I'm in a world of trouble.

[William Falberg]

De-industrialization, to me, isn't as scary as the de-incentivization I see taking place. Between Globalcorps outsourcing, USPTO paralysis, "re-distribution" in its many forms, and tort-mania running rampant it's hard to see any light at the other end . What I do see is a troop-train full of Civilian Security Forces. Is anybody here running for political office? I think we need more carpenters in DC.

[Mark J Bachler]

I have a shop over here in Shell Lake Wi, & looks like I'll have some open time in late Oct. & Nov. Just sayin'....

Mark Bachler
New Knapp Designs
3545 N New Knapp Rd
Shell Lake, Wi. 54871
715-468-2973

[Prashun Patel]

Good luck. I hope all the jobs come through! Better to be busy and sleepless than dead.

[Neal Clayton]

Doug, you don't have to be am economist to understand what is going on, just read a little and look around. I'm not so sure about the "slowly hanging ourselves" part though. The deliberate deindustrialization of the USA is happening at a rate so fast that I would not have thought possible.

I fear for my children and grandchildren.

nevermind the children, that boat has already sailed. grandchildren won't even know about it.

look at new orleans, where i grew up. when hurricane katrina hit they had one fortune 500 company left, that one was near bankruptcy due to the hurricane losses. freeport and shell had left already.

and that's the largest port in this hemisphere and the area that produces 20-30% of our oil and gas.

[Karl Brogger]

I have a shop over here in Shell Lake Wi, & looks like I'll have some open time in late Oct. & Nov. Just sayin'....

Mark Bachler
New Knapp Designs
3545 N New Knapp Rd
Shell Lake, Wi. 54871
715-468-2973

Huh. I was in Shell Lake a couple of weekends ago, and about a month before that. I race catamarans, and one of the races is on that lake. Nice area.


Nobody in this country is willing to work for $2.75 an hour anymore. The minimum wage shouldn't even exist. Employees should be paid for what they do, not some arbitrary number. If an employer can't find or keep people maybe he should be paying more. If he can't afford to pay more, then he needs to charge more. If you can't figure out how to do either of those, then maybe its time for a career change, (I know I've kicked around option three a few times). Employment like anything else is market driven, both ways. Shortage of people, then wages go up and the other way around.

I don't know what the solution is to manufacturing jobs being moved out of the country, but the USA is a very expensive place to live. Not having a vehicle isn't a choice for the bulk of the population. Home prices are still pretty high even after the market has taken the hit it has. It really is tough to get by on your own and make less than $30k a year. Throw kids on top of that, or just starting out in life and its alot to handle. Another problem is everyone expects everything now, and doesn't expect some hardship along the way.

[Matt Ocel]

I have been out on my own as a remodeler for 4 years.
New construction field manager for 17 years before that.
I live by a few rules. Religiously!
Treat people as you wish to be treated is #1.
Give a fair honest price.
Do the best work you can. Allways.
Keep the job site clean. Everyday.
Finish as you promised.
Communicate.

P.S.
I'm swamped

[Chris Tsutsui]

Good info in this thread.

I know Integrity is important.

I may be in an office all day, but when I do estimates for a living, clients will never complain if they are billed LESS than the estimated amount, but they will almost always complain if they are billed OVER.

The same with deadlines. Give yourself extra time if things go wrong or something has to be revised. (This is something I still have to work on).

So the goal is the give yourself the maximum amount of time and money so that you get the job, but in the end you get to suprise your client and charge them less and finish early!.

Boy I know I wouldn't complain if that happened to me on some occasions.

[Mark J Bachler]

Next time your in town stop out. I'm 1 1/4 miles north of town on New Knapp rd. 3545
Fish much???

Good help is hard to find & harder to keep.

Huh. I was in Shell Lake a couple of weekends ago, and about a month before that. I race catamarans, and one of the races is on that lake. Nice area.


Nobody in this country is willing to work for $2.75 an hour anymore. The minimum wage shouldn't even exist. Employees should be paid for what they do, not some arbitrary number. If an employer can't find or keep people maybe he should be paying more. If he can't afford to pay more, then he needs to charge more. If you can't figure out how to do either of those, then maybe its time for a career change, (I know I've kicked around option three a few times). Employment like anything else is market driven, both ways. Shortage of people, then wages go up and the other way around.

I don't know what the solution is to manufacturing jobs being moved out of the country, but the USA is a very expensive place to live. Not having a vehicle isn't a choice for the bulk of the population. Home prices are still pretty high even after the market has taken the hit it has. It really is tough to get by on your own and make less than $30k a year. Throw kids on top of that, or just starting out in life and its alot to handle. Another problem is everyone expects everything now, and doesn't expect some hardship along the way.

[Karl Brogger]

Got the first kitchen. They haven't picked a specie or a door style yet though. Hopefully they get those two little items ironed out in short order so I can get material before the long weekend.