Made in China Crap!
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ollie'
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Wal-Mart and ImportsAlice":2ifoahqn said:
Wal-Mart highlights its American suppliers but imports 60 percent of its goods
Wal-Mart directly imported 60 percent of the goods they sold in the U.S. in 2004. [Frontline, 11/16/2004]
Just because Wal-Mart bought goods from suppliers based in the United States does not mean that they were actually manufactured in the United States. In fact, Ray Bracy, Wal-Mart's vice president for federal and international public affairs, was asked, "Do you have any idea what percentage [of non-grocery, domestic sales] comes from overseas?" He responded, "What we don't know is the numbers of products that come from distributors or from manufacturers that they [sic] decide where to manufacture." Wal-Mart fails to track where their products are manufactured. [Frontline, 11/16/2004]
Wal-Mart and China
Wal-Mart buys much of its merchandise from China
Wal-Mart reports that it purchased $18 billion of goods from China in 2004.
Wal-Mart was responsible for about 1/10th of the U.S. trade deficit with China in 2005. ["U.S. Stock Investors Wary of Analyst `Yuan Plays': Taking Stock, Bloomberg, 7/1/05]
If Wal-Mart were an individual economy, it would rank as China's eighth-biggest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada. [China Business Weekly, 12/02/2004]
Many of Wal-Mart's "American Suppliers" actually manufacture most or all of their products in China
An example of an "American Supplier" is Hasbro, headquartered in Rhode Island. Today, Wal-Mart is the largest purchaser of Hasbro products—accounting for 21 percent of all Hasbro goods or more than $600 million in sales. But Hasbro reports, "We source production of substantially all of our toy products and certain of our game products through unrelated manufacturers in various Far East countries, principally China." Hasbro specifies that "the substantial majority of our toy products are manufactured in China." [2004 Hasbro 10-K filed with the SEC]
Wal-Mart's Chinese factory workers are treated poorly
Workers making clothing for Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, China filed a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in September 2005 claiming that they were not paid the legal minimum wage, not permitted to take holidays off and were forced to work overtime. They said their employer had withheld the first three months of all workers' pay, almost making them indentured servants because the company refused to pay the money if they quit. [New York Times, September 14, 2005]
Workers making toys for Wal-Mart in China's Guangdong Province reported that they would have to meet a quota of painting 8,900 toy pieces in an eight hour shift in order to earn the stated wage of $3.45 a day. If they failed to meet that quota, the factory would only pay them $1.23 for a day's work. [China Labor Watch, December 21, 2005]
Elsewhere workers producing goods for Wal-Mart also face appalling conditions, despite Wal-Mart's factory inspection program
Workers from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Swaziland brought a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in September 2005 asserting that the company's codes of conduct were violated in dozens of ways. They said they were often paid less than the legal minimum wage and did not receive mandated time-and-a-half for overtime, and some said they were beaten by managers and were locked in their factories. [New York Times, September 14, 2005]
A female apparel worker in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said she was locked into the factory and did not have a day off in her first six months. She said she was told if she refused to work the required overtime, she would be fired. Another worker said her supervisor attacked her "by slapping her face so hard that her nose began bleeding simply because she was unable to meet" her "high quota." [New York Times, September 14, 2005]
In 2004, only 8 percent of Wal-Mart inspectors' visits to factories were unannounced, giving supervisors the chance to coach workers what to say and hide violations. Wal-Mart claimed it planned to double unannounced visits by its inspectors but that would still leave 80 percent of inspections announced. [CFO Magazine, August 2005]
A former Wal-Mart executive James Lynn has sued the company claiming he was fired because he warned the company that an inspection manager was intimidating underlings into passing Central American suppliers. Lynn documented forced pregnancy tests, 24-hour work shifts, extreme heat, pat-down searches, locked exits, and other violations of the labor laws of these Central American countries. [New York Times, July 1, 2005 and James Lynn to Odair Violim, April 28, 2002, http://www.nclnet.org]
OP
OP
aplusmnt
Well-known member
Caustic Burno":1ovpvoz6 said:
You know sometimes I wonder if we can stop it, if maybe it is just a part of biblical prophecy when Leaders turn on Religion and then comes the Mark of the beast. Maybe all this crap with the Muslim radicals and New World order is just getting us closer to Armageddon.
But just in case I am wrong we better keep fighting them Liberals though ;-) :lol:
AAOK
Well-known member
Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!
My occupation is a Manufacturing Extension Agent for South Central Oklahoma. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is the Federal arm of my employment with the Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Exvcellence. The Manufacturing Extension Program exists to maintain U.S. dominance in global manufacturing. The U.S.A. still produces more goods than any nation, including China. For many years U.S manufacturing jobs have been declining as production and quality have increased. The nation of China's manufacturing jobs are declining at an even higher rate than the U.S., as production and quality increase. Many of the factories in China are owned by American companies, but still forced to report to, and meet the demands of a Communist government.
The following is a little History lesson in Manufacturing Improvement.
... What a long strange trip it has been for Toyota, from a maker of weaving machines to the second-largest car company on Earth. Much of the credit for the company's rise should go to Edward Deming, the American management consultant who, in addresses and lectures across Japan after World War II, framed Japan Inc.'s industrial constitution.
Deming — whom the Japanese call the father of the third industrial revolution — preached that the rigorous pursuit of quality was the key to increased productivity and profits, the exact opposite of Western management orthodoxies. Deming's "profound knowledge" approach asked management to think about manufacturing as a dynamic system of enlightened humanism that could function only if it evolved toward greater efficiencies.
Deming was the world's first industrial-strength philosopher.
While American manufacturers scoffed at such notions, the Japanese — who had been deeply humbled by their wartime experience — embraced them eagerly. In Toyota's case, the result was a company that built superior products and sold them at astonishingly low prices.
Deming was the #1 Production Engineer for Ford Motor Company. He was dismissed by Henry Ford because of his demand for drastic change. Ford had him sent to Japan to get rid of him. The rest is, well you already know!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The American Consumer does not place quality nearly as high in importance as price. We get what we demand.
Don't blame the quality of goods, or the state of the economy on Walmart. The good of this mega company far exceeds the bad..........
Here are some stats and facts that capture Wal-Mart's size and scale.
100 million: The number of people who shop at Wal-Mart's 3400 American stores every week.
50 million: The amount of square footage Wal-Mart plans to add this year, including 50-55 new Wal-Mart stores, 220-230 new Supercenters, 35-40 new Sam's Club and 130-140 new international stores. [View a chart of Wal-Mart locations worldwide, as of Jan. 31, 2004.]
1.2 million: The number of Wal-Mart associates in the U.S. Any full- or part-time Wal-Mart employee, up to and including the CEO, is considered an "associate," in Wal-Mart parlance. Internationally, Wal-Mart employs an additional 330,000 associates.
600,000: The number of new employees Wal-Mart hires each year. The company's turnover rate is 44 percent -- close to the retail industry average.
1979: The year Wal-Mart's sales first top $1 billion.
$256 billion : Wal-Mart's sales in 2003. In the words of Wal-Mart CFO Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart's sales are equal to "one IBM, one Hewlett Packard, one Dell computer, one Microsoft and one Cisco System -- and oh, by the way, after that we got $2 billion left over."
35: The number of Wal-Mart Supercenters in China.
$15 billion: The amount of Chinese products Wal-Mart estimates it imports each year; others suggest the number may be higher.
$120 billion: The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2003.
8 percent: The amount of total U.S. retail sales, excluding automobiles, accounted for by Wal-Mart.
$9.98: The average full-time hourly wage for a Wal-Mart employee. The average full-time hourly wage in metro areas (defined as areas with a population of 50,000 or more) is $10.38. In some urban areas it is higher: $11.03 in Chicago, $11.08 in San Francisco, and $11.20 in Austin.
In our little city of 16,000 population, Walmart has an annual payroll exceeding $20,000,000.
My occupation is a Manufacturing Extension Agent for South Central Oklahoma. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is the Federal arm of my employment with the Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Exvcellence. The Manufacturing Extension Program exists to maintain U.S. dominance in global manufacturing. The U.S.A. still produces more goods than any nation, including China. For many years U.S manufacturing jobs have been declining as production and quality have increased. The nation of China's manufacturing jobs are declining at an even higher rate than the U.S., as production and quality increase. Many of the factories in China are owned by American companies, but still forced to report to, and meet the demands of a Communist government.
The following is a little History lesson in Manufacturing Improvement.
... What a long strange trip it has been for Toyota, from a maker of weaving machines to the second-largest car company on Earth. Much of the credit for the company's rise should go to Edward Deming, the American management consultant who, in addresses and lectures across Japan after World War II, framed Japan Inc.'s industrial constitution.
Deming — whom the Japanese call the father of the third industrial revolution — preached that the rigorous pursuit of quality was the key to increased productivity and profits, the exact opposite of Western management orthodoxies. Deming's "profound knowledge" approach asked management to think about manufacturing as a dynamic system of enlightened humanism that could function only if it evolved toward greater efficiencies.
Deming was the world's first industrial-strength philosopher.
While American manufacturers scoffed at such notions, the Japanese — who had been deeply humbled by their wartime experience — embraced them eagerly. In Toyota's case, the result was a company that built superior products and sold them at astonishingly low prices.
Deming was the #1 Production Engineer for Ford Motor Company. He was dismissed by Henry Ford because of his demand for drastic change. Ford had him sent to Japan to get rid of him. The rest is, well you already know!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The American Consumer does not place quality nearly as high in importance as price. We get what we demand.
Don't blame the quality of goods, or the state of the economy on Walmart. The good of this mega company far exceeds the bad..........
Here are some stats and facts that capture Wal-Mart's size and scale.
100 million: The number of people who shop at Wal-Mart's 3400 American stores every week.
50 million: The amount of square footage Wal-Mart plans to add this year, including 50-55 new Wal-Mart stores, 220-230 new Supercenters, 35-40 new Sam's Club and 130-140 new international stores. [View a chart of Wal-Mart locations worldwide, as of Jan. 31, 2004.]
1.2 million: The number of Wal-Mart associates in the U.S. Any full- or part-time Wal-Mart employee, up to and including the CEO, is considered an "associate," in Wal-Mart parlance. Internationally, Wal-Mart employs an additional 330,000 associates.
600,000: The number of new employees Wal-Mart hires each year. The company's turnover rate is 44 percent -- close to the retail industry average.
1979: The year Wal-Mart's sales first top $1 billion.
$256 billion : Wal-Mart's sales in 2003. In the words of Wal-Mart CFO Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart's sales are equal to "one IBM, one Hewlett Packard, one Dell computer, one Microsoft and one Cisco System -- and oh, by the way, after that we got $2 billion left over."
35: The number of Wal-Mart Supercenters in China.
$15 billion: The amount of Chinese products Wal-Mart estimates it imports each year; others suggest the number may be higher.
$120 billion: The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2003.
8 percent: The amount of total U.S. retail sales, excluding automobiles, accounted for by Wal-Mart.
$9.98: The average full-time hourly wage for a Wal-Mart employee. The average full-time hourly wage in metro areas (defined as areas with a population of 50,000 or more) is $10.38. In some urban areas it is higher: $11.03 in Chicago, $11.08 in San Francisco, and $11.20 in Austin.
In our little city of 16,000 population, Walmart has an annual payroll exceeding $20,000,000.
HOSS
Well-known member
As someone who travels extensively in China on business maybe I can offer some insight. The Chinese do not have a long track record of embracing technology and new ideas. This was due to it being a closed society for 50 years. They have only been really open to outside business for about 20 years. The inability to travel far within the country has also focused geographical locations into being experts at different products. When internal travel and people relocation become the norm like in America then the knowledge base will become more diverse.
They will be slower to react to building quality product than Japan for several reasons. Some are cultural or political but some are somewhat genetic. The Chinese have told me that during some of the dynasties of the past the emporer or king would get angry at a group or trade and have them all killed. One leader, that built an elaborate tomb for his eventual dead body, had an irrational fear that his body would be stolen by his enemies. He had his engineers design and build the tomb complete with booby traps etc.. He had a sealed decree that after his death that all engineers within his province were to be killed. This would ensure that no one could figure out how to get to his body. The decree basically killed out a whole generation of intellectual spacial thinkers as well as inventors. This type of thinking is partially genetic so that reduced the amount of technologicaly advanced thinkers that would have been born later. The Chinese have an actual word to describe this condition. I'll have to consult my notes to drag it up though. This is why they are good at copying but not at developing or inventing. Inventing something new is a handicap so they focus on copying. Japan was the same way at first but they did not have the gene gap of China or the closed society so they were able to make giant strides quickly.
When China learns to build quality in at the source America is in trouble because we will lose the technology jobs also. Everytime I visit China I see forward progress in quality as well as in infrastructure. Keep in mind that even with all of the jobs being outsourced to China their unemployment rate is still 40%. This means that labor will still remain very cheap for years to come. It is a scary situation.
They will be slower to react to building quality product than Japan for several reasons. Some are cultural or political but some are somewhat genetic. The Chinese have told me that during some of the dynasties of the past the emporer or king would get angry at a group or trade and have them all killed. One leader, that built an elaborate tomb for his eventual dead body, had an irrational fear that his body would be stolen by his enemies. He had his engineers design and build the tomb complete with booby traps etc.. He had a sealed decree that after his death that all engineers within his province were to be killed. This would ensure that no one could figure out how to get to his body. The decree basically killed out a whole generation of intellectual spacial thinkers as well as inventors. This type of thinking is partially genetic so that reduced the amount of technologicaly advanced thinkers that would have been born later. The Chinese have an actual word to describe this condition. I'll have to consult my notes to drag it up though. This is why they are good at copying but not at developing or inventing. Inventing something new is a handicap so they focus on copying. Japan was the same way at first but they did not have the gene gap of China or the closed society so they were able to make giant strides quickly.
When China learns to build quality in at the source America is in trouble because we will lose the technology jobs also. Everytime I visit China I see forward progress in quality as well as in infrastructure. Keep in mind that even with all of the jobs being outsourced to China their unemployment rate is still 40%. This means that labor will still remain very cheap for years to come. It is a scary situation.
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
aplusmnt":33bkxrj3 said:
Build your hinges yourself. Use pipe segments, the old flat bar out of box springs sets, and round stock. Even those old bolts that are galled will work for pins. Your hinge will be better than anything you can buy. There is no such ting as "scrap" iron. It is all good. You can make hinges any size. The next time you see a long bolt that is galled, think "hinge pin".
You may think I am kidding but I'm not. My 20 foot gates are hung with 1 inch round stock and 1 inch pipe welded to the gates. Of course, my gates are home made too. The thing about it is they were much cheaper. And I am done for life. Some day my grandchildren may have to replace some of it, 75 years from now.
Now if I can just find some more of those old round trampoline frames to build elevated hay cradles out of......
Angus Guy":3u30i6r7 said:
So, when was the last time you actually picked something up at Wal-Mart, turned it around, and made the effort to look and see where it was made? I do, and I'd hazard a guess that 75% or better of what they sell is cheapo chinese JUNK nowadays..
Did you also realize that Wal-Mart actually helps their employees wade through all the red tape in order to receive government benefits? Yep.. Sounds really "compassionate" until you call it what it really is, which is Wal-Mart bleeding the federal government -- a.k.a., the taxpayers, a.k.a., YOU and ME -- to help cover their payroll costs so they can sell cheaper and/or make more profit.. Wal-Mart employees are some of the most prominent users of government healthcare, foodstamps, and other forms of social welfare -- because Wal-Mart pushes them in that direction so they'll not complain about having no benefits.. Then Wal-Mart helps them figure out how to get enrolled.. From a business standpoint, it's brilliant.. From a social standpoint, it's nothing short of theft.
Still proud to shop at WIC-Mart? Still think it's a wholesome American company offering their customers a lot of bang for their buck, as so many WIC-Mart supporters seem to believe??
If so, then the next time you go through the checkout line, see if you can calculate the real cost of your shopping trip by adding in your share of the foodstamps, healthcare, and EITC being utilized by the person who just scanned all the cheap, Chinese made CRAP in your buggy, as well as the assistance going to all the Americans who used to make the stuff you just bought, and add that to the total bill..
I've got a feeling that you won't come out ahead.. :roll:
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
When each of my daughters turned 17, I bought them new trucks. Nothing fancy. They got 1/2 ton short box Silverado trucks. I told them, "After you graduate from college, you can buy whatever you want. If you have a wreck in this, you have a chance of surviving...."
It came time to buy tires. Since they were way off at different places to attend college, I bought Wal-Mart tires with road hazard warranties. The thought was that they could get their tires repaired anywhere there was a Wal-Mart. I bought Goodyear Load Range E tires which was overkill but there is a lot of plies in those tires and we are talking about my babies here. The last six attempts to get tires repaired resulted in Wal-Mart saying they could not be repaired and had to be replaced. One of them had a nail 2 3/8 inches into the bead and they said, "That close to the sidewall we deem it to be sidewall". Two weeks ago my baby girl (who still drives her truck) had a tire problem and went to Wal-Mart. She called me and told me they said she had to buy another tire and it would be pro-rated.... It told her to get the tire back on the truck and meet me at Ratliff Tire Company. I bought her a set of new tires.
My thoughts on getting Wal-Mart tires so that they could have tires repaired is Oklahoma City or Dallas was a total idiotic thought. The "road hazard warranty" was a total waste of money too.
I did keep some of those "old" tires to use on some of my trailers. Guess there was a bright side to buying load range E tires.
It came time to buy tires. Since they were way off at different places to attend college, I bought Wal-Mart tires with road hazard warranties. The thought was that they could get their tires repaired anywhere there was a Wal-Mart. I bought Goodyear Load Range E tires which was overkill but there is a lot of plies in those tires and we are talking about my babies here. The last six attempts to get tires repaired resulted in Wal-Mart saying they could not be repaired and had to be replaced. One of them had a nail 2 3/8 inches into the bead and they said, "That close to the sidewall we deem it to be sidewall". Two weeks ago my baby girl (who still drives her truck) had a tire problem and went to Wal-Mart. She called me and told me they said she had to buy another tire and it would be pro-rated.... It told her to get the tire back on the truck and meet me at Ratliff Tire Company. I bought her a set of new tires.
My thoughts on getting Wal-Mart tires so that they could have tires repaired is Oklahoma City or Dallas was a total idiotic thought. The "road hazard warranty" was a total waste of money too.
I did keep some of those "old" tires to use on some of my trailers. Guess there was a bright side to buying load range E tires.
mml373
Well-known member
The good old days. I remember things changing in the 1990s. I haven't been proud to shop at Wal Mart, since.
Rafter S
Well-known member
I could be wrong, but I think that changed when the founder, Sam Walton, passed away.
greybeard
Well-known member
Redgully
Well-known member
Been a few recently, but it is actually good to see how they've aged.
