Free Market Capitalism vs Public Safety
Lead poison or low prices? Lead poison or low prices? Decisions..Decisions
By now many of you have probably heard the disturbing news about Mattel Inc. recalling 18 million Chinese manufactured toys world wide, made with lead contaminated paint. This horrifying development is obviously worrisome for those of us with small children. First it was pet food recall from China, then the tooth paste recall , and now, our children's toys. This is what you get when you let the 'market' decide. Ever since Ronald Reagan, many in the US government have been pushing the idea of supply side economics to the American people, thus marginalizing the role of government in regulating business.
Aided by globalization and the Neo-Cons' economic philosophy, the Milton Friedman school of economics is taking over the US and world economy. Even the media, which are supposed to be the "watch-dog" for the people, seem more and more like they are accomplices to this misguided philosophy.
Since this story broke a couple of weeks ago, I have watched debates on TV between pundits who actually defend China's position, if you can believe that, and those who call for stricter government regulation on imports. But this piece of video by Erin Burnett takes the cake. Erin is a 'reporter' for CNBC, the business and financial channel. Last Friday, while discussing the stock market's bumpy ride on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, A.K.A. Tweety, Erin made the following astonishing comment about the China toys issue.
You know, when you talk about inflation, that‘s another interesting point because a lot of people like to say—scare monger about China, right, a lot of politicians, and I know you talk about that issue all the time. I think people should be careful what they wish for on China. You know, if China were to revalue its currency or China is to start making, say, toys that don‘t have lead in them or food that isn‘t poisonous, their costs of production are going to go up, and that means prices at Wal-Mart here in the United States are going to go up, too. So I would say China is our greatest friend right now. They‘re keeping prices low and they‘re keeping prices for mortgages low, too.
Below is a clip of that same remark. You will not believe your ears. I have watched it about 10 times, and I still do not believe she actually said that. I wonder if Ms Burnett has ever set foot inside a Walma...hell, I wonder if Ms Burnett knows what Wal-Mart is! Oh, and by the way, the executive in charge of the Chinese company responsible for the lead paint contamination hanged himself. Hmm, I wonder if he figured the government was going to execute him anyway like it did with the former head of food and drug agency, or he felt guilty about it. Hard to say. Now, I am not advocating suicide here, but I bet you would not find a corporate executive in the US who would even think about committing suicide for something like this.
3 crisis intersecting..the global economy, job outsourcing and children's safety...perfect example of globalism...unfortunately, as long as American companies decide to stay competitive, they will continue to simply by-pass the cost of manufacturing here and outsource to countries with far lower labor costs and labor protection in countries like China and we'll have quality control issues on imports.
I am sure you've heard of the book A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy. I haven't read the book but I listened to the author being interviewed on NPR. The family imposed a ban on all 'Made in China' products from their household and the author was talking about how it cost her family a lot of money and time looking and purchasing alternative products. The funniest incident I remember she said, her 4 year old son needed sneakers, and she had to spend $80 on custom made sneakers from Italy. It was very interesting.
(Comment this)
Regarding my purchasing power,as a consumer i'm left with a big dilemma. I go for less including shopping at Walmart, but i drive Japanese car. Think about it!:-) (Comment this)
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: alemush (Comment this)
The problem of production and import quality control is a monster that we (Americans) made up ourselves. Note that back in the 40's, 50's, and 60's businesses were run by the technical personnel - the engineers and doctors. From the 70's onward the new generation of CEOs were the MBAs and business students: their perspective was that greater proits can be had by cheaper production (rather than dealing with all those 'pesky' unions.) Once we outsourced production we lost control over the goods we consume.
Let's think about one thing: what's our country's strategic direction for national employment? If we lose all the manufacturing jobs.Then we lose all the customer service / tech support jobs. How will people 10, 20, or 30 years from now be employed? We have low cost products, but eventually if there is no employment - people won't be able to afford shopping...even at Walmart.
-JM (Comment this)