What's wrong with this picture? (Hint, it's circled)
We had a very nice Christmas here at our house. I received lots of nice things. I got a new video camera, made in China (Look for Alicia and Alexis in HD). I also got some blank cd's, and dvd's, made in China. A label maker, made in China. A very smart flannel shirt (Just in time for the frigid Florida weather), made in China. Some great headphones that sound better than my speakers, also made in China. And finally, Mark got me a new office chair. It's covered in a very nice leather substitute (Vinyl), and is much wider than my old one so that my fat ass won't feel crowded. Guess where it was manufactured?
So this Christmas, despite my distaste for all U.S. manufacturing having been shipped off to China, I liked everything that Mark got me. My only problem was the new office chair. It came un-assembled. After an hour of struggling to put the damn thing together, it was time to plant my big ass in it and try it out. As I wriggled around in it, I could feel that something just wasn't right. The back was leaning forward, and the seat seemed to be trying to slide me towards the front and off on to the floor. My first inclination was to start cursing the Chinese, and their shoddy workmanship, but that wasn't the problem. It turned out that I had put the chair together wrong. I couldn't blame the Chinese, the instructions were clear, and the labels on all the parts were in large type, and correctly spelled. The parts even fit together easily, and spare parts were included in case I did something stupid and lost one, which I did. So in a fit of cursing and bitching, I tore the chair apart, and re-assembled it correctly. Maybe this is an indication of why American manufacturers have moved all their factories over to China, but I'd like to think that I'm an exception. That is, exceptionally inept at following instructions.
By the way, remember that sewing machine I swore I wouldn't get Mark? It's sitting under the Christmas tree, and it was made in China.
We MUST be related somehow, lol...:)
ReplyDeletejackie
WTF! Just stop buying things made in China and start supporting products made in the U.S.of A. and help lower the percentage of unemployed workers here. Duh
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, obviously you haven't bought any new things in the last ten years. There is nothing built or made in the United States anymore. Even my Chrysler PT Cruiser was built in Mexico. Go to any store and try to find something made in the USA.
ReplyDeleteGood idea, give Anonymous the project of finding American-made products. It's next to impossible but if you do, you'll not want to pay the price!
ReplyDeleteAll you have to do is look on the internet. I googled "Desk chairs made in U.S.A." and I found what you are looking for.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bestpriceseating.com/pasechasbyve.html
http://www.bestpriceseating.com/pasechasbyve.html
ReplyDeleteIn 1980 everything I sold was made in the U.S.A.. Two things happened, the buying public likes "cheap", and "cheap" they got from China. As time went on, the cheap also became quality goods. Secondly,labor became too expensive. So an item which should have cost $1.00, now costs an added $4.00 with labor and benefits. Too much for the buying public. They want the $1.00 item at $1.00 or less.You should have noticed this when the auto industry went foreign and the Big Three were no longer the "big three". Remember the first Datsun? Well,they got better.Remember G.M., well they went broke.Did you ever buy a foreign car? Well, you helped out!
ReplyDeleteYes, those chairs are 'assembled' in the USA. Where are the parts being assembled coming from? And at the sale price of $445, half the regular price, they are still three times the price of the chair Mark bought me. It's a vicious circle. When Americans lose high paying jobs to overseas, they need to shop cheap. Shopping cheap sends more jobs overseas. I still believe it is the greed of the corporate raiders of the 1980's that sent us into this spiral.
ReplyDeleteHenry Ford knew that he had to pay his workers a decent wage, or they couldn't afford to buy the cars he was building.
Ok. I had to comment on this. I curse the "cheap chinese crap" that is being thrust upon this nation and my brother.Very little quality.Products made there and other slave labor countries are not built with pride but with fear. you can smell the fear when you peel back that plastic packaging. If the labor laws, enviromental laws and human rights were applied in those countries the cost on the products would increase.
ReplyDeleteKeep track of the crap you buy at Walmart. You can't repair it, you throw it out and get another one.You end up spending the same as a quality 'made in usa' product.
two seconds on the internet I found this site: http://www.buyamerican.com/index.html
As far as Datsun, I remember those cars when they showed up,from Japan not China. GM is not bankrupt however they did sell off a lot of the foreign manufacturers that dragged them down.
I appoligize to everyone for my rant.Its in my blood. I'm Alans brother.
Actually GM did go bankrupt. I owned some GM stock, and figured the government would bail them out before they went belly up. My mistake. The government bailed them out after they went bankrupt, saving thousands of jobs. Ford is the only one that has made it through all of this looking good. I bought Ford stock on the day Obama was inaugurated. Not a mistake, I made up for all the money I bet, I mean invested (he he), on GM.
ReplyDelete