This is why we can't have nice things

[PTmowerMech]

The President mainly affects the economy positively and negatively by individual regulations he enacts. Tightening or loosening regulations is what affects many situations in the economy.

Not really. The only thing that really affects the economy is the value of the currency. When they add trillions in new money, it devalues the existing currency. Then it costs more to buy everything. Then people slow down their buying. This affects growers and manufacturers, they have to cut back to. It's systemic.
Then somehow or another, as we're doing now, the citizens have finally start making their way through the mess these politicians created, (adjusting their incomes, changing their spending habits) until things start balancing out for them.
Then "we the people" start recovering the economy ourselves.
Those petty things the government does is usually just for a certain company. Usually the ones with the most powerful lobbyist.
But it's always we the people who suffer through, then make things better. Not the government. And certainly not any president.

 

[PTmowerMech]

Only one company that wholesales replacement work boot soles
Trouble is glues now days do not stick so my cobbler puts steel tips on the toes , a inch or so of stitching on the sides and often steel cups on the edge of the heels
My motorcycling boots are no 50 years old .
I bought a pair off brand new Caterpillar ( made in the USA ) boots at a garage sale a while back which had acid / oil/ petrol proof soles and that was true they were but some diesel dissolved the glue holding the sole on . Glad I did not pay the $ 250 ( Aus ) that they retail for .

50 years old? Good god man, what are they made of? The skin of Zeus?

 

[bertsmobile1]

50 years old? Good god man, what are they made of? The skin of Zeus?

Aussie leather
Been resoled so many times it is not funny
Stitched on soles and the bootmaker has to reset his machine so it uses the same holes because there are now way too many holes in the leather
A bit (well a lot ) of leather dressing every season makes all the difference.
People have gotten used to throw away shoes now days I have to go to a saddle shop to get leather dressing .

 

[bertsmobile1]

You have missed one set of criminals that have a bigger effect on what you pay than the government, well 2 sets actually
1) currency speculators who push the value of your $ up & down all the time
2) futures speculators who force wholesale prices up & down
One of the reasons why petrol got so cheap during the Trump government was covid slowed down the sales of fuel to the point that there was nowhere to put it .
But if you are a futures trader & you buy futures, you have to pay for the goods regardless of weather you actually collect them or not so petrol was dumped well below cost price to reduce the losses till the futures were fulfilled .
People think trump caused the price to drop but he ( like most politicians ) had absolutely nothing to do with it .

 

[PTmowerMech]

One of the reasons why petrol got so cheap during the Trump government was covid slowed down the sales of fuel to the point that there was nowhere to put it .
But if you are a futures trader & you buy futures, you have to pay for the goods regardless of weather you actually collect them or not so petrol was dumped well below cost price to reduce the losses till the futures were fulfilled .
People think trump caused the price to drop but he ( like most politicians ) had absolutely nothing to do with it .

I think it was more the Russian/Saudi oil price war that was going on.
Spot on with the presidential thing. No president tells the oil companies when to go into a boom or bust cycle.

 

[PTmowerMech]

One product that always stands out as long lasting, is Stihl. They've always made a great saw and trimmer. When you consider how much it costs to keep replacing those throw aways, one need only buy one Stihl and take care of it.

 

[GearHead36]

One product that always stands out as long lasting, is Stihl. They've always made a great saw and trimmer. When you consider how much it costs to keep replacing those throw aways, one need only buy one Stihl and take care of it.

Stihl is good, but I'm partial to Echo. Both are about the same as for long lasting, but Echo's tend to be easier to start, and parts are cheaper. Given the same size & weight of a tool, the Stihl will be more powerful. That's the tradeoff. I'm old. Used to ride motorcycles, and both shoulders have been through the ringer. I'd rather have the easier-to-start brand.

 

[PTmowerMech]

Stihl is good, but I'm partial to Echo. Both are about the same as for long lasting, but Echo's tend to be easier to start, and parts are cheaper. Given the same size & weight of a tool, the Stihl will be more powerful. That's the tradeoff. I'm old. Used to ride motorcycles, and both shoulders have been through the ringer. I'd rather have the easier-to-start brand.

I'm interested in seeing how good the new Stihl ZTR's are. If the quality in them are anything like their saws, it should be a good product. I know they have a lot of bells and whistles.

 

[PTmowerMech]

Here's another instance of parts being unavailable. The vehicle is only about 6 years old.

 

[GearHead36]

I'm interested in seeing how good the new Stihl ZTR's are. If the quality in them are anything like their saws, it should be a good product. I know they have a lot of bells and whistles.

And a lot of zero's in the price. At those prices, they had better be good. I'm glad I'm not in the market for a new ZTR. I buy used almost exclusively, so I'm sometimes in the same boat at those with no-longer-supported equipment. A couple of years ago, a control cable broke on a 20 yr old Husqvarna ZTR I had. New cable was NLA. I found someone making them, and bought a pair... at $300. And this was before the latest round of inflation.