Junk from China

We have heard much lately about dangerous Chinese products that have come to our shores, from the lead paint-laden toys to the poisoned food and toxic toothpaste.  And it seems that most anything you buy nowadays has a "Made in China" label on the back.  But I ask you, do we really need this junk?

You see, I've observed that it isn't just the toxic products that make the news that are the problem; it seems to me that Chinese goods are shoddily made in general.  For instance, there's a certain brand of Chinese-made telephone headsets that I and two people I know had the misfortune of purchasing, a very common brand.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that in every case the equipment malfunctioned (to the point where one couldn't use it) within a few months of acquisition.  The trash only has a 90-day warranty, too, which is not surprising since it seems to be loaded with a self-destruct mechanism that activates after about 90 days.  To place this in further perspective, among the three of us we probably had about 10 of these headsets (owing partially to the fact that a few malfunctioned within the 90-day period and the fact that one or two kindly retailers were willing to replace them even beyond that short time frame), and, again, every one malfunctioned.  It's staggering.

In my mind, this is just another reason why I can do without "free trade."  How does it really benefit us?  While we are enjoying cheaper goods over the short term, our manufacturing base has been destroyed; we're filling the coffers of despotic, anti-American regimes; and we've introduced dangerous products into our market.  As for the last point, when we buy produce grown abroad -- in Mexico, South America or elsewhere -- do we really know what chemicals it's treated with?  If the product is packaged food, do we know how hygienic these Third World factories are?  Does anyone in government really care?  We should remember that these Third World nations don't have the regulations or standards we do and are rife with disease and corruption.  If their packaging plants were infested with rats (a good bet, I'd say), would their governments really care?

I don't propose that we eliminate foreign trade, but I do support the institution of high tariffs, a practice that accords with American tradition.  So, no, I don't believe in free trade -- except within these 50 states.

Getting back to these shoddy products, I find it disheartening that modern Americans so readily accept low standards.  Not that long ago, people had the expectation that a product might last a lifetime.  Now, when you buy an appliance, the salesman will inquire as to whether you want an extended service warranty to cover the product after, let's say, a year's time.  If you don't have confidence that an expensive item you carry will last for at least a few years without breakdown, why are you selling it to me? 

This is just another example of the complete breakdown in standards in the West.  But, hey, in the same way that people get the government they deserve, I suppose they get the products and services they deserve, too.  And there really is a connection there, as our products and politicians seem to decline at the same rate.

Comments

[Ray Hicks]

Back in the fifties and early sixties, products marked “Made in Japan” were considered junk. Now, most Japanese products are considered well made and reliable. I would guess that soon, it will be the same for products made in China. Quality Japanese imports or junk Chinese’s imports…What difference does it make? Neither set of products were made in the United States, and that really is the problem. I watched the Ken Burns’ documentary “The War” last week and if it pointed out anything, it was that one of the great strengths of America was in its ability to manufacture goods and supply the Allied powers with war material at a rate well exceeding that of the Axis capability. That manufacturing base is gone. Even our military buys its standard pistol, the Beretta M-9, from Italy. To be fair though, Beretta uses a manufacturing plant in Maryland. But still, Beretta is an Italian Company. One wonders how Smith and Wesson in neighboring Massachusetts got left out. Better Beretta lobbyist’s maybe? Forty or so years ago, it was possible for a kid coming out of high school to get a good paying blue collar job with benefits enough to support a family. That no longer is true. We have become a nation of burger flippers and insurance salesman on the whole. Opportunities for our youth have been shipped overseas along with the potential of the Tech Industry. Jobs in construction have been taken over by illegal aliens. During the boom years in Japan there was a general shortage of labor. The Japanese, reluctant to import a foreign work force, managed to find ways to staff “the jobs Japanese would not do” with Japanese. We should do the same thing. We should also start to tax the hell out of foreign products coming into this country. And try to regain what our politicians and corporate executives, with no loyalty to anything but the bottom line, have given away.

The Japanese are outsourcing in China.

An intelligent person would be very careful buying a product with a Chinese label. Caveat Emptor. However, the bigger issue is famous brands putting their label on substandard Chinese made products. In this case, the objection should be visited on the brand. A famous branded company has a consumer franchise of inestimatable value, if the risk it and do not control the quality of what they put their label on, they should lose it. And they will. The larger issue today is not so much the Chinese quality problem, but manager's of great and famous concern destroying their stockholder's wealth by failing to control quality of their product.