Another Reason to Avoid Chinese Goods
I am not a fanatic when it comes to avoiding exports, though I will usually give the nod to the "Made in USA" or "Made in America" sticker when I can.
However I do avoid, as much as humanly possible, Chinese goods. Due to their ubiquitous nature it is almost impossible to never buy Chinese, but I do avoid it as much as possible. (Sad to say, there are some items that appear to be almost exclusively made in China.)
This has nothing to do with American jobs being exported over seas and everything to do with the fact that I do not trust the Chinese government. There are elements in the Chinese government who believe that a war with America is inevitable and this faction is not without power. When I buy a Chinese product I support a hostile war machine. (I am attempting, so far without luck, to find out which gas companies import the biggest percentage of their oil from Alberta for a similar reason - - to avoid buying Arab or Venezuelan oil.)
There is another good reason to avoid their products. They are not only inexpensive but they are CHEAP, as in poorly made. Some of them are so poorly made that they are just plain dangerous. WorldNetDaily has an interesting story on this, though I wish they would document it and include a few outside links. The Consumer's Reports page can be used but it is time consuming, unless you know precisely which product you are looking for. Chinese products, apart from their prices, generally do not do well here.
Gayle, the "Dragon Lady" has a similar post at her blog.
However I do avoid, as much as humanly possible, Chinese goods. Due to their ubiquitous nature it is almost impossible to never buy Chinese, but I do avoid it as much as possible. (Sad to say, there are some items that appear to be almost exclusively made in China.)
This has nothing to do with American jobs being exported over seas and everything to do with the fact that I do not trust the Chinese government. There are elements in the Chinese government who believe that a war with America is inevitable and this faction is not without power. When I buy a Chinese product I support a hostile war machine. (I am attempting, so far without luck, to find out which gas companies import the biggest percentage of their oil from Alberta for a similar reason - - to avoid buying Arab or Venezuelan oil.)
There is another good reason to avoid their products. They are not only inexpensive but they are CHEAP, as in poorly made. Some of them are so poorly made that they are just plain dangerous. WorldNetDaily has an interesting story on this, though I wish they would document it and include a few outside links. The Consumer's Reports page can be used but it is time consuming, unless you know precisely which product you are looking for. Chinese products, apart from their prices, generally do not do well here.
Gayle, the "Dragon Lady" has a similar post at her blog.
posted by shoprat at 9:13 AM
10 Comments:
Great points Shoprat! I'm going to try and do the same thing. I wonder if ABF could find out about the Albertan oil? I'll ask him. In the meantime, if you find out, make sure and post it!
I know what you mean. As a general rule, I avoid buying from China as much as possible. If I buy import, I try to make sure it's from a real ally.
I've said it before.
When we get into a shooting war with the ChiComs, I hope to God that their military equipment is as cr@ppy as the stuff they send us.
I avoid buying anything China as much as possible, but like you say, it's getting almost impossible in a lot of ways.
As for the oil, it's real complicated. The oil just goes through the pipeline to refineries out east and in Texas, where it is processed like any other oil, is sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell it to retailers. So the oil in your area could come from just about anywhere. I can tell you, however, the volume going down the pipes has increased by a massive amount from here, and that Husky Oil just bought some refinery, 165,000 barrel per day refinery in Lima, Ohio.
http://tinyurl.com/ytguhl
Here we go again, Shoprat. I put a post on this subject in draft yesterday for Thursday's post! I'll link it to yours.
I posted about a similar topic two or three weeks ago and asked then: were these tainted items delivered by mistake, or were their contents tainted ON PURPOSE for export? If not on purpose, why NOW instead of a year ago, two years?
BZ
Even if it was accident, it was certainly a lesson to them what the damage could be if it were on purpose.
heck, just to keep my contrarian image alive ... do you think the current situation for Chinese people vis-a-vis their government is better or worse than 30 years ago?
The government doesn't actually run the factories, and the quality of life is going up fo rthe average Chinese and they're starting to have a middle class.
As was said about changing Iraq, people who are afforded the ability to improve their lives are too busy and disinterested in slaughterinhg their neighbors to be a threat, and their affluence allows them to buy our goods.
Yes, without a doubt there is cheap junk headed this way. But the market rewards good products with continued sales and loyal customers, while shoddy goods beget a single sale and then "banishment". Remember Japan, an how "made in Japan" was a slur?
American companies are moving into China .. .not because they can get cheap labor to sell here ... but because it's a huge, huge market.
I'd much prefer to have happy Chinese families urging their government to become less militant, than to worry about Chinese generals using our satellites for target practice.
Just another viewpoint.
Interesting viewpoint Pete.
Shoprat,
I too 'try' to buy American if at all possible.
Unfortunately Chinese goods are not up to par and they do make lot's of stuff!
Pete: I wouldn't necessarily disagree; but my question still stands on the table. China will be a productivity powerhouse; and yes, I WOULD rather have then invested in Capitalism instead of empire building. But they've been pumping out various products for years. Why the tainted goods now? I cannot help but think it was purposeful.
BZ
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