheaper ones dont last that long. So what am I saving? ? ?

I have had pretty much enough of this bogus bend over and go green szht!! Pay more to get less.

One thing that just tickled me was on our local 6:00 news, one of the anchors was having organisms for everyone to participate in the green lawnmower trade in at our stadium. Proclaiming: "bring in your old polluting gas powered lanmower and recieve a free dowm payment on a new non polluting electric one" And you could really hear the enthusiasm in her voice. What a rip-off. But you could do the "Green" thing if you were stupid enough.

I really enjoy cutting my grass with my 2-stroke Lawn Boy mower!! I even mix double the oil with the gas so I can see it smoke!! If I ever really decide to "reduce my carbon footprint" I will start eating less gassy foods! ! ! !        

Also, I'm just sick and tired of getting rid of an older item, only to find that the new item that I replaced it with is no where as good an the "old outdated" one that I just discarded, and then longing to have the original item back.

[Ed/KB1HYS]

FWIW, I have yet to have a CFL bulb last as long as the blown out incandesent bulb that i replaced with it. they seem to last maybe a year at best and crap out. some of the cheaper ones dont last that long. So what am I saving? ? ?

I have had pretty much enough of this bogus bend over and go green szht!! Pay more to get less.

One thing that just tickled me was on our local 6:00 news, one of the anchors was having organisms for everyone to participate in the green lawnmower trade in at our stadium. Proclaiming: "bring in your old polluting gas powered lanmower and recieve a free dowm payment on a new non polluting electric one" And you could really hear the enthusiasm in her voice. What a rip-off. But you could do the "Green" thing if you were stupid enough.

I really enjoy cutting my grass with my 2-stroke Lawn Boy mower!! I even mix double the oil with the gas so I can see it smoke!! If I ever really decide to "reduce my carbon footprint" I will start eating less gassy foods! ! ! !        

Also, I'm just sick and tired of getting rid of an older item, only to find that the new item that I replaced it with is no where as good an the "old outdated" one that I just discarded, and then longing to have the original item back.

you hit the nail dead on the head.  Most older stuff I have is pretty rugged, and easily repaired with a little elbow grease and a few parts.  Lot's of stuff gets tossed, not because it doesn't work, but merely because it's old.   The people have been programmed by marketing that old stuff is junk and only the latest gadget will work blah blah blah...   Of course if you can't fix things yourself, the repair rates are often times close to the cost of a new crappy unit, so off they go.  Cars are a good example. Used to be you could fix your car, and keep it running. Even putting a new engine into a car was a good idea (still is in some cases). New cars today seem to be designed to have "all the parts wear out at the same time.  Kinda like the wagon in Mr Twains tale.  People have an aversion to repairing them, and would rather spend 10's of thousands on a new car, instead of a few thousand on replacing the engine/transmission.

[The Slab Bacon]

Ed,
     Another Prime example was my old 27" Sony Trinitron tv that I had in the living room. It crapped out. It had the same problem I have fixed before- a 3A / 600v bridge rectifier shorted out and took out the internal line fuse. This TV had a fantastic picture for a CRT television.

At the behest of the war dept, I went out and bought a new flat screen and discarded a tv that a $.79 part would have fixed to "join the 21st century".
I hate that flat screen tv so bad that 3-days old, I had it in my hands to literally throw it out the front door and smash it to crumbs. the war dept and I had a huge fight over it and I came within an inch of throwing it at her!! But by now the Trinitron is allready at the landfill, and I'm longing to have it back!! (You cannot buy a CRT type tv any more because of the "Green" "reduce the carbon footprint" szht anymore! #@$%^&**^%##@#@#$$%^&%*    

[K3ZS]

I recently replace two "energy star" appliances.   One Maytag refrigerator that lasted only a few years after several repairs.   One dishwasher that didn't wash dishes.   It was traded less than two years old.   I replaced both with non energy star ratings.   The refrigerator is still working and the dishes are now clean.