Re: well its gone...[long reply]

Posted by Buzzman72 on February 05, 2010 at 23:13:25 from (74.129.194.33):

In Reply to: well its gone posted by trucker40 on February 05, 2010 at 21:54:32:

Hate to break it to you, but there were NO politicians building Ford and Chrysler plants n Mexico; there were NO politicials selling manufacturing fixtures and technology to China. These were businessmen who did that. Businessmen started doing that when they started buying companies and gutting them...or in terms that farmers and mechanics will understand, "parting them out."

Businessmen did that when they saw that certain divisions, while profitable, might not be able to sustain double-digit increases in profits year after year after year. So these "underperforming" divisions were either spun off and sold to competitors, or parted out with plants being closed and the manufacturing fixtures and equipment sold to overseas business...or scrapped.

Why did they do it? Greed, pretty much. Now, don't get the idea I'm anti-business; my dad and grand-dad ran a small business for just over 50 years, so I know a little about what it takes to make it work. Sure, you always want to grow the business;but when the economy goes into a slump, you don't stop doing what made you money in the first place. And as Pappy once told me, "Sometimes, if you can't get a loaf, take a slice; but the important thing is the bread." The dollars have to keep circulating in your business, or you're dead. But if reasonable profits don't interest you, you CAN go ahead and close the business when earnings are down.

Pappy had his boat: it was 8 feet long and made out of plywood,and had a half-horse outboard and a set of oars. And Grand-dad went on his hunting safaris: usually for squirrels, and usually after 4 pm, when most of the day's work was already done. The ONLY time either of them drove brand-new cars was when they were SELLING brand-new cars. Neither of them could stand the snobs at the country club, and neither played golf, tennis, or any of those other trendy sports. But Pappy found time to be an officer in the local saddle club, a Sunday school teacher, a 4-H leader, and even the local Scoutmaster. The community supported his business, and he supported his community.

And while Grand-dad and Pappy had opportunities to make more money, they kept in mind the ability of their customers to pay. I remember the big debate they had about bumping their shop labor rate from $10 to $12.50 an hour, primarily because their gas and electric bills went up. They bought their IH and Farmall parts from the big dealer in the county at 20% off suggested list price, and sold to their wholesale customers at 10% off list. So with an average gross profit of probably 15-18% on parts, and low labor rates, their net wasn't anything to write home and brag about. But I remember a few years back finding an old ledger in the shed from either 1952 or 1953, and they had gross parts, labor, car, truck, and appliance sales of around $250,000 for the year...probably several million dollars when adjusted for inflation. But back in that time period, Pappy's salary was set at $50 a week, and Grand-dad's was similar.

They lived comfortably, for the most part...but they weren't rich by any means. They also weren't greedy, either. Their philosophy about customers was, rather than trying to retire off each and every transaction like some competitors seemed to do, to try to treat the customer fairly and let the customer GRADUALLY pay for that retirement. Unfortunately, neither one of them got to enjoy retirement; Grand-dad worked at the shop until the week before he died at age 78, and Pappy still had a couple of jobs in the shop when he passed away almost 19 years ago at age 61.

Replies:

• Re: well its gone...[long reply] E.B. Haymakin' 07:23:25 02/06/10 (0)

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