Here it comes....

[bonkuba]

Most of you know that I own a few tire stores so I thought I would bring you up to date on what you will be paying very soon....

Chinese tires will be going up.....thank you Obama......35%. You might think who cares?? Well, I got word yesterday from Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear that they will all be going up an average of 15-20% on certain lines and then bring all others up over the next few months.

I fail to see what good this Chinese tarrif does....other than take even more money out of our pockets. These increases will not be absorbed by the retailer they will be passed on to the consumer.

My family depends on me making $$ selling tires and services. I wish the government would get the f*** outta my biz.

Buy your tires before then of the month.....or well get it in the end :-) .

Sorry for any typos.....typing onthe iPhone :-)

[StoopTroup]

Link?

[badger]

Chinese tariff, eh? Must want the employers to stay home rather than outsource... and yes, I know it's the consumer and local biz owners that hurt the most when tariffs come to town.

Given the state of the economy, I'm not surprised at the tariff idea... I'm not sure if biz owners like yourself can afford to raise prices much more, though. People probably aren't buying a lot of tires as-is.

[OUHOMER]

you know when they were talking about the new tariff, I knew it was going to give every tire maker an excuse to raise their prices.

Nothing more that a tax on the Chinese. And we will pay it for them

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Protectionism is the worst attribute of the donks. Bill Clinton was a free trade advocate and that's what made him a liberal Republican, which is my kind of candidate.

Tariffs are taxes on the American consumer.

[GrapevineSooner]

The problem with protectionism is because it either doesn't take into account or willfully ignores the law of unintended consequences.

Glad I got my tires when I did, I guess.

[Curly Bill]

I need some new tires, but I was thinkin I could make the ones I have now last another few months. :(

[StoopTroup]

Protectionism is the worst attribute of the donks. Bill Clinton was a free trade advocate and that's what made him a liberal Republican, which is my kind of candidate.

Tariffs are taxes on the American consumer.


Gee...I thought there were different kinds of tarriffs.

Didn't know they were all just bad.

So when did they get rid of them all and why are they suddenly bringing them back?

[SicEmBaylor]

I'm actually a fan of targeted tariffs.
Tariffs used to be the primary source of Federal income absent the income tax.

It's an economic tool that can either be destructive or useful depending on how, when, and how long it's used.

[SicEmBaylor]

The problem with protectionism is because it either doesn't take into account or willfully ignores the law of unintended consequences.

Glad I got my tires when I did, I guess.

There are plenty of unintended consequences associated with free-trade.

[Chuck Bao]

I haven’t read the story yet, but I’m guessing that the US Commerce Department applied countervailing duties on the import of tires from China due to China manufacturers/distributors engaging in unfair trade practices, such as selling below cost.

bonkuba, if your competitor sells tires below cost to gain market share and drive you out of business, do you think you would complain and ask for a remedy even though consumers are benefiting in the short-term?

Since the large market share brands immediately all raised prices, it may seem like collusion, which is of course illegal. But, I’m not so sure that tire price increase was not overdue. I don’t remember the cost breakdown of tire manufacturers, but I think carbon black is a major cost and essentially a derivative product of the oil refineries. I have no idea of current natural rubber and steel prices.

I am mentioning all of this just to say President Obama maybe deserves some criticism, but I don’t think this issue would be decided any differently in a Republican administration.

[GottaHavePride]

I mean, theoreticaly, it's possible that if China WAS keeping prices on their tires artificially low, then US manufacturers would have to do the same to stay competitive. In that case, a new tariff on Chinese tires would allow US companies to bump their prices up to where they should be without China monkeying with the market.

Of course, I don't know the actual situation.

[okiewaker]

I need some new tires, but I was thinkin I could make the ones I have now last another few months. :(

Be careful, driving on old tires is another form of population control, but hidden!!!:D

[Curly Bill]

Be careful, driving on old tires is another form of population control, but hidden!!!:D

They're not that bad, they're just not great.

I was thinking a new set right before winter would be about right.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

I'm actually a fan of targeted tariffs.


I understand a nominal fee to access our markets, but beyond that, why should gov't bureaucrats inhibit my FREEDOM to choose which products and services I purchase?

Individual citizens are in better position to make market decisions than allowing gov't bureaucrats to make market decisions for them.

[SoonerKnight]

2 things the tire companies have not been staying in the U.S.! My brother in law got laid off last year because the plant moved to Mexico. Anyway, China started that shat when they tarriff something of ours and refuse to sell our products over there. Come on people you got a billion people in china!

[StoopTroup]

Maybe you could increase other services until things straighten themselves out Bonk?

I hate seeing anyone have to struggle...especially in the retail market. I watched Sam Walton dismantle one of my old work places though. He used China to do it too.

I lost my job/career.

I seem to remember Ronald Reagan being President at the time too.

The little guys don't stand much of a chance anymore.

Something I think consumers should consider when they are rushing out to buy stuff. Would buying locally and paying an extra buck here and there be better than going down to walmart and spending the same amount of dough without realizing you just bought about 6 things you really didn't even need but the price was right...so why not....

I hope the tire business your in continues to keep everyone employed. I used to sell tires too. Thanks to Walmart...I quit doing that a long time ago.

They did me a favor IMO. I got smarter and found a way to continue my life...go get married, have kids and go to OU games. I'll do it again if I have to...this time....time is against me. I don't have 20 years to learn to do something different. It would be lots harder. So again...I wish you the best.

I'm probably gonna go down to Sam's (wally world outlet) and buy some tires too. I wish I knew a reputable dealer in Tulsa...but I'm not sure there is one anymore. I might keep the old ones this time too. I'm thinking you can do better getting rid of them on Craigslist when they are just to worn for your own taste.

[OUHOMER]

I have put some effort to look for the country of origin when i buy something. Its amazing to me what all is made in China.

Light bulbs for instance, i think the only place on earth that makes those new energy screw in bulbs is china.:(

the last set of tires i bought for my truck were TOYO (japan) tires. toughest tire i have ever had. i think they are 8 ply or better. i think i could drive on these without air. I have about 40,000 miles on them and they are not showing any wear.
I get no sway when i am pulling travel trailer like i did with the original tires.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Would buying locally and paying an extra buck here and there be better than going down to walmart

Sorry, no affirmative action. My consumer dollar goes to the most meritorious product or service.

My wife is a small business person. She can't compete against the big boys or the online businesses with respect to price. So she has to beat them with higher quality service. If you sell something that is just a commodity where quality of the product or service really isn't all that distinguishable, then the big boys will beat you.

If mom and pop are selling boxes of Tide detergent for $10 while Bigass-mart is selling it for $7, then tough $hit for mom and pop. Tide is Tide, unless mom and pop are going to wash the damned clothes, iron, and fold them for you. Mom and Pop need to find a niche market in which they can distinguish themselves from the big boys.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

wha? even nittos?

[bonkuba]

My understanding is everything auto and light truck chinese......for instance Bridgestone has a line (Primewell) that is made in China....so those go up 35%.....which basically blows them outta the water with quality/price, etc. However, there is nothing to take it's place......so we all end up paying more.

To me, this is not a pub or dem thing.....just a stupid thing. I don't want the government messing with my biz at all.

As far as Wall Hole.....we actually get business because of them. Customers leave so pissed off they driver right over to us. :D

Sorry guys....just had to vent. This is some of the stupidest crap I have ever seen (been in this since 82 started with my father). I was outta the biz for a while....worked for IBM for 15 years then bought the stores about 2 years ago. I now get to go to all the OU home games (so it was worth it...haha!):D :D

Take care everyone.......

[StoopTroup]

No biggie...I totally understand your plight...it's just lost on me because I was a casualty of it a long time ago when they started closing factories and businesses in the US. Now it's out of hand again and we are getting beat at our own game.

Thus...the only way to slow it down might be with a tarriff. Not sure what the answer is but there sure are some really rich people who no longer invest in anything but themselves IMO.

[85Sooner]

alot of folks choose to buy things online to avoid sales taxes. I tell them that to feel free to put a sign on their homes telling police and firefighters to pass on by if anything happens. Since they don't want to pay for the service, they should not get it. Seems alot of folks don't want to pay for service but bitch to the high heavens when they get crappy service. I dunno.

[StoopTroup]

I think once you've worked solid for 30-40 plus years and helped pay into the system...your due a few perks. Sales Tax might be one of them...another is property tax on ONE residence that you actually live in. Federal Income Tax...shouldn't have to pay especially if your relatives are going to pay a tax if you leave them anything.

I could go on...but none of that will ever happen. Things are way out of control.

[SicEmBaylor]

No biggie...I totally understand your plight...it's just lost on me because I was a casualty of it a long time ago when they started closing factories and businesses in the US. Now it's out of hand again and we are getting beat at our own game.

Thus...the only way to slow it down might be with a tarriff. Not sure what the answer is but there sure are some really rich people who no longer invest in anything but themselves IMO.

I have a much bigger problem with free-trade agreements than I do the actual practice of free-trade. Ideally, I'd prefer a system based on total free-trade but that's a utopian dream that has nothing to do with reality.

I have no problem with free-trade between somewhat equitable economies and societies. For example, Canada. The problem is when you have a free-trade agreement with a nation with far fewer labor laws, standards, taxes, income, regulations, etc. it creates an unfair advantage for that trading partner and puts us at a disadvantage.

I don't understand how American industries are supposed to remain competitive and retain workers and factories in these United States when they are saddled with byzantine labor regulations, taxes, large amounts of regulation, etc. How are they supposed to compete with the cheap labor in Mexico, China, etc? They can't. Tariffs are a way of leveling the playing field.

I don't view tariffs as a way for the government to control what you can buy; though high prices are, at times, the trade-off for keeping jobs and industry in this country. The increased prices might even be offset by the fact that an American worker can afford that increase because he has a job rather than be unemployed and unable to afford the cheaper goods.

[Okla-homey]

Hey Bonkmeister. Check yer peems.

[tommieharris91]

I'm actually a fan of targeted tariffs.
Tariffs used to be the primary source of Federal income absent the income tax.

It's an economic tool that can either be destructive or useful depending on how, when, and how long it's used.

Tariffs and general protectionism helped prolong the Great Depression.

[tommieharris91]

alot of folks choose to buy things online to avoid sales taxes. I tell them that to feel free to put a sign on their homes telling police and firefighters to pass on by if anything happens. Since they don't want to pay for the service, they should not get it. Seems alot of folks don't want to pay for service but bitch to the high heavens when they get crappy service. I dunno.

You wrote this with your avatar?!!?! I coulda swore someone like Froze or KC wrote this post.

[Okla-homey]

Tariffs and general protectionism helped prolong the Great Depression.

We need to go ahead and go balls deep on our conquest of Southwest Asia. That'll fix the economy. Wars put folks back to work. Every time. Just like WWII ended the Great Depression--with tongue only halfway in cheek.;)

[StoopTroup]

I don't understand how American industries are supposed to remain competitive and retain workers and factories in these United States when they are saddled with byzantine labor regulations, taxes, large amounts of regulation, etc. How are they supposed to compete with the cheap labor in Mexico, China, etc? They can't. Tariffs are a way of leveling the playing field.



This something you'll never understand unless you've spent time in the workforce IMO. You just have no idea what you are up against when you try to change any of that. The only way you can IMO is to change it in the Country your competing against. If it takes sacrifice or tarriffs....that's what it takes. To many folks have sold out labor forces just because they were tired of dealing with them IMO.

I'll give you a Homegrown example. Zebco. Steve Largent helped sell out the Labor Force with Zebco. He's no longer a politician In Oklahoma now....yet Zebco's doors are still open. What they found was yes...you can mass produce the **** out of your cheap **** over there but the high quality products....They needed a more skilled labor force to put it out. Once everyone figured out Zebcos stuff was just like everyone elses....brand loyalty was lost.

Bottom line...their management got lazy or maybe you could say stupid or maybe greedy....and they changed that place for little or no reason. Years and years of North Tulsa Residents and their Families were forever changed and Zebco will never get that back from them...it would cost them to much now.

Some here might have a different way of looking at it...that's just the way I see it.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Why do you protectionists hate poor people?

The tariff is nothing but a regressive tax that affects low income people and it has little impact on the affluent. The United Steel Workers of America, representing a few thousand tire manufacturers, wanted Obama to kiss their a$$es. Unfortunately the tire tariff will not create any new U.S. tire jobs – but it will cost jobs by inhibiting economic activity.

Poor people will drive on worn tires longer. Those who do buy the tariffed tires will have less disposable income to spend elsewhere. There will be less economic activity.

The U.S. tire manufacturers weren’t interested in advocating the tariff, as low end tires made in the U.S. aren’t profitable for them to manufacture in the U.S. If any new jobs are created it might be in Indonesia, which has low overhead like China.

This reminds me of the corn broom makers who wanted to keep a tariff on brooms made outside the U.S. The U.S. broom makers were making $20-something per hour compared to $2/hour for non-U.S. broom makers. Well, there is no way the U.S. workers can be competitive in the global market when they are so overpaid. Their only market would be domestic. Life’s a beetch when there’s a billion workers with only a 2nd grade education who are capable of being just as productive – and on a cost basis, much more productive. Educators have been harping for 30 years on the need for high-end skills to compete in the 21st century. Those who ignored the advice now whine about wanting to be paid ten times their market value.

Tariff-protected workers tend to be so overpaid, you might think they work for Al Davis. It makes no sense to have an affirmative action program for them, “You qualify for a subsidized salary ‘cause you slid out of yo mom’s vagina in the U.S.”

Meanwhile, the millions of U.S. consumers of brooms would have had to pay more for brooms had a tariff remained, again – a regressive tax to subsidize a few hundred overpaid workers. The money going to higher priced brooms would not be spent elsewhere or saved.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/jfa0261l.jpg

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Gee...I thought there were different kinds of tarriffs.

Didn't know they were all just bad.

So when did they get rid of them all and why are they suddenly bringing them back?

We got rid of some of them when we realized the Hebert Hoover strategy doesn't work so well.

The occasional use of tariffs by free traders such as ronald reagan and bill clinton is like the use of a personal foul in football to get your opponent's attention. But one understands that 15 yard penalties start to add up and you're hurting yourself.

[OUHOMER]

alot of folks choose to buy things online to avoid sales taxes. I tell them that to feel free to put a sign on their homes telling police and firefighters to pass on by if anything happens. Since they don't want to pay for the service, they should not get it. Seems alot of folks don't want to pay for service but bitch to the high heavens when they get crappy service. I dunno.

I dont buy into this. depending on what you buy, you may save on taxes, but by time you pay for shipping i think it a wash. At least for me anyway.

[olevetonahill]

Tars have already went up
thank ya Obama .