dedbr

What's going on with this flood into our country of products that say, "Made In China" on them? Does this bother some people the way it does me?

The economy isn't doing so well, people aren't spending, their worrying about their money. Does it bother you that our jobs are now going in to a hostile country like China?

I am involved in knives and the knife business as a hobby. I have just read that almost all of the future american cutlery will have at least the blades made in China, if not the whole knife. Now before you say big deal, this isn't something that has happened in a couple of years span, it seems like it's happened within the last two years or less.

How many american jobs does this represent? The exact figures are not available yet, but is this a natonwide trend? How many millions of products do we buy off of China now, and how many american jobs is that?

The main question I have is this; should we even deal with them after the numerous and continuous human rights violations inflicted on the people of this country by it's government? Here in Ohio there seems to be a vocal movement among small business owners to say no.

Here in southern Ohio, (better known as the gateway to the boondocks), we are seeing Wal-mart stores completely packed with products from China. There are a lot of small businesses and owners around here that won't have a Chinese product in their store. It has really raised the question of, Do I want to have things in my home from China? I know those people are extremely poor for the most part, and really need the jobs, but should we, thru our commerce, support the government they have? A government that is the main line of supply to North Korea?

The government that was responsible for Tianamen Square? China went from number nine to number two on the worldwide oil consumption list. It's becasue of their attempt to bring communism into the twenty-first century economically. They will also be turning into the worlds next big market place because they will be buying more high dollar goods.

We see a recall of a Chinese product that contains lead or some other toxin in it every week it seems. Is that what we're going to get for our cheaper chinese products, lead poisononing?


Some Where In Ded Land.......

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Guided By Voices

With the weak dollar, the US has to take advantage of bring back some of these jobs in America, and decrease the trade deficit. It's easier now to close some of these manufacturing plants in China, and call-centers in India and bring them back to the US. Outsourcing doesn't affect the number of jobs, because those moves will create jobs in the service industry. It's the quality of jobs that is affected, and if this trend continues, the middle class will be eliminated.

Hashishi

All it implies is a trend towards retail and quaternary industry in the West and a move away from secondary industries- creating a vacuum which China is filling. The US and the EU still possess the world`s largest primary industrial sectors. No direct cause for concern there in regards to the economy.

As for ethics: try presenting your argument to Western importers. I`m sure you`ll get a good chuckle before they hit the panic button.

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Viper420

Yep, lets not mess with the bottom line. China is writing a lot of checks in this country and sending us a bunch of money in the form of loans. The question is this: What happens when those loans come due? What influence will they have in this country as a result of all that debt?

dedbr

Hash.....

Then what's happening to the economy when local people who are supposed to be spending their money are saying no to Chinese merchandise? I don't think the people here are as accepting of the shift in "cheap" to China as would be assumed.....

I won't argue about shit. Pass a big tax to make the US workers competitive in the foreign labor markets........ Besides, we make better things than foreigners do, we just value our labor and time more. It's easy to get a guy to work for a dollar a day if he is flat broke and starving. To me, it just goes back to the slave labor they have been famous for with their working class for years. They dont get a choice about where they work, nor choice about pay, the "state" handles all your money worries, comrade.

And of course, just like all the other oppressed peoples of the world, the Chinese have to take their licks like anyone else.......I just wish they'd quit buying up so much oil.......make 'em peddle bicycles. I'd rather they were bi-pedal anyway.......

Viper...in Banned Land.....

I don't know about the debt. I guess we can hope they don't end up supplying us with something we can't do without. Their standing army is larger than ours. Their navy is nothing to sneeze at, and they do have nuclear weapons according to Jane's. I think we're really being premature about the buddy-buddy stuff. They are, after all, supplying the North Korean's with the lightbulbs they use every year......All two-hundred of them.......

An economic war is more scary than a ground war, especially since the war debt is starting to creep up on us and destroy the housing market, one of the major economic indicator's of our economy.....


Some Where In Ded Land.........

loki

Real as this threat may be, it seems to me that it takes too large a portion of the population until they are directly affected to notice-never mind the indicators-and even longer to care. Some people do, but the reason we still are getting stuff from China is that we're buying it. Maybe if more people thought about where the products they buy come from and were conscious about their purchasing power, it would bother them.

Viper420

I'm so with you on this one. China is destroying our manufacturing ability and flooding our market with cheap (in more ways than one) goods. Walmarts are popping up everywhere. I live within 5 miles of 4 Walmarts!! What's up with that?

Trocisp

In all fairness, Americans have to respect for Intellectual poperty rights either, MasterCylinder. And if that's a reason not to deal with someone, we sure as hel shouldn't shouldn't deal with the swedish, who are possibly the only reason that Torrents have a foothold in peer to peer File sharing today.

I see no reason not to deal with china, I'm currently of the opinion that it's not the governments place to fiddle around in the private sector. The federal government is there to protect the citizens (including health care ) and make sure the states don't impose civil liberty violating laws on the citizens, the state laws are there to pass laws and criminal statute. My opinion is, of course, subject to change any time. :P

killian

***WARNING: Some graphic pics in the first link***
Liaoning Masanjia « Status of Chinese People

2 million Chinese kicked out of homes for Olympics - Sunday Mirror

The Chinese government is pretty fucked up.