London Ohio Story

[bulletbrown]

Anyone read Sundays , Chicago Tribune story and interveiws with business owners in London Ohio?

[Excaliber]

Got a link, or perhaps, a 'Cliffs Notes' version of the article?

[computerworks]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...ck=1&cset=true

[Excaliber]

OK, so I had to REGISTER (using mostly bogus info) to read this article (using mostly mundane info). It seems to have little or nothing to do with London, Ohio and is a political commentary on the State of Ohio in general. I'm left baffled as to why it noted as London, except they quote several people from the town on the State of the Economy in general as representative of the Nation at large.

Times are tough, Bush is an idiot, gas price is to high, political in-fighting, etc. Hmmm, sounds just like a lot of cities around the country, what else is new?

...or maybe I just missed the point...

Thanks for the link Ron. I've found the political commentary on London much more interesting right here on CC. Never a dull moment come "Spring".

[rob frink]

Ohio is one of the "Rust Belt" states here in the Midwest that thrives on the auto Industry. Our small rural towns are economically energized by small maunufacturing companies that supply the Big Auto makers. Along with supporting the domestic Companies in Detroit, we are also home of Honda North America. When the auto industry slows down...then the troubles flow down stream to the Mom and Pop machine shops, metal stampers, plastic injection molders...etc. London, is caught in the middle of Dayton's Delphi market and Marysville's Honda plants. This is a never ending cycle that rises and falls with the economy. This story will fit nearly any town in IL, IN, or MI...just substitute "London" for ...say "Grand rapids", or "Ft Wayne".

So...who's controlling this cycle...?? Right now, it is easy to point the finger at the Gas/Oil suppliers...you know, the ones that are reporting a 2 million-bazillion dollar profit for last quater.

It's funny how the prices increased due to "Katrina" damage to Gulf facilities...but now that they are about to come back on line, don't expect prices to fall because these facilities only provide a small percentage of the US demands. How is making up these rules???

ErrrG!

[Blas]

Want to have some fun....
Research where all the oil from Alsaka is going....
Remember the idea was to lesson the US's dependence on foreign oil when we built it...

[Jerry Clayton]

Yeah Blas, When I was flying up there a lot several years ago( mid 80s to early 90s) I was surprised that most of it was going to the far east and not down stateside to California--explanation-not enough refinery capacity in Calif so the trade was on --the far east countries bought Venzuwala??? oil to replace it anf shipped it to Texas!!!

Jerry

[rdorman]

All the more reason to support London Ohio. Small towns all over the place are drying up and blowing away. The small town life style is in deep trouble. We can't save them all, but we are helping to perserve a little slice of Americana right in our own back yard.

My wife is from a small town on the Ohio river. The industry there used to be coal mining and steel. As you can imagine, those are gone. A once thriving, beautiful little town is now a ghost town lined with closed shops and vacant housing. The younger generations are getting out as soon as they can, if they can. In just the 17 years or so I have been visiting her home town, I have seen a sharp decline in the area. Largely welfare and old folks are all that is left. Very depressing. Even her old high school, St. John's Central, a great old school with a proud history, has faced such a serious decline in enrollment that they don't even know if they will be able to field a football team with only 30 incoming freshmen.

LCS plays a much bigger part in London Ohio then most people can imagine!

[trularin]

A sign of depression?

[Excaliber]

My home town in Oregon has a population of 6000. It was a 'given' anybody that graduated from high school and stayed was in deep trouble. There never was any work around there, then or now.

[RichMusson]

Rick
Not to make this a political forum; but are you sure it is just happening or going to happen to small towns? When do you think it will also hit the big city?
I mean we as a country are losing our manufacturing base to other parts of the world. Does that mean we are becoming a nation of consumers?
If so, there is there any economic profit left?
Are we just living on our savings and our credit?
How long will that last?

Just a thought,

Rich

[Excaliber]

Good point Rich, and we may have all ready reached a point of no return. Our economy is\was based on making products cheaper and better than anyone else. The key to that working was (in a loud booming voice) "Volume Buisness". We could do it better, and cheaper!

No longer true. This fundamental fact strikes at the very heart of our economy model. We are in big trouble and it's only going to get worse.

[rdorman]

Originally Posted by RichMusson

Rick
Not to make this a political forum; but are you sure it is just happening or going to happen to small towns? When do you think it will also hit the big city?
I mean we as a country are losing our manufacturing base to other parts of the world. Does that mean we are becoming a nation of consumers?
If so, there is there any economic profit left?
Are we just living on our savings and our credit?
How long will that last?

Just a thought,

Rich

Not at all Rich. I am certainly no economist and not an authority on the subject. It sure seems to me that we have been losing or manufacturing base. Heck like Rob touched on, if it where not for Honda, we would be in worse shape. I don't know what is does to bring foriegn manufacturing to our soil but can you imagine if they stopped! As for big towns, it seems like they just keep getting bigger and bigger as folks move from small towns looking for opportunity... and there is only so much to go around. I wonder what the world would do if we did not have the military and buying power's that we have? How will shifts in that power effect us?

The only thing that is a constant is change... and boy are we going through a bunch of it!

[snake oil]

Gents,

It's funny that the TV and radio will have you believe that the economy is very strong.
National unempoyment is down and they have to raise interest rates because there is that fear of INFLATION.

I talk to a lot of people from different parts of the country, and
I don't hear anybody agreeing with the TV and radio hype.

Rich, I think you are right what a lot of people are spending is the equity in their homes.
Heck with the price of real estate rising so quickly in the last few years(because of low mortgage rates) a lot of people are betting that it will continue to rise.???
I don't think it will.
The bubble may not burst but the air is leaking out................

[jeffko]

Change is certainly inevitable alright and it always will be and it is gaining speed. It used to be that it took 500 to 1000 years for major economic shifts to take place like bronze age, iron age, industrial etc… However, whether its timing or the advent of this country the pace has quickened to barely 100 years from industrial age to technology age. Does that mean we will be in the tech age for 50 years until the next shift? Beats me, but we will certainly be in the forefront of this change, which is always painful to some more than others. Some old ways of life will linger longer in certain places than other and it is largely due to economic reasons. We are no longer self-sufficient and it is a world economy. At least for the foreseeable future there is no country better positioned than ours to lead so change will happen here quicker than anywhere else. Remember when you considered anything before your grandparents as the old days. Well now our kids consider our generation as the old days. It is all just happening to fast when it occurs in your own lifetime. Too bad we can’t step off the train, but rather are forced to go along for the ride. Like it or not.

I grew up in a small town and though the aunts and uncles are mostly gone now many cousins still remain. It was a mining and small manufacturing town. A few manufacturers still exist, but the only reason the town survives is largely because it is about 10 miles to a relatively large city. You guys are right. It is hard to watch. Not to be too philosophical, but it is almost like loosing your soul or a sense of who we are or where we come from. You just can’t replace grandma in an apron hanging clothes on a line, grandpa in overalls with his head under the hood of an old truck, picket fences, tire swings, picking berries for a pie, etc…or hot rods!

Sorry fellas, I almost erased this but then thought…what the heck it is my two cents.

I’m looking forward to bringing my son to London and enjoying a few days with you good people.

[rdorman]

I don't know what there is to be sorry about jeffko! I am from a big city, one that keeps growing and growing so I have no first hand experience. But I see it on the faces and hear it in the voices of my in-laws every time I see them. What you bring up makes me wonder that if a persons past no longer exists, then who are they? Kind of like the damage that has been done with loss of cultural and family traditions. Melting pot is fine but it is our differences that define us and common interest that unites us. See you in June for less somber conversation!

[jeffko]

Ah yes...an ice cold beer in the shade! I can here that Billy Joel song in the back of my mind...

[RedSnake351]

Originally Posted by jeffko

...We are no longer self-sufficient and it is a world economy. At least for the foreseeable future there is no country better positioned than ours to lead so change will happen here quicker than anywhere else.

Talking about a world economy,i.e. "Globalization". I got this a while back and you may have already seen it but this sure has a lot of truth to it:

Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?
Answer: Princess Diana's death.
Question: How come? Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian
boyfriend
crashes in a French tunnel,
driving a German car
with a Dutch engine,
driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky,
followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,
on Japanese motorcycles;
treated by an American doctor,
using Brazilian medicines.
This is sent to you by Indian, using Bill Gates's technology,
and you're probably reading this on your computer, that use Taiwanese
chips,
and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers
in a Singapore plant,
transported by Pakistan lorry-drivers,
hijacked by Indonesians,
unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexican
illegals.....
That, my friend, is Globalization !
Ralph