India among lowest cost producers of jewelry

Jewelry Discussion
81

Daniel,

I wonder where it is you think we are now?

I suspect we will be better served to respect the process (hard
parts and all) and with our buying power get them beyond child
labor and uncontrolled pollution faster than if we withhold our
money. Took us here in the USA long enough. Why expect everybody
else to get there faster than we did ? Just because we are there
now? I think not. try looking at how fast the quality of life is
improving overall. That's a better measure of

If you look at Texas as an example, you see uncontrolled pollution,
the worst record of anywhere in the states. If you look at recent
laws passed, you see an invitation to uncontrolled pollution all
over. Almost everywhere one looks, there is a backsliding of laws
that protect workers and the natural environment. Huge numbers of
children in the US are going hungry, are not in schools, or are in
schools that are dangerous environments with little learning going
on. So many kids have no medical treatment…the list goes
on…(it’s just that people don’t talk about it much)

How does “buying power” help these Americans? And how, really, does
“buying power” help people in other nations? How is it helpful when a
whole village tools up to produce some widget for a big contract only
to loose everything when the company finds a poorer country to get
its widgets made in?

Buying power only makes sense as a respectful tool when one is a
careful and ethical buyer. Does one buy a cheap hand made wool rug
that was made with child labor, possibly forced labor, or does one
look around and find a dealer or a foundation who insures that
employees are well treated and well paid? Does one buy cheap
corporate coffee or does one look around for shade grown (so the
forests are not lost) organic, fair traded coffee where the workers
have been fairly paid? When one reaches for a chocolate
bar…what do you think of with your purchasing power? Do you go
for the bigger bang for the buck or do you find out which companies,
like Rapunzel for instance, pay their workers fairly and take an
interest in helping them build hospitals and schools? The list goes
on here too…so many people are trying to create a sustainable
world, but we have to become more conscious than patronizing with our
use of our “buying power” and buy ethically.

I’ve seen the people of small town after small town North America
gleefully flock to Walmart and other box stores for cheap stuff only
to look around and wonder what happened to their town. Like selling a
child for a donkey, the real spirit of the town was sold for cheap
stuff. Now children in that town can not get a job in a local store
and learn the business from the ground up and then maybe take over
the business or open their own. They go an work as peons at walmart
and the managers come from another place, another class, with
business degrees.

With every dollar we spend we are supporting particular ways of
sustainable living, or exploitation and degradation on a massive
scale. Really, is your widget that important that you have to have it
without checking out who or what was harmed in its production, how
much cost was involved in getting it to you, what kinds of harmful
chemicals were used in its production, how were they
disposed…the list goes on here too, and because it takes time
to find these things out there is not so much time to buy stuff, but
it is much more rewarding to surround yourself with things that were
not made from human misery and corporate greed, or to get to know a
local farmer who cares about the earth he grows food in.

Money, guns, power, stuff…it is the consciousness with
which they are used that makes the difference. They are not good
things in themselves. Maybe America would better serve itself by
being more “there” at home and less “there” looking for a bargain at
any price in everyone else’s countries. Think Bohpal. Think Katrina.

How does this fit with a jewelry list? Conscious buyers would rather
have one really good piece of jewlelry made with integrity than a
box of cheap junk made in terrible conditions. Conscious jewelers
will find out what their sources really are, because by our daily
choices we are creating the world we live in, individually and
collectively.

Silani

82

I must agree with Linda. My mother ran a horse drawn hay mower (a
deadly old tool) on grandads farm when she was 12. She was the
teamster that drove the team of horses on the buggy or sled that got
her and her brothers and sisters to school, raked and hauled hay and
firewood and plowed fields. All my uncles and most of my aunts grew
up knowing how to drive a horse team, pitch hay, feed and milk cows,
tend, kill and clean chickens, doctor hurt livestock, chop wood, fell
trees, etc. There are horror stories about that grandfathers temper,
but he was regarded as an honorable man by his peers. This family was
not in the least unusual among the farms of the western United States
prairie in the early to mid 1900’s!

My dad’s family ran a dairy farm, no, THE dairy farm for a community
in northeastern Colorado. When my dad was 14-15, he could rebuild a
Model A Ford truck engine on Friday night and have it in the truck
and running for Saturday milk and cream deliveries. Grandpa spent his
last few years in bed, and the kids ran the dairy. They would all
say, were they alive, that their lives were manifestly better than
the “Chinese slave labor” brought to the Colorado/California gold
fields, then abandoned, or the children’s factories in Denver, and
all the poverty stricken slums in all the larger towns in the west.
Note that this was less than a hundred years ago.

I would suggest that anyone who believes the USA grew up in
sweetness and light, without suffering and exploitation that could
make you sick, is guilty of revisionist history. If you don’t believe
it, go to your local genealogy society, ask questions, and read a few
diaries. We are a few steps ahead of some of the world at attempting
to treat each other honorably, but we do ignore the things we don’t
want to see.

I don’t usually shop at Walmart, but, like all of you, I am reading
this on a monitor made in the “third world”, fed by a computer with a
motherboard from an Asian country, with pictures from a camera made
in the orient. My sons stone egg collection contains a few obviously
hand shaped eggs from India (the store owner even told me the
artist’s name). I can sight many more examples, perhaps even to the
point of reminding us that the tools we use are made from machines
built halfway around the world, some of the cute furniture we have is
made of wood not grown in the US, and the oils and fuel are imported
from middle eastern oil fields. We are a global society!

I would suggest that the more we buy from global sources, the
quicker we and they will equalize the standards of living in our
respective countries. Unfortunately, that may mean that America will
find things a little less gilded, a little leaner and tougher, and
more competitive.

I wish all of you, from all countries, happiness and honor, and
freedom from real or virtual enslavement!

Rex

83

Marc,

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

It is all too easy to blame the little guys failure on the big guys
might. Selective journalism is a current disease.

Of course major respected jewelry producers are using overseas
labor, and yes their deeds go down quietly.

Here in the US, we allow immigrant laborers to cultivate our fields,
yet far too many growers then let them leave the fields and sleep in
bushes. Few provide the dormitories and similar you find in China
and Thailand, and of course in other countries. Yet we complain about
imported produce. Go figure.

It is wonderful to be a citizen of the world, more should try it.
May get to respect what we have.

Terrie

84

When speaking about overseas cutters I’m sure Craig is suggesting
South East Asia, Africa etc. In general, this would include countries
cutting fine facet grade rough for $1 per carat. This excludes the
Munsteiners etc.

I’d suggest Craig has a general point, but the gap has narrowed. The
west has been exporting the appropriate machinery to do proper
cutting in the East. We have a cutting facility in Brazil. They have
the Raytech and Facette lapidary equipment to cut equal to any
American at the cost of $1/ct, thus we are able sell parcels of
perfectly cut citrine or amethyst for $2-5/ct. We may cut the same
quality stones here in America and have to charge $10-$30/ct, but as
a business owner which would you buy?

Many westerners are living in countries like India or Brazil
bringing equipment and training to the locals. There are a small
number of professionals implementing fair business practice
everywhere in the world today.

Merry Christmas,

Ed Cleveland

85

Our thanks to Doc Robinson for injecting some authoritative reality
into our forum. My only reservation about his comments was that we
should not necessarily boycott Indian goods because some or many of
the Indian manufacturers do not treat their workers as well as they
might. We might consider our own early struggles wherein American
workers were badly treated. In due time these things tend to get
straightened out, and sometimes it involves bloodshed. Enlightened
employers eventually realize that unhappy and degraded employees are
not productive.

Ron Mills, Mills Gem Co. Los Osos, Ca.

86

Linda,

I have to take issue with your basic assumption that growth is
essential for prosperity.This old warhorse that “progress is growth
and growth is progress” isn’t something that we should take for
granted. Rather, it is a belief that is perpetuated by large
corporations which DO need to expand ad infinitum in order to
maintain dominance.

This is exactly why I don’t join the chamber of commerce. They too
are addicted to that assumption, whereas, in reality, when they
encourage a communtiy to seduce a large chain to come to their burg
they are contributing to the downfall of the existing businesses.
Lately Orchid has given vent to those who have been victimised by the
Walmart and Home Depot invasions. These huge corporations seldom sell
goods at anything other than regular retail prices, BUT, they have
huge selections and they have unlimited advertising budgets. Costco
is a good example…they buy odd lots and end of production runs
and, sometimes pass along some savings. But, they also sell most of
their stuff at regular prices. Basically what they are doing is a dog
and pony show…they PACKAGE their merchandising so as to create
the illusion that you are getting a great deal. Those of us who have
looked at their jewelry offerings know that the prices are nothing to
write home about…as a matter of fact, they are what we would be
happy to get from our own stock. ( And…they are buying this
stuff at distressed prices ! )

The old cliche’ that growth is progress comes with a very steep
price. It means urban congestion, decimation of resources,
horrendous traffic, polluted air and water, high housing costs,
alienation from nature, intensified crime, individual alienation,
loss of identity, noise pollution and a sense of futility and
anonymity. Moreover, it also means that your beloved community has
been enriched by a host of Mc Jobs which make miniscule contributions
toward your paying the credit card bills.

A hundred years ago, large companies created entire communities which
created self contained towns for their employees. These were the
companies that needed laborers in a business endeavour that was
devoted to exploitation of natural resources…i.e. mining
companies and logging companies. They typically gave these "captive"
employees generous credit allowances so that they would allay the
costs of the benefits. Nowadays we are again in that mode…we are
captives of credit cards…we are owned by the “company store”!

Growth and cancer are synonymous ! Ron Mills, Mills Gem Co, Los Osos,
Ca.

Postscript: Population growth is rapidly diminishing in developing
countries, even in China ! Many European countries are actually
experiencing diminishing population growth. In most cases what this
phenomenon is attributed to is a better quality of life. Agrarian
societies needed maximum reproduction because they needed “field
hands” and because they had high rates of mortality. Ergo, a better
quality of life is achieved when reproduction is contained.
…hopefully, Ron

87 
when I see a product at Radio Shack for $100.00 and at Walmart
(right next store) for 78.00....I go for the 78.00.

We all have choices to make in life. To me, $25.00 is a small price
to pay to help keep a local shop in business. I know money is money,
and $25.00 saved can buy a lot elsewhere. But, this is how I look at
it… I probably buy more things (“fun” things) than I should. So,
I’m just careful to purchase what is needed and I shop at boutiques,
mom & pop run stores whenever possible. I’m not saying I’ve never
set foot in a Cost-Co, but there needs to be a balance and if
everyone ignores the mom & pop stores and we change our shopping
culture and the vultures like Wal-Mart take over there’s no room for
us… the small jewelers in the long run.

-amery

88

Dear Ron,

As in your letter to Linda, I also have to take issue with a premise
you made regarding Chamber of Commerce’s, indicating all are the
same.

This is exactly why I don't join the chamber of commerce. They too
are addicted to that assumption, whereas, in reality, when they
encourage a communtiy to seduce a large chain to come to their
burg they are contributing to the downfall of the existing
businesses.

I live and work in a small mid-Michigan city of 4000 people, and
have been active on our Chamber’s board of directors for twenty-five
years, and I believe that our Chamber is exactly the opposite of what
you described. Wallmart came to a neighboring city ten years ago, and
all the local Chambers worked against them coming to the County.
Sadly we were not successful, but we spoke at planning commission
meetings and council meetings trying to find a legal method for
turning them away from our community.

Our Chamber is a group of business men and women banding together to
promote local business, offer valuable education to business owners
to help them be successful, and to give the residents a positive
viewpoint of our business community. Several years ago the Chamber
raised a large amount of money through fundraisers, purchased vacant
land on the edge of town, and gave the land to the City for
industrial developement. The end result will be jobs for our
residents, and the by-product will be more customers for our
businesses.

I don’t know where you are located, but I would urge you to give
your Chamber a second chance. Take the time to go to a meeting or
two, read their by-laws, and find out what they really are all about.
If your assumptions prove to be correct, then by all means avoid the
organization. You just might be surprised.

Jon Michael Fuja

89

Hi Amery:

To me, $25.00 is a small price to pay to help keep a local shop in
business. I know money is money, and $25.00 saved can buy a lot
elsewhere.

Thanks, that was the point I was trying to make, but sometimes I am
not very clear. I said “Radio Shack” to site an example and it looked
like I was indulging in all kinds of electronic gadgets…have you
seen the globe that lights up so that you can see who is calling you
on the phone without getting out of your chair? That’s a good one.

Anyway, contrary to my email, I am actually pretty frugal and I have
a family to look after. I buy some things at Walmart because I can
save money, but I also frequent the local small businesses. I shop at
the local grocer, for instance, and the reasons I do this are many.
They’re a family business. They’re convenient. They prepare
ready-to-cook meat dishes that I can utilize when I am getting home
too late after taking my sons to swimming practice. This is something
the big grocery store chains don’t provide.

I shop at the boutiques downtown. They have clothing and gifts there
that I wouldn’t find in any of the big mall-type stores (plus I
don’t have to go to the mall, yuck).

I’m being vague again, I know, but the point I’m actually trying to
make is on adaptation and diversification. If Walmart carries it, I
don’t try to sell it. It won’t work, I will lose.

It’s admirable to stage demonstrations and protests to keep walmart
out of your town, but it is to no avail It won’t work. I’m not saying
give up though. I’m saying find a way to not compete with them. Offer
customers something they can’t get at the big stores. Offer them
service.

One post said “the managers come from other towns, with business
degrees”. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to find a way to get a
degree then. I had to work for my degree. Nothing is free. I served
my country for 4 years to raise the money for my college tuition.
Sometimes, there is not an easy way to reach your goal, but there is
a way.

It’s like the conversations we have sometimes on people copying
other artists’ work. There is always a voice of reason that pops up
eventually and says “make something complicated, then they can’t
copy it” Someone said to me a couple weeks ago “that’s a beautiful
bracelet you made, I can’t for the life of me figure out how you made
it” I said, “good”

Sorry for rambling,
Kim Starbard
Cove Beads

90

Silani

How does this fit with a jewelry list? Conscious buyers would
rather have one really good piece of jewlelry"

you have made a very valid point here ! and the word conscious
implies that people need to think, care express patience and a whole
bunch of other stuff. most people do but not about what you or i
want them to be concerned with. its all about the lack of, and
lustfull desire for money money! so can we teach our
children, friends and customers to appreciate whats wholesome and get
on with life and drop this thread already. best regards -goo

91

Amery,

I'm not saying I've never set foot in a Cost-Co

You mention Costco & Walmart in the same sentence, implying that
they are similar. They are two very different companies. Unlike
Walmart, Costco pays good wages, provides health insurance to most of
their employees, and has very low employee turnover.

Joel

Joel Schwalb
@Joel_Schwalb

92

Haven’t read this list for a long time…

I agree with Marc’s (from ABI) with his observations about factories
in China.

I really don’t know why when ppl hear “< 18”, they think sweat shop
or underaged workers… I grew up in the US, and have worked in some
capacity since I was in 6th grade elementary. Every where I applied
for job, I was welcomed.

One really needs to know the culture and background of a region
before commenting on it’s moral issues.

At our factory in China, we provide 3 meals plus dormitories for our
staff. I really don’t think anyone thinks they are working in a sweat
shop. We have many couples who met in the factory and have since
married and have kids. When I first met them, I thought they were in
20’s or 30’s. As it turned out, most are younger than me and many new
interns are teenagers.

Do you know how mature a 16 year Chinese from rural area is? I can
say they probably have the maturity of a typical 22 year old in the
USA. Many ppl I’ve met in China got married by the age of 16.

With the lack of a good education system in some parts of China,
these type of internships are very valuable to kids to learn a
trade/skill and keep them from getting involved in gangs and other
bad activities. When our founder moved the factory from Hong Kong to
China, he was just thinking about saving money, he was mostly
concerned about giving back to the town/community he grew up in by
providing job opportunities for the people.

With regards to all the Wal-mart hatred… I generally agree about
not shopping at Walmart whenever possible… but for another reason.
SERVICE! i have not found a single person in the walmart around where
i live who can speak English well enough to help me find what I need!

who doesn’t want to save money? but the shopping experience counts a
lot when considering where to buy.

do you really think that kind of “buy american only” mentality work?
how do you know that the company shareholder/owner is not foreign?
how do you know that the owner will not turn around and spend the
money himself/herself on foreign made goods.

if you really want to help improve the working standards of
developing countries, then you should really say “buy foreign only”.
if i am a business owner in usa selling foreign made goods, am i not
paying my dues in sales taxes, import duties, and income taxes when i
sell my goods which happen to be foreign made. Am i not a "producer"
as well? of jobs and income to the government?

i know many people on this list are tradesmiths and may take
offensive to foreign made products which may compete against your
products on pricing agressively. but take a class at your local
community college on global economics and such as I did, to get an
understanding of the world economy in general and that "buy american"
or “buy californian” typically doesn’t work.

i used to make 105K+ a year as a software engineer by the age of 23.
but those jobs are quickly losing to India and China as well. why? in
China, they can hire 20 bright master-degreed computer science
students for the same price. as the ceo of a multinational corporation
with pricing pressures from many others, what would you do? i didn’t
get outsourced personally, i quit and tried to find a way to be that
ceo or business owner. i am still working to get there as we speak.

do you want to work together to compete against the pricing pressures
of walmart, department stores, and chainstores who must outsource to
compete on price (because they don’t have much service)? why not
focus on design, sales and service?

sorry if i offended anyone.

Teddy
Talent Jewelry Mfg, LLC

93

Hi Silani,

I wonder where it is you think we are now?

With respects, I disagree. Not that I claim a total end to child
hunger or illiteracy in America but more that we are not so bad as
your note implies. I can tell you where I think we are now. Both as a
globe and as nationals.

We are in an evolutionary process. A process that began in the early
industrial age with many abuses of the air, children and pay scale.
What did this process get us? Light. Heat. Planes and trains.
Affordable items from cars to clothes to x ray machines for doctors.

Unions. OSHA. The minimum wage. EPA. Labor Boards. All in response
to abuses. Law libraries brimming with books of regulations.

Oh, and for those hungry children? Our public schools all admit
students “no questions asked” and often have lunch programs. We have
general relief (welfare) for parents and children. We have food
stamps for the poor. We even have secular and (uh oh!) faith based
assistance in many areas. Los Angeles has the famous Rescue Mission
on skid row.

None of this has “solved” hunger, homes for the destitute or
overwhelming immigration legal and other wise. But I submit there has
been a great effort (from President Roosevelt to President Johnson’s
“Great Society”) to put in a very costly and effective safety net. So
many more would suffer without the efforts we do make. Abroad our
money makes improvements possible that would simply not happen
without it. Sure, some gets misspent. But some can be found in new
roads, homes, electricity and consumer goods for those offshore
workers.

We are far from perfect in the USA, yet far above and beyond the
efforts of many other nations.

Is my glass half empty or half full?

Why are all those kids you mention hungry or not in school? Is it
really because we do not provide food or schools? Or is it more
complicated, like occasional poor parenting and an inability to
navigate application forms? Maybe a broken mentality that has given
up on trying to succeed? Perhaps substance abuse?

What state in the USA turns away children from public schools? Or
refuses them food stamps? NONE.

Unfortunately, it’s harder to export sense and sensibilities than it
is our cash and technologies.

I am glad to be here in this “uncontrolled pollution” environment
rather than, say China. I am told the visibility is measured in
yards on a bad day.

I am also darn glad I was not just there on a Songhua river fishing
trip! They hid the benzene spill for days. You will not see that in
Texas or California from a government or a major private facility.

Texas has "uncontrolled pollution?’ The state web page for TCEQ
(Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) has a link for pollution
complaints as the very first link on the right side of the front
“home” page. Just below that “Track complaints and enforcement”. Well
perhaps an oil producing and refining state cannot remain as pristine
as empty desert, but how would we distribute food and the jewelry we
make? My car won’t run on air. An electric car just has a longer
tailpipe. Hybrid car? Still uses plenty of gas. Lets not confuse
changes in air regulations with the industrial anarchy you imply.

Where do I think we are? Far beyond what we ever get credit for. I,
for one see no need to pretend our failures so overwhelm our
successes. Now lets make some fine jewelry and clean up after
ourselves!

Daniel Ballard
Precious Metals West

94

Hello Orchidland,

This news article from the Los Angeles Times raises questions about
the human cost of cheap beads and other gemstone products from
China.

  Stifling in Jade Dust 

  At 31, Feng Xingzhong is dying after years of toiling in one
  of China's gemstone factories. He's not alone -- except in
  speaking up for justice.

  http://tinyurl.com/76prc

I buy Fair Trade coffee… perhaps something similar is available
that certifies both decent working conditions and wages as well as
environmental sensitivity.

Something to think about: When we purchase a strand of beads cheaply,
are we contributing to the awful conditions described, or are we
supporting honest people trying to make a living for their
families???

There’s got to be something hopeful here, Judy in Kansas, who saw
what unbridled economic growth is doing to China’s
environment…(cough cough)

95 
"buy american" or "buy californian" typically doesn't work.

It is not a matter of simply “buy American,” but rather making a
conscious choice to buy from local, independent businesses rather
than large chain stores, IMO.

When you purchase from a local, independent business, 47 cents of
your dollar, on average, remains within the community. When you
purchase from a Walmart or other big box chain store, an average of
11 cents of your dollar remains in your community. That 47 cents
continues to circulate, paying taxes, creating jobs, and putting
clothes on your neighbors’ backs.

This is compounded by the fact that big boxes often get tax waivers
from municipal governments, so they may be even more efficient in
taking the communities earnings and giving back nothing in return.

Additionally, large chain stores typically move into communities and
neighborhoods with predatory pricing schemes contrived to shut down
small, independent businesses, and they are frighteningly good at
that. Now, when they have succeeded in shutting down independent
businesses and are a virtual monopoly within the community for many
goods and services, they have no incentive to offer “deals.”

A good article on this phenomenon can be found here-

http://amiba.net/pdf/benefits_doing_biz_locally.pdf

Lee Einer
Dos Manos Jewelry
http://www.dosmanosjewelry.com

Unlike Walmart, Costco pays good wages, provides health insurance
to most of their employees, and has very low employee turnover.

What about K Mart?
NoelFrom: “Alma Rands” arands@comcast.net

Joel is correct when he says Cost-co and Walmart are totally
different in their practices. Cost-co treats its employees very
well, and in my area hires many seniors for demonstrating different
foods. A dear friend who lives on a tight budget loves her job at
Cost-co. She says they treat her well and with dignity, and she feels
as though she is part of a family. Employee morale in her store is
very high…

Alma

From: Susannah Garcia moonshinemetal@yahoo.com

Hello Everybody,

Regarding chain stores: In southside San Antonio, on Military Drive,
are located the ruins of a strip mall. All around it are mom n pop
tacquerias (called “Mexican Restaurants” elsewhere), mom n

Why buy a shirt from KMart for $10, when they can go to the Goodwill
in six months and get it for $2? Or, better yet, have a special
guyabara (a specific kind of men’s sh

IF that much. Trade is common here. If someone, for example, knows
how to do electrical wiring, they could trade what they would charge
for the service for an equal amoun

I consider it poetic justice that here, anyway, in the parking lot
of an empty strip mall, once anchored by K-Mart, is a lively flea
market full of handcrafted and repair

On the northside, however, it’s a different story. Lots of chain
stores, everything costs too much, and service is poor. And this is
called economic development? When all

There is hope, everybody.

Best wishes,
Susannah Page-Garcia

From: Linda Holmes-Rubin lindahr@mindspring.com

To Daniel Spirer–

Hi Daniel. I don’t want to get into an argument, but I know I’m not
revising. But that doesn’t mean I disagree with all you are saying.
Things are just a lot more complicated and we need to take a broad
view. Of course unions had an effect. And I do know something about
them. My grandfather and father both worked in the mines and were
directly involved in organizing in the 30’s. I was also a shop
steward in my past. My comments were focused on economic growth–what
promotes it and what doesn’t. And ultimately it is economic growth
that allows improvements in people’s lives to take place. Sometimes
what allows an economy to grow overall hurts some groups or
individuals. We need to find ways to help these individuals without
harming the economy. But what leads to growth is clear–free trade,
choice, property rights, rule of law, freedom to contract, access to

What troubles me about this list is that so many seem so ignorant of
economics. All of the complaints about Walmart are an example.
People shop there because they find value for their money. It may not
be where we choose to shop. I don’t like them because they are too
big and I can never find things. To me, time is critical, more so
than a few bucks, but I have that luxury of choice. I also prefer
higher quality or more choice on many items. Of course, when they
move in to a town, many small shops can’t compete. But should
everyone be forced to pay more so that these small shops can survive?
I saw a study–an independent study done by economists–recently that
showed Walmart saved the average working family around $2000 a year.
That’s a lot of money. They paid slightly above the average retail
wages in the US and were more likely to offer benefits. So there is
good and bad and I think objectively, the good outweighs the bad.

Many complain of goods manufactured overseas. But in economics you
learn that the most benefit (economic growth) comes when things are
produced by the most efficient producer. It leaves more resources
for other uses. So its no surprise that high labor content goods can
be made more cheaply in countries with lower wages. We in the US
should not stand in the way of this, provided–and this is a big
provision–that the free trade goes both ways and there are no
artificial limits such as tariffs or other protectionist laws
getting in the way and things like intellectual property are
respected. We should concentrate on where we have
advantages–intellectual property, research, design, high tech
manufacturing. Just remember the Luddites–they were made destitute
when mechanized looms started to replace their little home
hand-weaving work. They rioted and smashed the mechanized looms. It
didn’t work, and do you think that we are better or worse off having
cheap, abundant clothing and textiles?

I’m through and off my soapbox, I’m sure everyone is sick of this by
now.

Linda

96

Hi Teddy -

Thank you for the insightful post. It made me wonder how many of us
have read Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat?

Best regards,
Chris