But what about the "overpriced .... Russian/Taiwanese made products" g

Darian Rachal wrote:
(Chris1011) wrote in message ...

there is definitely room for another scope to bridge

the gap between the Chinese achros and overpriced
American/Russian/Taiwanese made products.
-Rich

Let me get on my soapbox for a bit here.

Yes, we all want stuff for next to nothing, but this will ultimately have a
heavy social cost. When we produce a telescope here in the US and sell it, it
is not "overpriced" with respect to its actual production cost. A large part of
this cost is the result of paying prevailing wages to our employees (somewhat
lower here in the Midwest than in other areas). We also pay all local, state
and national taxes which go towards the maintainance and upkeep of our
community as well as the nation. In addition, our employees contribute, through
their taxes, to the welfare of our nation. They also purchase food, shelter and
transportation which helps to employ another whole raft of workers, who in turn
help to support their communities.

For each manufactured product made domestically, it has been estimated that 4
times as many people are employed locally and 6 times as many outside service
businesses are used as part of the manufacturing process vs. an imported
product. In other words, a large portion of the incoming revenue stays in the
community. With an imported product, the majority of workers, suppliers and
national governments that benefit from the production of the product are all
foreign.

Lastly, as a legitimate business in our community, we want to and have to abide
by all local, state and national regulations that govern manufacturers. We
would not pay slave wages, nor would we discriminate, nor would we pollute our
air and waterways to make a product cheaper. In the short run this would leave
more money in the consumer's pocket, but in the long run, you would all be
living with filthy air and foul water, not enough money for basics, and little
or no opportunity for a large majority of citizens. Little things add up. In
our case, we use CNC machines to cut metal and glass. It would be a whole lot
cheaper to dump waste oil from these processes right into the ground or into a
nearby creek. Instead we pay a hazardous waste handler to recycle these
products.

So next time you think you're being ripped off, remember that domestic
businesses have an uphill battle against foreign producers. We pay our full
share to our own communities. We all are trying to do things right - nobody is
trying to rip anyone off.

Roland Christen


Very good points, Roland.