Made in America
I constantly hear people saying 'buy American' and it will be allright. Then they point to lead paint on some toys from China. But as in many things, the answer is not that simple.
I also get pissed when I read about contaminated goods sold here from anywhere, but I blame greed, not a nationality. Someone here is buying and distributing those contaminated or lead painted items without inspection. I really do think there are jobbers here who really don't give a crap about the quality of the stuff they distribute, as long as it makes them money.
We also have a dark side of sending our electronic waste and even some of our other garbage, like tons of paper, to be processed in China and India. There, unscrupulous bastards oversee poor families breaking down the components with hammers and open melting, while breathing in all sorts of toxic crap. We don't see it, just the shiny PC or ipod. We used to send lead batteries to Mexico, where people were paid to store them in their yards and break them up with hammers, letting the acid run off into the ground and sometimes eventually into streams or down to the beach. Of course the companies who were 'recycling' probably lied to govt officials, saying they had a facility in Long Beach or something. I remember a case in California where the mob had a front company that was all glitz and shine that got contracts to dispose of toxic waste. Turned out their 'contractor' took the waste and dumped it on some land they owned, usually hiding it from anyone who might fly over. I've heard of similar cases across the US. So we even screw ourselves.
I also think it's ironic that we go into a screeching fit if someone finds a stray piece of something in a bag of cheap goods, but at the same time, WE are the biggest consumers of whatever poisons scramble our brains and get us high.
I wish there were easy answers. I think one might be that we stop looking at the old model of marketing, where we make a million pairs of shoes and hope people buy them. Then throw what isn't wanted into the trash. We can make much more stuff 'on demand' with newer tech. Just look at how we buy software...someone manufactures thousands of discs, they get loaded up with the software, put in plastic surrounded by cushioning, then put in boxes. Those boxes are usually put in bigger boxes to go to stores or to our houses. We take out the disc and throw the rest of it away. Most of the time the disc never gets used again. We do it differently with some software by paying for downloads instead. How many tons of waste and money do we save ? Of course the downside is that the guys making the boxes lose out. Talk to most guys and they say they hate to shop. What if you could find your favorite shirts online, order them and they get made and sent to you, rather than being told 'those are not in stock/season right now'?
That type of manufacturing, taking away subsidies to businesses to hide transporation and fuel costs, willingness to pay for inspections and regulation, can make it easier to keep production here. BUT, we will probably always be interdependent on the rest of the world for materials and for THEM to buy our stuff.
I know some people feel good when they wave the flag, but it's about as productive as having 'your' contestant on American Idol win.
I also get pissed when I read about contaminated goods sold here from anywhere, but I blame greed, not a nationality. Someone here is buying and distributing those contaminated or lead painted items without inspection. I really do think there are jobbers here who really don't give a crap about the quality of the stuff they distribute, as long as it makes them money.
We also have a dark side of sending our electronic waste and even some of our other garbage, like tons of paper, to be processed in China and India. There, unscrupulous bastards oversee poor families breaking down the components with hammers and open melting, while breathing in all sorts of toxic crap. We don't see it, just the shiny PC or ipod. We used to send lead batteries to Mexico, where people were paid to store them in their yards and break them up with hammers, letting the acid run off into the ground and sometimes eventually into streams or down to the beach. Of course the companies who were 'recycling' probably lied to govt officials, saying they had a facility in Long Beach or something. I remember a case in California where the mob had a front company that was all glitz and shine that got contracts to dispose of toxic waste. Turned out their 'contractor' took the waste and dumped it on some land they owned, usually hiding it from anyone who might fly over. I've heard of similar cases across the US. So we even screw ourselves.
I also think it's ironic that we go into a screeching fit if someone finds a stray piece of something in a bag of cheap goods, but at the same time, WE are the biggest consumers of whatever poisons scramble our brains and get us high.
I wish there were easy answers. I think one might be that we stop looking at the old model of marketing, where we make a million pairs of shoes and hope people buy them. Then throw what isn't wanted into the trash. We can make much more stuff 'on demand' with newer tech. Just look at how we buy software...someone manufactures thousands of discs, they get loaded up with the software, put in plastic surrounded by cushioning, then put in boxes. Those boxes are usually put in bigger boxes to go to stores or to our houses. We take out the disc and throw the rest of it away. Most of the time the disc never gets used again. We do it differently with some software by paying for downloads instead. How many tons of waste and money do we save ? Of course the downside is that the guys making the boxes lose out. Talk to most guys and they say they hate to shop. What if you could find your favorite shirts online, order them and they get made and sent to you, rather than being told 'those are not in stock/season right now'?
That type of manufacturing, taking away subsidies to businesses to hide transporation and fuel costs, willingness to pay for inspections and regulation, can make it easier to keep production here. BUT, we will probably always be interdependent on the rest of the world for materials and for THEM to buy our stuff.
I know some people feel good when they wave the flag, but it's about as productive as having 'your' contestant on American Idol win.
Comments
Post a Comment