My seven-year-old son had a favorite toy. It was a blue and red Spiderman ball. He enjoyed taking the ball out, kicking it with his brother and playing dodge ball with the rest of the family.
That was until last week.
He and I were kicking the ball and I kicked it. The ball sailed into the wild blue yonder and ended up in a tree. I looked at the tree and decided it was neither safe nor prudent for either of us to try and climb up and get it, so I promised him I would get him another ball.
Sunday, I took him to Toys R’ Us and for $4.99, he had a brand new ball, which was of course, made in China.
I was thinking about the ball as we drove home.
That ball was made in a factory in China. It was then shipped to a port in China. At that port, it was placed in container, and then shipped 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. The ball then arrived at a West Coast Port before being shipped across country to a store in the suburbs of Nashville.
It was sold for five dollars and the store made a profit on the sale.
What is wrong with this picture?
Everything in the store that my son looked at that day was made in China. If you have a seven year old and take him to a toy store, you know he is not going to look at just one thing.
How is China able to send a ball all the way across the ocean and still be able to make a profit?
The problem is not just children’s balls or toys. Visit Walmart or Target. You will be hard pressed to find anything made in America. Everything from clothes to electronics is made any place other than America.
Counterfeit Chinese computer chips have been discovered in the control systems for the Navy’s New P-8 anti sub aircraft and the Air Force’s C-27. Counterfeit chips are where old chips are taken, remarked and passed off as new. And of course, they don’t work.
We get all of our computers, routers and other significant electronics from China. The Department of Defense reported in 2008 that the Chinese used bootlegged Cisco routers to try and access classified information.
About a year ago, 60 Minutes showed a report about how, simply by hacking on the internet, a power generator was made to self destruct. The 60 Minutes reporter then showed footage of American power generators at the Hoover dam and pointed out the same thing could be done to those units and that would cripple American power generation. The report then added, those generators would take months to replace and were no longer made in America, so it was even possible we could not replace them.
In the name of free trade, we have let our manufacturing sector be decimated. We now have to buy components crucial to national security from China.
What is wrong with this picture?
Even in the Republican debates, certain candidates are worried we will start a trade war with China.
Trade war? They are stealing us blind and we are worried about a trade war?
My son loves his new ball. He loves to go out in these cool Autumn afternoons and kick the ball. He is oblivious to the problems with China.
I can only hope that thirty years from now, when he has a seven year old, everything he buys that child will be made in America, by Americans.
Tags: china, chips, counterfeit, free, manufacturing, national, security, trade
Permalink Reply by DocHollywoodMD on ya they were in 2008 and look what happened! A BIG ZERO GOT IN
Permalink Reply by DocHollywoodMD on This is another reason we have to make sure Obama does not get re-elected or China will control all of our Military too
Permalink Reply by Dennis Donner on THERE IS NO GOOD REASON TO TRUST PEOPLE WE KNOW TO BE UNTRUSTWORTHY
BUT WHAT FOOL BOUGHT CHIPS OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN FOR THE DEFENSE DEPT?
THINK THERE IS MORE THAN ONE LAYER OF DISHONESTY
AND THERE'S NO RECOURSE.
HOW DO AMERICAN CONSUMERS GET REDRESS
FROM INTERNATIONAL CROOKS?
MOSTLY THEY DON'T.
THERE'S NO RECOURSE
INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE IS A CROOK MAGNATE
Permalink Reply by Dee Schallenberg on Dennis, yes they should investigate who bought the "unknown origin chips" and make sure he is fired with no wonderful pension package. that would be a start to getting rid of those that just dont care. if they would put American patriot moms in those positions of purchasing and budgets America would save billions right away. I am available. I would love to serve my country in such a manner. but that would never happen it is too logical.
Permalink Reply by Derek Weygandt on This has been a problem with Conservatives going back to Reagan. The Left often tried to enact short-term, look-good / feel-good measures to placate their constituents (unions), but even they don't bother to do that anymore. They placate unions with other things. But we know the left will never do anything in America's best interest, but then we get the chest-beating Conservatives who say they are strong on national defense, yet how dare anyone interfere with 'free trade'. If we cannot make the components for our weapons systems, then we have a national defense problem. No one seemed to care when furniture jobs were being shipped to China, textile mills were being dismantled and shipped to China, except people in the most-affected states like my home state of NC, but fat-cat Conservatives would say, "Well.. so you're not a free trader! You want socialism?" And the manufacturers who paid them handsomely for their legislative support and propaganda pushing smiled and pocketed their handsome profits.
I have always advocated for reciprocal trade agreements: If country X won't let our apples in or poses a $2 tariff on each apple then we do the same with their computer chips or whatever they sell, but you'll never see a politician advocating that. In fact both Left and Right pushed us to sing the GATT (gen. agreement on tariffs and trade), so that if there is a disagreement, we have to be bound to the rulings of the GATT court. Where's the sovereignty? Where's national defense if you don't have sovereignty?
This is why I'm sick of Conservatives who talk a good talk (like Gingrich) but who don't walk the walk. There are RINOs out there, of course, but I'm not just talking about RINOs. I mean Conservatives like Rush Limbaugh who I listened to for years, was a great fan of, but who always pound the free trade drums and "let the market decide" shibboleths. No, no, no. If the market decides that you will not produce computer chips in your country, then it means you will buy those chips from potential future enemies who could cut off your supply if we were in a war and they disagreed with our reasons for being in such a war. No, that is not pro-national defense. Sorry, fat-cat, BS-on-nat'l-defense Conservatives, I'm not drinking your snake oil any more. It's time we patriots woke up and realized that it is not just the RINOs and Left who hurt this country, it is lying two-faced "Conservatives" who love money and lining their pockets more than they do sustaining our country. We have to out them and not let them give us this free trade BS.
Look I've studied Int'l economics. I lived in Japan during the last few years of their bubble economy when 90% of what I saw on shelves in Japan was MADE IN JAPAN. Yes, it was expensive; you had to decide what you could do without and why you could put off. But I never saw but a hand-full of crazy homeless on the streets. most everyone was working. Housewives got deliveries of small components from factories to assemble in their homes. They took care of the house, the kids, made money on the side and saved. Now, I'm back here 20 years later. All that home cottage industry work is but gone. Most everything is made in China, but in Japanese run and designed plants (quite different from the US MBAs who know nothing of engineering and just find Chinese companies to do the work / make their products). Japan is surviving by sending its engineers over to China to run the plants and insure the quality (away from their families and living a very Spartan lifestyle). We send our MBAs to China and other countries and give them palatial apartments and villas. Send their kids to expensive int'l schools, provide them with maids, et cetera). The Japanese leave the wife and kids in Japan, usually. Difficult, but this is what their bad decisions have forced them into doing. But Japanese are out of work, and 1/3 of the country works as temp workers (Japan's dirty little secret). These hard working people who would have been the backbone of Japan's industrial success 20+ years ago have no benefits, and will get no retirement. It's how Japan is sustaining their remaining companies due to Chinese competition. Japan sold out and went overseas. Now they are reaping the results of that foolish decision. I"ve watched a strong, self-sustaining country drop to it's knees and is only a shell of its former self. I'm talking of not only Japan but America, my home that I love. We need to wake up to the myth of free trade.
Permalink Reply by Herrmann Glockler on A start in the solution to this problem must be with the government.
Manufacturing left America, to remain competitive on the world market. Most nations tax corporations at a lower rate than America. The survival instinct in corporations is as strong as in humans, after all this is the livelihood for the presidents of the companies, so they set up operations where survival against international competition is more likely, which is in nations with lower tax rates.
The US government reacted by taxing companies upon their returning their profits, even though companies already had paid taxes on these profits in the nations of origins of these profits, to which corporations reacted by keeping their profits abroad, expanding their business where they were taxed less.
No wonder corporations reacted in a mass exodus of their manufacturing plants.
As a result, American Corporations are now sitting on hundreds of Bio in profits abroad, not willing to repatriate them for the tax consequences.
The solution to this problem is to simply eliminate all corporate taxes on profits, period
Before you cry unfair, let's just point out corporations generally pay no taxes, they simply collect taxes for the government. They pass their taxes paid onto the consumer in higher prices for their products, which of course makes them less competitive at home, and on the world market.
In the process corporations are forced to keep track of all the funds they collect for the government, they are forced into expensive accounting tricks to depreciate over government mandated periods all their equipment cost, irrespective of their commercial life, they are forced to hire tax accountants to minimize their taxes, and we get corporations who then use high priced lawyers and accountants to bribe the government to hand them special tax breaks to minimize their taxes, until we get a company like GE, who paid no taxes, in fact had government return taxes to them, on $Multi-Billions of Profit.
How much dead wood in corporations could be eliminated, if corporations were exempt from paying any taxes?
They could concentrate on their business, without hiring any tax accountants. Any profits would be taxed when they are distributed to the share holders. I suggest many corporations would return their manufacturing activities for the triple benefits of simplified accounting, the reduction of the cost of their products, and reduced shipping cost to their customers
This would be especially noticeable for the creation of new small businesses, where owners could simply concentrate on their core-competence for the new business, without having to worry about the government intruding.
I firmly believe this would place America in a far better position to keep its manufacturing base at home, even attract more foreign companies to open up manufacturing plants here in America.
Permalink Reply by JC Patriot on I like your idea better, Hermann. Taxing the forein stuff more to match our silly taxation here sounds ridiculous. This country was successful because of the freedom from government interference before the excessive taxation and regulation took over. We have elected too many politicians offering handouts, while they are more concerned with their own personal fortunes. Many of them probably are ignorant of the basic principles of the Constitution. When we return to those roots, once again the free markets and individual freedom will rescue the country.
Permalink Reply by Thomas Nunn on America doesn't have the "infrastructure", steel mills, knitting mills, Computer/chip manuf:, and dozens of other facilities to make our own war supplies should it become necessary.
The military is not worth anything unless the country can give them the supplies/equipment to fight a war.
Like England during WW11, we would have to purchase most, if not all, our war material from a foreign nation.
The supply line helped England win the war, and cause Japan to lose their war when their SE Asia supply line was cut.
Permalink Reply by laurie tudor on accept we are broke, and deep in debt.
Permalink Reply by joana briggs on England converted plants ect. being used for producing other things into plants to produce war supplies. We did the same in America. Rosie the riviter is on my wall showing the muscle that supported ww2. We can do the same today. We have what it takes we just need to do it!
Permalink Reply by laurie tudor on All this talk of national security, we are broke with no manufacturing base, foreign parts in our defence and infrastructure, the only national defense we are capable of is defence against patriotic Americans, its all they have been planning for, for some 40 years, war against terror, perfect set up against us. I am afraid that the one world government has won before we woke up, the idea that we could vote our way to a restoration of the constitution has all been a stall tactic, till all was said and done. I had hoped that we could elect Ron Paul, and at least have a chance, but I fear it is much to late.
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