Chris Estes

In the early part of April US Steel manufacturers filed suit against China for dumping steel on the US Market.  It is no suprise that the Chinese Government is upset about the probe and for the obvious reasons.  As a product of the US Steel Market and the tublar pipe used for the Oil & Gas industry the probe is welcome.

I am all for fair trade and globalization…  But the dumping of cheaper goods unfairly is dangerous to all involved, especially my family.  There are lots of problems in the US Steel Market all the way down to raw ores and scrap metal – I am not defending that.  But, what the Chinese have done over the past few years is detrimental to the global economy.  Not only in a monetary standpoint – also environmentally (see my Earth Day post “American-made steel is cleaner than steel made in China.”

I found an interesting article on United Press International titled “China dismayed over U.S. probe of steel”

Imaged adapted from TandTINC.com

For those of you that have been following me know the last year or so have been tough.  So I’m going to take a break and explain it all to you and give you the update on my status.

As many of you know I lost a job in Washington DC then moved to take a job in New York City.  For various reasons that job lasted until the mortgage crisis hits its high and the banks didn’t need contract labor.  So I once again packed my bags to move home to Birmingham because I decided to start my own Business stemming from my work with SEO by Chris and start a business of my own called Birmingham SEO. During the few months after my move back to Birmingham I need to get my health in check.  I had all kinds of physical and emotional problems that required some overnight stays for testing and observation.  Most of these so called “Problems”  were all related to stress and being overworked.  Some might just call it “exhaustion”.  So about the middle of June all is well and I’m ready to get back at it full time. Plus we all know money doesn’t grow on trees it comes from somewhere.

Image Adapted from library.thinkquest.org

During June I built my business plan and implemented the web portion.  In the process I picked up a couple sites of my own that I would use to supplement my consulting income.  The websites did show real potential. But all the while not producing money.  So into July I took a short term contract as a political consultant for the Humane Society Legislative Fund while trying bring in some revenue and potential clients down the road.  The revenue part worked well but the clients were hitting a slow.  I would make calls and look through the want ad’s for people needing services.  The state of the economy was starting to really hurt my target business and they did not or could not afford services.  So in turn business hit bottom.  I put a lot of time in building up my sites that have turned out to be only a supplement and produce about enough for a Mc Meal a day.  Since we all know money doesn’t grow on trees I have decided to get back into the regular employment market to make ends meet while I wait for my customer base to come back around.

I am currently in the process of talking to several employers but they are either almost too scared to hire or want someone with many qualifications and years of experience.  The current employment situation is a company’s dream.  They get a much better pool of applications to choose from.  I got turned down for a job that the only posted job requirement was “Pass a Drug Test” and “Graduate High School.”  The person they hired had a Masters Degree and Spoke 3 languages.  If I was the hiring manager that person would have been my choice too.

Logo from IBEW.org

Adapted from WoodFramers.com

So I am going back to my roots and what I know.  I’m a third generation union worker with an electrician brother.  Blue Collar work runs through my veins.  I have fought it and tried to change it – you just can’t change who you are.  So the most promising leads for employment is with craft unions in Birmingham.  Accepting  one of these jobs will still enable me to pursue and grow my business.  Weather it be with the Carpenters or the Electricians I hope to find the fix to my economic woes.

So really the state of the economy has effected me.  I’m not bad off like some places.  I am very fortunate and do see that if the economy doesn’t rebound and correct itself I could quickly be with the others.  My business plans are on hold for the moment.  Not really on hold – I’m waiting for the market to rebound and allow me to get back to work.

Wish me luck and wish America Luck.  Times are tough for many people. My contribution is buying American.  It may be more expensive but is a better product almost always.  Plus it helps out your neighbor.  If you neighbor is working then that means things are going to be ok.  If we get Americans back to work our Economic Crisis will be over.  Its really simple.  if people are spending money then that means there making money.  So help me do my part and make it yours.  Buy American.  Real Patriots buy American.

Image adopted from Wikinomics.com

Birmingham SEO an Alabama Based Search Engine Company and ask me to put this on my blog.  So certainly I am happy to oblige as I feel this is an atrocity. Below is copied and pasted from a blog post at BHM SEO announcing their support of Buy Alabama.

On Wednesday night Birmingham News Source CBS 42 the 10:00 broadcast announced that a boycott of Alabama had been started. The boycott is calling to boycott Alabama made goods and not patron Alabama’s tourism. The website was basing this off the fact that Senator Richard Shelby has made comments that aren’t pro bailout. While we are unsure at this time of these statements we do know that this is an attack on the good hard working people of Alabama.

In response to this atrocious action from a group in Michigan we have launched a response ourselves that is currently in development to help promote the business of Alabama. We started the site Buy Alabama. This site will be used to develop a place where Alabama Business can feature their products. We also plan to in the future open up a store showcasing some of the products to be bought and sold direct from the site. The store is just an idea and no plans are being made. Birmingham SEO will be providing the Search Engine Marketing and Optimization plan for the website for free as a duty to promoting our state.

We also believe as a duty that we help promote the whole of the US and buy American Made. You can find out more on American Made products from Made In The USA. We do not wish to boycott any state and only encourage buying American but Buying Alabama is Buying American.

I am not going to give a link to the group that is calling for the boycott but lets just say it is one crazy nut that doesn’t like Senator Shelby.  Though I know Joe Babisiaz is trying to earn support for bailing out the Big Three.  Which as you know I am fan of.

Message to Joe:

Calling for a ban on Alabama is down right un-American and wrong.  You state on your website “this is not an attack on the hard working people of Alabama”. Then what do you call it an attack on our Senator? The Senator is a hard working Alabamian and the same as attacking the car maker in Alabama. That’s right you may envy we are making good cars in Alabama that aren’t going through Financial Trouble.  But here in Alabama we buy American Made cars. We even buy Detroit made cars.  I can proudly say that most people I know in Alabama want to see the jobs of millions of American’s secure.  We all want secure jobs.  So don’t boycott Alabama buy American and build something Americans can be proud of.

I know you are just a front line worker that is afraid you may loose your job.  Senator Shelby doesn’t want you to loose your job.  He wants to ensure things are in order and bad business mistakes are not rewarded.  The cars you make are of top quality in your job.  But the problem is the decision makers – the management.  If it were up to you – you would build the best and only car on the road I get that.  But build something every kid wants, every grandmother is safe driving in and, something that gets good fuel economy and lowers emissions. Something where the bumper doesn’t fall off.  That is all Senator Shelby is saying.  He isn’t trying to punish you he is trying to right the company.

Senator Shelby is trying to protect Alabama.  He doesn’t want the citizens of Alabama to have to pay for the mistakes of a few greedy managment level automakers.  If true measures are in place that will benefit the overall life of Alabama voters Senator Shelby will support it.  But if measures in place are not there to safeguard us he will not.

There is no reason to call for a boycott of Alabama.  I kindly ask that you end the boycott and your fellow Americans for help in supporting your effort instead of dividing the country.  Because like you said we are all American’s and plenty of Alabamians support the Bailout with oversight.  Without oversight it is just like giving a college kid money  experiments or lab time or Beer and food?  So if there is some oversight we might be able to get something from it.  Like a stable auto market full of good paying jobs.

What I am telling you is your strategy is wrong.  You should be trying to unite everyone to get behind you instead of isolating and picking fights.  We are your brothers and sisters.  Embrace us and we can help.

Gas prices really hit home and affect everyone. No one really knows the true effect of gas prices until it is too late. I worry about the gas prices effect on the economy as a whole. Today’s article from CNN shows the impact it could have on airlines. As a frequent flier and traveler I have sidelined some of my trips due to the cost. In fact a trip across town is taken into consideration more closely because of the sheer cost of fuel. As a once frequent restaurant goer I now eat at home more than ever before. The cost of fuel really effects my day-to-day life.

With the volatility of the airlines these days anything that effects them shows a true representation of the American family. Like that of the already hard hit American families airlines are hurting too as can bee seen in the quote from the CNN article, “Already-depleted cash reserves are dwindling fast, and unless the fuel crisis lessens, airlines face not the now-familiar protracted restructuring in bankruptcy, but outright and immediate extinction”. The families will not disappear but it will affect the American way of life that we have grown so accustomed too.

Read the article over at CNN, Fuel costs could ‘devastate’ airlines.

Fuel costs could ‘devastate’ airlines

Rising fuel costs could drive major air carriers out of business and hurt economy, says report.

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The skyrocketing price of fuel could “devastate” the airline industry and hurt the economy, according to a report from the Business Travel Coalition released Monday.

Pressured by rising fuel costs, major airlines could collapse as early as this year, the coalition said. The failure of just one airline could disrupt travel for 200,000 to 300,000 daily passengers and cause between 30,000 and 75,000 immediate job losses, said the coalition.

The failure of more than one airline could result in 100,000 job losses, said the report, particularly in such hubs as Atlanta for Delta Air Lines (DAL, Fortune 500), Chicago for UAL Corp.’s (UAL) United Airlines and Continental Airlines’ (CAL, Fortune 500) Houston.

“Already-depleted cash reserves are dwindling fast, and unless the fuel crisis lessens, airlines face not the now-familiar protracted restructuring in bankruptcy, but outright and immediate extinction,” said the report.

Business travel would be disrupted, as would the airborne supply chain for goods like pharmaceuticals, electronics and auto parts.

Rising fuel costs hit airlines hard. Fuel expenses are expected to total $61.2 billion this year, compared to $41.2 billion in 2007, according to the Air Transport Association.

Some major airlines, such as Northwest Airlines (NWA, Fortune 500), United Airlines, Delta and U.S. Airways (LCC, Fortune 500), continue to operate despite filing for bankruptcy in the last several years. But the credit crisis would make it harder for a bankrupt airline to keep operating while trying to restructure its business, according to the coalition.

The lack of bankruptcy financing is part of the reason why smaller airlines like Aloha, ATA, Champion, Eos and Skybus recently stopped operating, said the report.

Analysts who cover the industry disagreed that a major carrier would crumble this year, because the airlines still have enough cash to survive into 2009.

“I think it’s more likely that any large airline bankruptcies would occur next year,” said Philip Baggaley of Standard & Poor’s, who has assigned his lowest ratings to U.S. Airways, AirTran Airways (AAI) and JetBlue Airways (JBLU). “At least at current fuel prices, most of them have enough liquidity to get through several more quarters. But it could get rather more uncomfortable by 2009. Oil prices are the largest variable.”

Robert Mann Jr., an industry consultant, said the airlines have enough cash to ward off collapse for this year, and that capacity cuts should help them survive.

“The cuts in flying are designed to cut cash loss and that’s what I hope happens,” said Mann.

Raymond Neidl of Calyon Securities agreed that the airlines have enough cash to avoid disaster in the near future, though he expects that the number of carriers will shrink through consolidation.

“Nobody’s going into bankruptcy this year,” said Neidl. “Airlines die slow, and they always seem to come up with the cash to keep going.”

Delta plans to acquire Northwest Airlines, though the merger is yet to be finalized.

How is the cost of gasoline effecting your life? Does it affect you daily? Do you travel less because of the price of fuel? Let the world know how the effects on your wallet…