To Hades with the Chinese

[turbo6bar]

China is complaining about US calls for human rights changes. OK, you treat your citizens like dirt, and we don't buy any more Chinese crap.

Given the chance to buy US vs. Chinese made, and I will go US 9 times out of 10, even though the US-made good will almost always be more expensive. I can think of times when buying cheap Chinese junk costs more in the long run than a quality product from elsewhere. Case in point: bandsaw blades. The ones made in China are total junk. If you spend $50, you can get one from Starrett that will last a long time.

jurgen

[Ben at Pelican Parts]

There are alot of things made in China...
But your point about Bandsaw Blades - buy cheap you will buy twice, wherever they are made.

I wasn't sure if this post was about International Relations or cheap tools?

[turbo6bar]

Easy to complain about jobs and manufacturing going overseas, yet we don't put the money where the mouth is.

Relatives on my mother's side are Vietnamese. Damn, what a horrible country. Most Americans do not know how good they have it until you see the other side. Life is too short to live in fear. Oppressive governments have no interest in giving their citizens rights. I don't have any resent against the people, but rather the system.

My post was in regards to Chinese protest over the US stance on human rights: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=731&e=8&u=/ap/20040323/ap_on_re_as/china_us_human_rights

[exc911ence]

China will rule the world one day, better start being nice to them...

[Moneyguy1]

We are in the market for a new TV set. Are there any made in the US?

[vash]

phillips?

dont jump in on the SONY craze. the high end panasonics will blow a sony away into the weeds.

chinese tools are like huffy bicycles. made for the masses, better to sell a ton of crap for cheap than better quality for more cash. i promise you that there are a ton of china made floor jacks out there. compare that to the well made units that wayne is peddeling. it isnt even close.
chinas niche will be electronics. i bet japan is getting nervous.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I don't know, but it seems like a lot of U.S. made stuff is worse junk than the Asian stuff as of late. Case in point - ANYTHING at Wal-Mart.

American manufacturing has been a race to the bottom for a long time - whoever can crank out the most, as cheaply as possible. Seldom does quality seem to enter the equation.

[RickM]

Quote: "China will rule the world one day"

This is probably more true than most would like to think.

[vash]

Originally posted by RickM
Quote: "China will rule the world one day"

This is probably more true than most would like to think.

hey i am practicing my chinese everyday. maybe i can be governor! and you are right, alot of american stuff is crap too. again, HUFFY.

[tabs]

The year is 2020...at that point the Chinese economy will start to dwarf the econ of the USA. Andy Grove has said that the USA is going to lose it's technological edge in 10 to 20 years...

NOw Ouality vs Junk...That goes for almost everyting U buy. A friend of mines Dad once said, "The best isn't always the best." Meaning that sometimes it is better to buy lower on the pecking order...as in washing machines, dishwashers and cars..that the one with all the bells and whistles isn't needed. That simplicity is better.

The one thing that impressed all the antique dealers that I knew from the auctions in LA is that I had a good eye for quality and price. I was always taught to buy quality, because at the end of the day you at least have somehting.

Today we live is a disposable world. It seems that everything is made out of plastic. If your VCR/DVD player breaks it's cheaper to go buy a new one than fix the old one. I bought my computer in Jan 2000, it's a 600 MhZ. Today if your not pushin 3000 mhZ your obsolecent. Go look at furniture, it's all pressed wood eg junk! U can still buy the real stuff but it's gona cost you at least 25K for a good dining room set. So I guess you might say I pick and chose..I will pay the big bucs for something that will last, like furniture but for the TV DVD technological, pedistrian things I'll buy cheaper.

[RickM]

Quote: "The year is 2020...at that point the Chinese economy will start to dwarf the econ of the USA. Andy Grove has said that the USA is going to lose it's technological edge in 10 to 20 years..."

I have a friend who loves history and loves talking about it....Great leaders, migration of different tribes/peoples, war, world supremacy (Not sure if he knows about the 911 SC faction ). In any case, he's been reciting the exact same stuff quoted above for quite a while now. Lately he's been saying that we need to grow our population as quickly as possible, therefore he's pro immigration. He's also for outsourcing certain jobs to other countries....."give the now menial development jobs out to others and focus on innovation and managing".

Obviously these are not popular viewpoints but it does make sense and he's a really interesting person to converse with.
BTW, he thinks Bush is dead on for long term survival.

[turbo6bar]

No one ever said, "Damn, I should have never bought that tool. I regret buying good quality."

The past 2 years, A/C units at rental properties are blowing start/run capacitors. The shop I used to buy my parts from went out of business, so I called the repair guy to beg a freebie. I asked him why I was having this problem. Was the equipment faulty? He said the quality of components has just plain gone downhill. This blown cap was from GE, so it's not supposed to be junk (but it is). When you figure in my time, my tools, and the inconvenience for my tenants, is it worth saving a few dollars, perhaps even cents for good quality?

I don't blame the disposable economy or its consumers. It is the trend. I'm just a whiner, and I do what I can.

Porsche-O-Phile, Wal-Mart is the largest importer of manufactured goods. Most of that junk is junk regardless of the country of manufacture. However, you do have to realize there exists no "Snap-On tools" equivalent in China.

RickM, I do agree we should ship out menial jobs overseas, but success depends on the improvement in our workforce. If Johnny can't work on the assembly line, he needs an education, skills, and/or the motivation to achieve success.

China may very well become a superpower. They know how to harness the workforce and meet the needs of consumers. Can't fault them for that one.
regards, jürgen

[Moneyguy1]

You mean you never heard of the Chinese tool brand "Snap Off"?

[derek murray]

My firm has a small design office in Beijing so I have had the opportunity to employ and work with both Chinese and North American architects and landscape architects... unless there is a big cultural shift in the work ethic and rigour of today's youth... our next few generations are going to get an economic sh** kicking by the Chinese...

[john70t]

In terms of made-to-break stuff, the U.S. doesn't have too much of a moral advantage over China for the most part but there are definitly exceptions. It took the Japanese kicking the cr#p out of our manufacturing for a couple decades to show us many consumers will pay more for well made products. The Escort versus the Civic is a good example.

Nowadays, mostly everything is made there. I just bought a ($18!) pair of vice-grips brand made in China out of cheap cast steel with the mold lines and the orange peel quite apparent. So much for American brand name.
On the other hand, I bought an extremely nice Logitech joystick for $40, also made in China and even Mercedes built a factory there.
Economists: please feel free to educate me on this, but the problem is that when our tax laws allow for unrestricted trade, the Chinese take every factory U.S. companies build there and build a copy a mile away. So far the copies are selling mostly to the Chinese market, but ask the software and music industries if they've made a single dollar over there!(hence the Napster thing-moneys gotta come from somewhere).

How could America compete with a country with more resources, more educated and dedicated people with better family infrastructure who are willing to work for less pay and a goverment regulatory overseerer that's corrupt/flexable enough to make stuff happen?

De-value the dollar, educate our kids(when's the last time Bill Nye the science guy was on primetime), and most importantly make the basics work: cheap health care, education, and mass transit. Restructure building code and township taxes to make city living viable again and leave the countryside open for food production/hunting etc..
Will it happen? Sometimes it only changes when it breaks.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Damn, I miss Bill Nye.

[RickM]

Comparing the crap vice grips to the nice joystick is interesting. It's seems obvious to me that one company is managing the Chinese based work better than the other.

[Jim Richards]

unless there is a big cultural shift in the work ethic and rigour of today's youth

Derek, my experience with younger workers in the US (right coast) has been positive for the past few decades. I only worry about the educational system. Some tend to think funding schools and quality teachers is a pain. Gets in the way of tax breaks for corporations. Hell, who needs an educated workforce after we export the skilled jobs? Anyone can flip burgers.

[expat]

I have Bill Nye on VHS tape

Kids love watching him as do many adults.

[Superman]

A third of the world's population lives in China.

Some construction materials, particularly steel, has seen a several-hundred-percent increase since last summer. Analysts tell me this has been caused by the worldwide decrease in supply since China made a decision to build manufacturing and civil infrastructure.

Be very afraid.