"one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industry."

Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

That is my point that Russians has to import all of their "good stuff" There is far more demand than supply for goods such as automobiles. If they had a robust manufacturing sector in the past such as the US, do you think they would be importing so much or would they be building their own? I am in the car business and every day I am in contact with 4 to 5 Russian importers and they will pay me $10000 to $15000 over MSRP for certain new model vehicles that have a MSRP of about $60000. They simply have more money then they known what to do with because they have a difficult time disposing of it. They cannot import fast enough to satisfy their demand. That is what I do not want for this country. Maybe this clears up my meaning of my post.

I hear you. See the point you are making. I don't see a problem with having more money than I know what to do with or having a difficult time disposing of it. If that is what we are evolving toward (which isn't the case) then all manufacturing will go overseas and we still will be a hungry market for all those goods.

More history about Russia. They do still have a robust manufacturing sector, but what they make is generally of poor quality and therefore kept in their borders. They can't compete on quality selling that stuff outside of Russia. Russia has not yet developed such a strong of a consumer market for imports. It's happening, but slower than the income growth of its minority millionaire class. That is what is making it difficult to get the good stuff. Supply and demand. There is little demand there currently. We will always have strong demand here.

So back to the point. What if all of our manufacturing went overseas and quality was maintained and prices dropped? Would you buy and sell it? I would. We already are.
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

what about the media's role in this? I'm doing ok.. my neighbors are all doing ok.. I'm on a bank board and we have loans out in NW Oklahoma, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Dallas and surrounding areas. We have not a single one that is 'special mention' even let alone foreclosing.. sure we have been careful and I realize not hit as hard as a lot of markets. But just the awful cry the media makes causes everyone to pull in.

'recession' is when your neighbor loses his job... 'depression' is when you lose yours..
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

what about the media's role in this? I'm doing ok...

Here is a great video on Reason.tv by (of all people) Drew Carey called "Living Large" that talks about just this issue...about just how "awful" the middle class has it. Check it out - its a great commentary on todays media and even has a segment dealing with boating by the "poor" middle class.

There is also a very timely article in today's Wall Street Journal about how the middle class college kids are facing "doom and gloom" at the possibility of cutting back on their iPod downloads and such. Its too long to post but along the same lines.
 
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Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

Wesley..............can we change the title of this post so it has something to do with Cactus or House Trailers?
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

If it's a good time to buy a boat, it's an even better time to buy a new car. Just picked up a 2008 Audi TT Roadster last week for $500 dollars over the dealer invoice. I have the invoice and this is a new model that a few years ago would have sold at list or maybe $150 off list. When times are tough, bargains are everywhere you look.
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

telling someone what they can and cant charge for a product or service is foolish. in our society, the market will dictate what price can be had. if people dont like the price or the product, they will go elsewhere. it will take a bit longer for the "hard times" to hit the large boat market b/c the buyer of a that size boat will be less affected by the economy, at least INITIALLY! remember, mr. potter came in and bought all of bedford falls during the great depression - why? b/c he could afford to!
150px-Henry_Potter.jpg
gary, did you issue that mason a 1099?
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

I don't know much about the state of the economy.

Except that last year Oranges cost $.75 and now cost $1.50.
Bread last year used to be $2.59 and now costs $3.79
Gas a few years back before the current administration cost $1.25 now costs $3.39

Every bill I get in the mail seems to be 10% higher than the year before. Property tax increases are unrelenting. N.J. Sales tax went up from 6% to 7% two years ago.

I used to be able to afford to vacation in Europe. . .but that seems not a good option anymore.

My cell phone used to cost me $19.99 per month and now costs me $39.99 per month.

From my perspective. . . .my raises are definately not keeping up.

But a few things seem ok. The cable bill stopped going up two years ago (shock and awe on that one!). Pricing on consumer electronics seem to be stable (while quality improves).
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

So when are we going to hear Gary's cactus joke? Or am I a day late and a dollar short? Oh no, I'm a dollar short...Recession!!!
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

I'll be kicked off the board if I tell the cactus joke...
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

Well I'm not looking to get you into any trouble, so I'll guess we'll skip it.
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

"They" even deleted my cactus pictures...
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

does the cactus joke have to do with BMW owners?
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

Yes....
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

Don't you own a BMW? Are you on the inside!
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

wellhell..most frustrating post ever! and now the pics are gone.. this thread is *worthless*

:)
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

My wife does.
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

yeah the economy is bad, my assistant had to settle for the 8 gig iphone instead of the bigger 16 gig because his wages were so low.
 
Re: "one of the most challenging times ever seen in the history of the marine industr

Consumer confidence...or lack thereof...
 

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