Chinese RUBBISH!!!...Why do we buy it…?

In past previous years, the quality in goods offered by retail chains in America has declined to the depths of antipathy. When one inquires about the origin of such wretched merchandise, the term “Made in China” will ultimately turn up on the product’s outer layer somewhere. The geography of the retailer in America seems not to make a difference. Most retail chain from coast to coast that I have visited, stocks the same worthless rubbish and the entirety of it seems to be “Made in China”

I love and respect the Chinese people, but that does little to patch up the loathing in my sole caused by the poor quality reflected in their manufactured goods. Recently I went on a camping trip and stopped by a retail outlet to pick up a manual can opener. As I was looking at the displayed kitchen gadget I found what I wanted displayed among similar utensils, or rather what I thought I wanted. The first evening I dug the can opener out and clamped it down on the top of a can of green beans, to began rolling it around the top. The little wheel that cuts out the top had in fact punctured the top as I gripped it firmly and squeezed, but as I began rolling the little cutting wheel around the can’s top with the flat handle, the little cutting wheel broke off and fell to the floor. What the devil, is going on, I thought, as I looked over the remaining piece of the completely new contraption. On the backside of the handle was a clear imprint, “Made in China”. “Where on earth” is the “root” of this distressing setback in the quality of goods offered to consumers in America… hiding?

How about this!, what if a never before heard of magnificently huge chain retail store suddenly came to your town, built a huge retail outlet, never before seen by the locals, and promoted grand openings with stocks and varieties of goods from groceries to say…automobile parts. With prices so cheap, that it had everyone in the county scrambling to get there fast and get some of those bargains. And it is not surprising, because a good bargain is hard to pass up. The event blew Mom and Pop stores right off the square. Eventually, forcing them out of business with extremely competitive prices, managed by bulk buying and stocking merchandise from selected U.S. manufacturers. Mom and Pop could not afford to compete (much less stock an entire warehouse with products).

Moreover, what if, once Mom and Pop stores were out of business, consumers noticed a rise in the huge chain’s pricing and eventually were even more pricy than Mom and Pop stores was. Soon after, the huge chain decides to boost its profits further by shaving off more expense. Since the huge chain’s employees are mostly working for minimum wage, only two major conventional methods of raising retail profits remain (one) on the front end by cutting cost of restocking inventory and (two) on the rear end by raising retail prices. Since the huge chain has literally wrung out most of its manufacturer’s profits by demanding lower pricing, and coupled to fact that the manufacturer has expanded its manufacturing facilities, with huge investments, to accommodate the huge chain’s previous gigantic orders for goods, it cannot afford to unnerve its “grown to depend on bread and butter” from Mr. Chain. The leveraged out manufacturer now trudges along operating with just enough profits to meet its commitments to its suppliers of raw material and employees. By now, Mom and Pop stores are so lost that they need a miracle to ever recover and come back.

The huge chain now realizes that it is getting the best possible deal from both ends of its potential profits. From its manufacturer to its customers, so it decides to look elsewhere for manufactured goods, perhaps overseas. The huge chain knows about overseas manufacturers and that they are cheaper than American manufacturers, mainly because of the “off set” in labor cost, so it proceeds overseas to purchase products for its string of retail stores from foreign manufacturers. In fact, the labor is so cheap there that the “off set” will not only cover its cost of shipping the products to America’s markets, but also boost its profits to an unprecedented level. Therefore, Mr. Chain establishes contracts to restock its inventories from foreign manufacturers.

Shortly after establishing trade with foreign countries and especially China with ascending record profits, Mr. Chain notices that some foreign manufacturers use low grade or quality raw material and with little or no interest to its origin, to produce their products. Yep, you guessed it; Mr. Chain sees opportunity for more profits yet, so it demands cheaper goods. Now, Mr. Chain has literally demanded the absolute lowest price possible and still expects the manufacturer to survive, and with apparently little regard to the safety of the consumer.

The results of this “quality whacking machine” are what consumers are offered today in Mr. Chain’s huge retail stores. The content of some of this stuff is frightening. Foodstuffs coming from China are poisoning American consumers and their pets. So, I ask all Americans, where is the root of this yearly string of worthless poisonous rubbish that is flooding retail chains? Does the truth of “why” its here in America, lie with Mr. Chain or with Mr. and Mrs. Consumer that performs the act of buying the refuse.