I got an e-mail a few days ago about Diane Sawyer’s special report on China imports and it reminded me of something I heard a long time ago that we should beware of China, the sleeping giant.
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In Sawyer’s report she suggested that we try to not use anything imported from China during the month of August. We’ll see how far we can get without using something made in China. She told of removing all the items from a typical, middle class home that were not made in the USA and there was hardly anything left but the kitchen sink. Items replaced in the home were all made in the USA and the difference in price was not all that much more. She said if every American spent just $64 more than normal on USA made items, it would create nearly 200,000 more jobs.
It seems like some years ago Wal-Mart advertised that they only bought items made in the USA, but now when we go there, so many items are made in China. Our favorite coffee cups which sit out on the kitchen counter, says in big letters on the bottom, Made in China. I feel guilty every day when I see them turned upside down beside the coffee maker. I looked on the bottom of the Mr. Coffee Maker, and sure enough it was made in China, too. The grocery store where we do most of our shopping, has on their store brand that it is packaged and distributed by them, and not where it actually came from.
Are we Americans as dumb as we appear to be, or is just that we do not think. The Chinese knowingly and intentionally, export inferior and even toxic products and dangerous toys and goods to be sold in American markets, so said the e-mail. Have you looked at the clothing you buy to see if any of them are made in America? Now 70% of Americans believe that trading privileges afforded to the Chinese should be suspended.
When we visited China in 1965, we were shocked to see the children operating machinery in factories and the worst thing was the restrooms in public places. You couldn’t go near one without smelling the bad odor a long way away. I remember visiting the Great Wall and it was impossible to use a restroom there as people we saw coming out were holding their noses and the tales they told were bad.
Several of our group on that trip were anxious to have garments made in China. They were measured and fitted and paid to have them shipped to their homes in the USA and how thrilled they were to think they were made in China.
I read that last year the US imported $2 trillion worldwide from more than 825,000 importers. Imports from Mexico were $306 billion in 2010 and exports were $163 billion.
Since we live so close to Mexico, we know so much of our grocery items come from Mexico also, and most of them have wording in Hispanic as well as English. Sometimes the Hispanic wording is above the English. We’ve been to Mexico, too, although it’s been a number of years ago, and we remember their sanitation was pretty bad, too.
Do we need the government to suspend trading privileges? Do it yourself, America! Simply look at the bottom of every product you buy and if it says ‘Made In China’ or ‘PCR’, and that now includes Hong Kong, simply don’t buy it. Check ‘Made in Mexico’, too. We’ll try our best to do it, also.