gottaplan

Link to the PD endorsement http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/02/plain_dealer_endorses_kaptur_i.html

Marcy Kaptur's ads have been on the air here in Cleveland all weekend - looks like the Plain Dealer already endorsed her over Kucinich

In recent years, globalization and the shape of the world's economy have pushed American companies — manufacturers and service providers alike — to look overseas for cheap labor. But some of these same trends may now be pushing employers to take another look at the U.S. "There's a pendulum that swings all the time," Sirkin says. "And now it is swinging back." The rising cost of labor in China — wages in the thriving coastal regions are rising at a 15 percent clip — and the rising strength of China's currency, the renminbi, are combining to make Chinese-produced goods more expensive. Meanwhile, falling wages in the United States--thanks to high unemployment, weakened unions, and the continued growth of manufacturing in lower-cost states in the south--have helped make U.S. labor more competitive. http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/president-obama-touts-onshoring-made-america-back-221759270.html I guess Obama is OK with weakened unions now that it's bringing manufacturing jobs back

Call it cherry picking if you like, but it's reality. And we already have OSHA to investigate any workplace injuries, accidents, deaths or complaints. They have jurisdiction over pretty much any worksite, private or public, and plenty of regulations on the books to keep workers safe. This comes down to simple free market economics. Companies look at locating a manufacturing facility in terms of proximity to suppliers, proximity to customers, access to transportation, local regulations and cost of labor. They are going to seek out the best overall deal. And they are always re-evaluating that deal. That might be Ohio or Indiana, or Alabama or Mississippi, or Brazil or Mexico. I'd like to see the jobs stay here in the midwest and we need to be competitive in order to do that.

^I worked in a union manufacturing facility while interning in college. We had final assembly machines which required periodic alignment to maintain quality control. The alignment could be done by anyone with a tape measure and a 9/16" wrench. My job was to tag these assembly machines which were out of alignment, stop the production, then wait for a union millwright to come and make the adjustment. The worker who's station was tagged went on break usually for an hour or two, sometimes more, until the millwright made the adjustment, then assembly resumed. Add up the wasted time of the assembly operator, the wasted time of the millwright who performed a task so simple anyone could do it, the lost production of the idle equipment multiplied by hundreds of assembly machines on 3 shifts and you're quickly at tens of thousands of dollars wasted because of some stupid union work rule. Anyone who's ever worked in a union plan could write a book filled with so many wasted hours and worthless tasks because of these union work rules. Talk about a race to the bottom. I have friends & family that work for Honda and they cross-train their people to perform a variety of tasks including assembly and maintenance. Everyone is responsible for the end product quality and morale is much better. At the plant I worked at, it was very common for the assembly worker to screw up the alignment of his machine, just so he could go sleep on break for 2-3 hours and still get paid while the machine was down waiting for a millwright to come realign it.

All this talk of "race to the bottom" and estimates of how this is going to undermine everyone's pay is unfounded. The southern states have a cheaper cost of living - everything is cheaper there, especially housing, and manufacturing wages are accordingly cheaper. Look at the impact that Honda of America has had here in Ohio. Over 20 yrs ago they built the assembly plant outside Marysville, now they have engine & transmission plants nearby, motorcycle & ATV plants.... purchasing, engineering, accounting.... all non-union, but good paying, stable jobs. Add in several thousand more jobs which support those facilities located nearby, producing parts, tool & die shops.... union manufacturing is on it's way out. If GM & Chrysler hadn't been bailed out, the UAW would have gone under completely. States passing right to work laws are simply leveling the playing field. Without it, they'll never compete due to wage restrictions and you'll see massive tax incentives being offered to attract & retain manufacturing.

Those stats are worthless - unemployment rate is comprised of dozens of sectors, not just manufacturing. Quote how much employment increased in manufacturing sectors, technology/engineering/science over the last ten years in those states vs midwest states like Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, etc. That's what matters.

I think that's short sighted to look at one single state with a recent perspective. Take a look at the last decade and the new auto plants and production which have chosen to locate in Mississippi and Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, North & South Carolinas.... BMW, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Hyundai.... Boeing built a new plant in South Carolina.... add up all the the support and technology firms which are located nearby these facilities.... labor is cheaper there, and those states are gaining population and Ohio and other Midwest (union) states are losing. We sit around & cheer just because our plants aren't actually closing, but not because some new manufacturing actually opened.

Boo! I was a huge fan of hers! Only reason I tuned in at 10pm news....

The district barely includes Cleveland at this point and I would argue Dennis doesn't really know Cleveland all that well anymore. I think he just got involved with LaTourette on the bridge issue at the 11th hour - why hasn't he been fighting for more infrastructure projects in the Cleveland area for the last decade? What has his position been previously on finding funding for major projects like Flats East Bank, Shoreway renovation, keeping Hopkins a major hub airport.... It really seems that he makes more appearances to fight for causes outside his current district than anything within. See his recent visit to fire up some locked out workers at a tire plant in Findlay Ohio....

Judge Angela Stokes was elected to the bench despite negative peer reviews and a scathing review in the PD's election guide.... Ditto for Dan Brady when he ran for the County Council position on the near west side of Cleveland...

I'm sure you're right on Mr Veysey being a great guy, but if there's one thing that matters in politics, name recognition is everything. I predict the sliver shaped district is split pretty much down the middle with Kaptur winning the west and Kucinich taking the East. Too close to call at this point. I hope Kaptur wins though. Kucinich has been worthless for NE Ohio - fighting to end the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan and get national recognition on topics like Healthcare Reform rather than fighting for local jobs & development. Marcy Kaptur single handedly won the I-280 bridge project for the Toledo area which was huge.

Look closely and you'll see the rotting remains of 3 light poles laying in the weeds along the railroad tracks, just east of Don's Lighthouse.... they blew down and snapped off last summer. Road crews just drug em off into the grass & they've been there ever since. It's really not a problem because they rarely mow and when they do, they just mow around em ;-)

Just watched these two square off over the Inner Belt bridge. I'd say Kaptur took it to him. Oh yeah there's some other guy running named Veysey. http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/230341/45/9th-District-debate-produces-edgy-discussions

because the concrete pavement business has a very powerful lobby and they have studies which show that over a lifespan of 30-40 years, the overall cost of a concrete road is less than an asphalt road. That doesn't take into account that the quality of the roadway is seriously reduced in the final 10-15 years before it's replaced. There are also variables to take into account, like the cost of petroleum, a major ingredient in asphalt vs the cost of steel for reinforcing concrete. Both have alot of price fluctuations. Some sections of new US-30 were paved asphalt in the westbound lanes and concrete in the eastbound lanes to serve as a study for this exact purpose.

ODOT's annual budget is more than double MDOT's budget. I lived in Michigan for 5 years, trust me, their roads & bridges are in terrible shape. They are big believers in concrete paving instead of asphalt and when the road starts to crack & crumble, they patch it and it's a mess for a decade before it ever gets replaced. Ohio uses more asphalt paving which only requires a mill & fill to resurface (albeit much more frequently) than full depth replacement of a reinforced concrete roadway. Back on topic, given that Ohio has such great needs for transportation funding, why not issue a large bond sale to fund this need for the next 10-20 years? The Governor recently stated Ohio is on the right track, tax base should be increasing.... I would consider this a reinvestment in the state's future and a good one at that.

Quite the opposite. An ODOT spec for road building is typically stricter than anything you'll ever find in private sector or anywhere else. They have higher standards for compaction, gravel, pavement thicknesses, higher strength concrete, etc. In the big picture, Ohio has very good roads I think. Michigan's roads are terrible. Indiana seems to have some backwoods standards for certain things I've noticed....

I think this is the lynchpin of the argument. In a few hours, this forum discussion already got sidetracked by talking about teachers unions, class sizes, standardized testing, etc, yet everyone agrees parental involvement is #1 factor in a child's success in school. Hmmm.... what could possibly motivate these people to be more involved with their children's educations.....

Exactly. Everyone knows this is the core of the problem at every underperforming urban school across America. New schools, more computers, more teacher education, etc is not going to change any of that. So knowing this is the real problem, why isn't it being faced head on by our leaders? Why instead is the conversation being focused on new buildings, new CEO's, lower teacher to student ratios, new technology, different testing standards....

pretty weak game overall. Seemed like both offenses struggled to find a rhythm except for Brady's 14 straight completions. Probably my least favorite superbowl since 2001 Giants vs Ravens

I'm interested to see how Patriots secondary holds up against the Giants passing attack, I think Eli will find open men all game. Also interested to see how Brady holds up to the Giants pass rush

Superbowl picks - let's get em in! Giants by 9. Over/under is 53.5, I'm taking the under

Probably/hopefully they would sell Scranton Peninsula. So who in their right mind would by that property and what would they do with it? It's not connected to anything, not a neighborhood, not a commercial district, and lies in the flood plain. Assuming you had a viable use in mind, and could obtain financing from who knows where, given the heavy industrial past, you'd have to assume some major environmental issues. Sounds like a real sweet deal for someone.

no complaints here. I invested all I had in the market last fall. Go baby go. I projected the Dow to hit 13,000 by June or July but it might do it this month or next for sure it seems. Tbideon - republican obstruction comment aside, I wouldn't say we're anywhere out of the woods in terms of this recession. We all know the unemployment percentage is a very misleading stat, underemployed is a huge problem, housing market still stuck in the gutter....

Nice work setting the call up & putting forth the initiative