The Outsourcing of an entire bridge

[LegendKiller]

This is the type of activity that just pisses me off. The amount of damage that $400mm "savings" causes is massive. A huge portion of those "savings" would come back as tax receipts and/or wealth effect. Every single one of those politicians who approved thus lunacy should be fired.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/business/global/26bridge.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[Engineer]

So now our "in"frastructure is "out"frastructure? Not surprising. California seems to be the king of outsourcing.

I remember a few years ago that parking ticket entry was outsourced to Mexico from a CA city. Click me.

I'm sure that the usual crew will be here shortly stating how American labor is lazy and overpaid and look how much money we "saved". As Zebo states, it's hard to jump start an economy that has (and is being) offshored.

 

[guyver01]

The assembly work in California, and the pouring of the concrete road surface, will be done by Americans. But construction of the bridge decks and the materials that went into them are a Made in China affair.

Sounds to me like many american industries. Parts are made overseas, and assembled here.

I don't see any threads about that here, tho..

 

[Murloc]

I'm not against outsourcing but I wouldn't outsource a whole bridge to the chinese...

 

[Engineer]

Sounds to me like many american industries. Parts are made overseas, and assembled here.

I don't see any threads about that here, tho..

I've said that for years. People talk about how the US is making more stuff than ever before. I've said many times that we bring in components from Mexico, China, (wherever) and do some "value added" final assembly and then stamp "Made in the USA" or "Assembled in the USA" on it. I've watched as USA made components went from 100% to less than 50% in some segments of the US Automotive market. And we wonder why the lower 50% of people have sunk below the threshold of paying income taxes (as their income has been flat or sinking for over a decade as the solid jobs are leaving the country).

Besides, now we have the government and OUR tax dollars going directly to the Chinese and not the very Americans that are paying them.

 

[dmcowen674]

This is the most compelling parts of the article:

“I don’t think the U.S. fabrication industry could put a project like this together”

Despite the American union complaints, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, strongly backed the project and even visited Zhenhua’s plant last September, praising “the workers that are building our Bay Bridge.”

Pan Zhongwang, a 55-year-old steel polisher, is a typical Zhenhua worker.

He arrives at 7 a.m. and leaves at 11 p.m., often working seven days a week.

He lives in a company dorm and earns about $12 a day.

 

[Jhhnn]

Don't worry- American investors in Shanghai Zhenhua are doing well, and that's all that matters. It'll come home, trickle down to the rest of us sometime RSN, honest.

That's how it's worked in the domestic market for the last 30 years, right?

 

[waggy]

i agree its stupid. i would rather put US citizens to work on that then sending it over seas.

 

[Fenixgoon]

“I don’t think the U.S. fabrication industry could put a project like this together,” Brian A. Petersen, project director for the American Bridge/Fluor Enterprises joint venture, said in a telephone interview. “Most U.S. companies don’t have these types of warehouses, equipment or the cash flow. The Chinese load the ships, and it’s their ships that deliver to our piers.”

fuck this asshole. there are plenty of talented engineers and skilled construction workers who would be able to complete this project and not have its structural integrity questioned by the rest of the country.

 

[Engineer]

i agree its stupid. i would rather put US citizens to work on that then sending it over seas.

But wait, since the top 50% are the ones paying the taxes, just think of how much money they save and they can still complain about the bottom 50% not paying enough taxes. It's a win-win for them. :sneaky:

And besides, the Chinese are doing jobs that Americans wouldn't do anyway!:awe:

 

[Engineer]

fuck this asshole. there are plenty of talented engineers and skilled construction workers who would be able to complete this project and not have its structural integrity questioned by the rest of the country.

A few more projects like this and there won't be. Be like trying to open a plant in the US to make clothing or shoes....nobody in the current generation would have a clue on how to make the equipment, much less run it.

 

[dmcowen674]

Quote:
“I don’t think the U.S. fabrication industry could put a project like this together,” Brian A. Petersen, project director for the American Bridge/Fluor Enterprises joint venture, said in a telephone interview. “Most U.S. companies don’t have these types of warehouses, equipment or the cash flow. The Chinese load the ships, and it’s their ships that deliver to our piers.”

fuck this asshole. there are plenty of talented engineers and skilled construction workers who would be able to complete this project and not have its structural integrity questioned by the rest of the country.

This was and still is the Republican plan.

To strip America of any way to compete and fall down into third world status.

Mission Accomplished

Thank you Bush

Keep voting Republican :thumbsup:

 

[soundforbjt]

Yep, as soon as we can get our lazy american workers to work for $12 a day and work from 7AM to 11 PM we'll be able to compete with foreign labor.

 

[alphatarget1]

My understanding is that due to the bridge's design there aren't very many places in the US that can build something that big...

 

[Cuda1447]

Quote:
“I don’t think the U.S. fabrication industry could put a project like this together,” Brian A. Petersen, project director for the American Bridge/Fluor Enterprises joint venture, said in a telephone interview. “Most U.S. companies don’t have these types of warehouses, equipment or the cash flow. The Chinese load the ships, and it’s their ships that deliver to our piers.”



This was and still is the Republican plan.

To strip America of any way to compete and fall down into third world status.

Mission Accomplished

Thank you Bush

Keep voting Republican :thumbsup:

Dude, can you go a single thread without bashing Republicans, even if you are right? Look, Arnold is wrong. We shouldn't be outsourcing this. Its complete bs. But lets be honest, a democrat would do the same thing. This isn't an R or D problem, its a G problem. Twats like you that are so bipartisan are really the biggest problem in this country. Instead of having free thinkers and problem solvers we have idiots that tow the party line no matter what. Give it a fucking rest eh?

 

[dmcowen674]

My understanding is that due to the bridge's design there aren't very many places in the US that can build something that big...

Never heard of Michoud or New River?

 

[Engineer]

My understanding is that due to the bridge's design there aren't very many places in the US that can build something that big...

If there's one......

 

[dmcowen674]

Dude, can you go a single thread without bashing Republicans, even if you are right? Look, Arnold is wrong. We shouldn't be outsourcing this. Its complete bs. But lets be honest, a democrat would do the same thing. This isn't an R or D problem, its a G problem. Twats like you that are so bipartisan are really the biggest problem in this country. Instead of having free thinkers and problem solvers we have idiots that tow the party line no matter what. Give it a fucking rest eh?

Republicans have done and continue to do the most damage to the country.

It can survive under Democrat rule, it cannot under Republican and that is their plan.

Why do you fail to see that?

 

[dmcowen674]

Yep, as soon as we can get our lazy american workers to work for $12 a day and work from 7AM to 11 PM we'll be able to compete with foreign labor.

An article just came out that Americans are willing to work for 25 cents an hour.

 

[alphatarget1]

If there's one......

I'm no fan of outsourcing but something like this you can't really transport on land, which means you'd have to put it on a ship and ship it to California. I don't know if we have steel manufacturers with port facilities to do that. I don't think there are any big steel manufacturers in CA anymore.

And yeah, you can't really compete with $12 a day labor. The bridge's design is needlessly complicated and cost the taxpayers a ton of money.

 

[alphatarget1]

Dude, can you go a single thread without bashing Republicans, even if you are right? Look, Arnold is wrong. We shouldn't be outsourcing this. Its complete bs. But lets be honest, a democrat would do the same thing. This isn't an R or D problem, its a G problem. Twats like you that are so bipartisan are really the biggest problem in this country. Instead of having free thinkers and problem solvers we have idiots that tow the party line no matter what. Give it a fucking rest eh?

Arnold actually tried to stop the bridge and force them to pick a cheaper design...

 

[Engineer]

I'm no fan of outsourcing but something like this you can't really transport on land, which means you'd have to put it on a ship and ship it to California. I don't know if we have steel manufacturers with port facilities to do that. I don't think there are any big steel manufacturers in CA anymore.

And yeah, you can't really compete with $12 a day labor. The bridge's design is needlessly complicated and cost the taxpayers a ton of money.

Based on $12 a day labor, did it save or cut? Actually, it saved those at the top while cutting those at the bottom.

 

[guyver01]

An article just came out that Americans are willing to work for 25 cents an hour.

LOL

Just because some person was able to find 3 idiots who were willing to listen to recording of Nixon for 25 cents... doesn't mean people will do labor for that rate. That's the dumbest leap in logic i've ever read.


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/22/americans-will-work-for-25-cents-an-hour.html

Specifically, we offered to hire people who would listen to a one-hour recording of me reading snippets from old articles along with an excerpt from Nixon’s “Checkers” speech.

At a buck an hour each, India and Romania brought up the rear. And the cheapest of all labor markets? The United States of America, where we were able to hire three workers to do our job for a shockingly low figure: 25 cents an hour.

 

[alphatarget1]

Based on $12 a day labor, did it save or cut? Actually, it saved those at the top while cutting those at the bottom.

That wasn't my point. Most of the bay bridge sections (skyway) was built in the US AFAIK. The section they are working on is the "needlessly complicated" part that required manufacturing that might have made it cost prohibitive to build in the US.

East bay 'politicians wanted a pretty bridge and wanted everyone else to pay for it.

This project is delayed for 6 years and the cost overruns are astronomical, yet leaders at CalTrans get to keep their jobs.

 

[Fenixgoon]

My understanding is that due to the bridge's design there aren't very many places in the US that can build something that big...

so create a facility that can. it's called capital investment.


if you ever see an aircraft assembly line, you'll be able to see just what american workers can do.