Well so far you’ve compiled enough issues to fill a dumpster.
Where to begin?
Isw there a way to tie it all together and get to the primary difference between our positions?
For example, you and I have what appears to be the identical experience with WalMarts in small towns, and yet, it appears we have polar opposite conclusions.
I think we both saw competition come in, weed out some, make some better, etc. Interesting that they don’t sell gas and so didn’t make your pricing better.
Why not? Are you better off with the local guys shafting you on gasoline retail?
I guess I don’t glean a consistent point from you on that. Are you for a competitive market locally or not? Or just in some products?
I’m not trying to PEG you as anything. I’m just trying to understand your ethics and reasoning which motivates your keytapping.
I know chinese-americans taiwanese-americans and mexican-americans and whitey-americans like me LOCALLY, on a first hand personal basis who cover all ends of the spectrum of ‘Made in USA’ quality. And I work with all sorts of Asians generally to have my own stereotypes about Japanese v. Koreans v. Taiwanese v. Chinese(Shanghai) and Chinese(guangdong) and Chinese (fujian) etc. I know what racists they are to each other and how much ‘they’ are all far worse than ANYTHING we have in this country, as a hasty generalization.
I just think there are lots of things we need to do as AMERICAN-AMERICANS to make us more appropriately competitive, and safe, and it doesn’t have anything to do with TRUSTING STEREOTYPES or generalizations.
When I contract a white plumber or a chinese screen-print vendor, I trust them as far as I can throw them.
When I take a new medication, I check the seals, I avoid buying stuff off the backs of trucks, and I keep an eye out for wierd symptoms. I don’t trust anything implicitly because it says “Made in USA” because the Tylenol scare was precipitated by a homegrown terrorist and it had NOTHING to do with Tylenol itself.
Are you more opposed to American consumers paying chinese people to pay $12/hour to build crappy price-only products in the USA under EPA regs and OSHA work environments, or are you more opposed to American consumers paying chinese people to pay $3/hr to chinese people to build crappy price-only products in China?
I’m sorry pal. But ma and pa kettle aren’t paying more than 99c for a plastic bowl.
This may be simply a response to the growing American antipathy toward Chinese-Made (Made in China) products. It is out there, and someone from China may be simply seeking a market opportunity.
Now for the Dark Side.
One of the inevitable vulenrabilities of a system where people make unfettered choices based on price is that they will buy cheap. It is also one of the glories of the same system. At its best that promotes competition, efficiency, and innovation in manufacturing.
At its worst, well packaged products of less reliability will, in the short term, remove market share from better made products, and while those who can afford no less or who are willing to compromise on quality will remain a market, those who would rather spend a little more and get a reliable product with a longer useable lifespan will shift back to the original producer, provided that cheaper products have not eliminated that producer.
At that phase of market readjustment, the brand names of the original producer are worth more for their reputation for quality.
Many people have bought Chinese products for a variety of reasons which they found lacking in quality. In some cases that did not matter, the product was disposable anyway. In others, such as tools, it might make a difference in how well you can make a living, but in the end, many associate cheap with disposable, with junk.
American made products generally have a reputation for quality. They do not survive long in the marketplace otherwise, and their marketability in the world market depends on that well-maintained reputation (overall) of quality. Note that does not always mean the cheapest, nor event the very best, but a good value.
Enter someone from a country who is not an American, has no vested interest in America, and who may actually be hostiel to America. Someone who, in concert with others seeks to harm this country.
One way to do so would be to undermine confidence in the marketplace, both in America and elsewhere, by intentionally manufacturing shoddy goods in the USA, and selling those same goods elsewhere.
Do that in a few sectors, and the market edge that "made in USA" has for quality evaporates amidst consumer dissatisfaction.
That can adversely affect the marketability of goods outside the sectors involved, and can affect the entire economy.
Noting a longstanding hostility toward the United States, even as trade continues, and noting that the concept of asymetrical warfare not only exists, but is the means by which the Chinese have claimed they would defeat the United States, and further noting that the Chinese have increased their hegemony militarily, and particularly with an eye toward securing foreign energy assets (Africa, Cuba, et. al), I would not assume the Chinese are benign in their economic imperialism.
As for local guys "shafting us" on gasoline prices, we pay prices in line with the national average. I think the reason WalMart did not put in gasoline pumps is that they couldn't really beat local pricing.
This is not about a locally competitive market, the bottom line is about marketability of a nation's products in the global marketplace.
Would you, for instance, want The Chinese (Chinese, not chinese-Americans, but Chinese) to have majority ownership of the US media?
Why not?
How about the boot and shoe manufacturers?
How about firearm makers?
Where would you draw the line on foreign ownership of American manufacturing?