Yachts Will Save America's Middle Class!

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:04 PM on June 8, 2007.

Eddie Torres: Tired of seeing U.S. manufacturing off-shored to China? Fear not, America's 21st century yacht-based economy has arrived!

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This post is by AlterNet reader Eddie Torres.

Depressed due to a recent job loss? You're not alone. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US manufacturing sectors suffered 4,272 mass firing events and generated 583,125 new unemployment claims in 2006. Believe it or not, the US is set to lose its role as the world's top overall manufacturer.

In 2020.

Yes, China will eventually take over first place. But its current share of global manufacturing output is 12.1%. America's share? 22.2%. According to a Global Insight study, the US share will remain above 20% until at least 2024.

How?

Yachts!

The three largest US manufacturers of boats 8 meters (26 feet) or longer - Brunswick, Marine Products, and Hunter Marine - will combine for $3.24 billion in 2007 projected sales. That beats the next largest manufacturers in Italy ($1.65 billion) and France ($900 million) by a nautical mile.

Annual sales in the "leisure boat business" are at $25 billion and growth is 5% to 10% per year. When asked why yacht manufacturing hasn't been relocated to low-wage countries like China, Paolo Vitelli (CEO of Italian boat builder Azmut-Benetti) said "…a modern boat includes many kinds of sophisticated items which are unlikely to be made in China."

Such as?

LRADs. Long Range Accoustic Devices, made in San Diego by American Technology Corporation (ATC), are in use across the maritime world by supertankers, container ships, and yachts as anti-pirate weapons. LRADs deliver 150 decibels of sound up to 300 meters. According to Carl Gruenler from ATC, "you definitely don't want to be within 100 meters of the noise."

SEAL teams. Paul Allen's yacht, the Octopus (413 feet / 126 meters), requires a crew of 60 - "including a troop of former US navy security specialists". China just doesn't have the overseas clandestine action experience necessary to offer these kinds of services to billionaires. Yet.

Shadow yachts. Allen, when the Octopus ran out of storage space, was forced to shop for a back-up yacht that could haul extra luggage, smaller boats, a mini-submarine, jet-skis, motorbikes and a Humvee. Kind of like a floating garage. Floating garage technology is not common in China or other low-wage countries. Yet.

Other key systems still made in high-wage countries like the US include sophisticated diesel engines and electronic navigation systems.

Yachts also indirectly support other key US sectors that are difficult to relocate or outsource, like Hollywood. Peaceful Fish, an advertising and product placement consultancy, offers an annual Global Film Financing Workshop at Cannes aboard the yacht "El Bravo", where any fellow yacht owner can become the next Jeffrey Katzenberg, Sam Simon, or Michael Eisner.

So, lost your assembly line job in Flint, Michigan? Your next career move is painfully obvious: buy an American-made yacht, sail it to Cannes, and let the money rain down from the heavens. You'd be stupid not to.

Tagged as: satire, economy, reader posts

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250 Nigerians [Report this comment] Posted by: vertical on Jun 8, 2007 4:12 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] We have all seen the statistics: 1 American uses the same amount of energy as 250 Nigerians. This seems high to me, but when you count up the amount of energy used by America's A listers it makes sense. I wonder how many Nigerians it would take to use the same amount of energy as say Donald Trump? Maybe 10,000. America curently uses 25% of world oil supply. I bet we could easily cut that in half by just getting ride of our Athletes, CEOs and Celebraties. We need to loose the ACCs of this country. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Precursors to totalitarianism... [Report this comment] Posted by: thoughtcriminal on Jun 9, 2007 10:25 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Broadly speaking, there are certain prerequisites for fascism. One is that millions of people, especially those in the middle class or aspiring to enter it, become unemployed or only marginally employed. They become victims of the recurring crises of capitalism, which to soem degree affect everyone. These crises--recession, depression, inflation, the failure of banks and other savings institutions, large-scale bankruptcies and property foreclosures --have occurred in all major capitalist societies. Hmmm.. that's the result. You know, if you join up with the religious right, you'll meet the 'right people' who will steer you into a good job with Raytheon, SAIC, Blackwater, Lockheed-Martin, etc. A second characteristic of pre-fascist rule is the weakening of confidence in political democracy and its institutions. What if all these darkie immigrants become citizens, and start voting? Oh, no, no, no! Maybe democracy isn't such a good idea after all... A third characteristic is monopoly capitalism protected by the state and interconnected with the government. This is evident in the United States in the military-industrial complex (which President Eisenhower warned about) by which the political, strategic, and economic interests of the huge arms industry, the civilian and military employees of the Pentagon, the intellectuals in scientific laboratories and universities, and journalists close to the CIA and Pentagon operate... Government owned, corporate operated - look no further than the University of California's Lawrence Livermore labs, now "managed" by Bechtel (construction) BWXT (nuclear weapons), Battelle Memorial Institute (nukes, NSA spy tech, and biological warfare), and the Washington Group (finance and banks), with the UC providing 'academic legitimacy' for the whole operation. As for the media, there's Katie Couric, ex-Pentagon employee... Fascist movements in Europe prior to World War II were led by men who claimed to be Christians and who merged religious emphases with nationalism and severe discrimination against minorities, homosexuals, Gypsies, Jews, and communists. They engaged in government sponsorship of religion. All of these moves violated genuine Christian values. In the United States today the only large movement publicly proclaiming similar values is led by religious radicals such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Randall Terry. They are organized in various political groups, such as the Christian Coalition, which infiltrated the Republican Party and publicly advocates government sponsorship of religion; Operation Rescue and the Lambs of God, which engage in terrorist tactics to intimidate women, physicians, and their families; and the Coalition on Revival, which advocates execution of adulterers, homosexuals, and others and which links various radical groups together. Psycho right-wing racist fruitcakes running around with invisible messages scrawled on the inside of their foreheads...and they've also got their Hitler Youth movement running...Move Over, Ann Coulter - what a hot young Aryan! Nothing sells like sex, after all. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » Not a bad idea...I'll sell out if the price is right Posted by: ateo

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» Not a bad idea...I'll sell out if the price is right Posted by: ateo