Originally Posted by Thylacine

Quick change of topic, has anyone noticed how the rednecks come out of the woodwork whenever there's a thread on Asian manufacturing?

An imaginary conversation......

ABH - "Those Commies, they're not free like us. Nosirrreeee! If they were, they'd make quality stuff!"
THY - "Well, Commies were the first into space, developed nuclear capabilities, I'm sure they also invented a whole heap of stuff"
ABH - "Yeah, but in China, they have no freedom, so they have no quality control"
THY - "Huh?"
ABH - "And those bottom feeders like Walmart come in and -"
THY - "Okay, so you believe in the free market system I guess"
ABH - "Absolutely"
THY - "Great, so, where is the demand for these cheap products coming from?"
ABH - "Consumers?"
THY - "Right, so basically 'free' Americans"
ABH - "Basically, I guess"
THY - "Okay, so here you have Joe America on basic wage, no 401k, no health benefits because the government abolished them, no real plans to send his kids to Uni because he couldn't afford the 100 grand to send them there, and he wants a new gizmo"
ABH - "Err....okay"
THY - "He's 'free', so what's he going to buy? Walmart is a big successful company, epitome of American 'free market', they have the gizmo he wants and it's only 10 bucks! Sweet! I can still buy it an afford a sixpack of Miller"
ABH - "But Walmart just sells crap made by Commies!"
THY - "I'm sure they don't sell commie stuff. I mean, aren't you guys at war with all things Commie? I mean, those bastards are taking your jobs and lowering quality to boot!"
ABH - "Yeah, Taiwan on the other hand, they make quality stuff and aren't Commie, which is a bonus"
THY - "Well, we're getting a bit off track here, but don't you find it ironic that the once demonised 'red hordes' are now flavour of the month with the bastions of American freedom and free trade - the corporation - and that Americans are not only lapping it up but their demand for cheap commodities is on the rise?"
ABH - "Well, everyone likes a bargain. I just got these shoes for 50 bucks!
THY - "Sure, but that bargain just cost someone their job in the US factory that was just shut down, the waste from those shoes is now floating down the Yangse River, and the guy that lost his job in the US can't afford to reeducate himself cos it's going to cost him 50 grand, and he has no 401k or severance pay because he wouldn't have got employed in the first place if he didn't sign on as a temp. How 'free' do you feel? Not much freer than the Chinese girl making those shoes I bet, and to top it off, spend a day looking at where everything in your house is made. I'm guessing the majority of it is from guess where?"

etc., etc.