Ariens Sno-Tek sticker Original Message Dec 17, 2009 11:52 am
I was just in a Home Depot store and looked at the Sno-Tek's. It is amazing they put a nice big sticker on the bucket that says "Made in the USA". I guess the "Made in China engine" doesnt apply. Good old marketing tricks.
yeah. Every once in a while, I have to vent. I've been commenting on "Chinese content" for years. Approx. twelve years ago, while opening Christmas presents, it became abundantly clear that even then, China had produced 80% of the gifts under our tree. I've been relentless in bringing this to light since then. It would appear however, most people do not share this concern, or if they do, they're pretty good at concealing it. Now, twelve years later, our manufacturing sector is even more at risk because with the flood of North American/Japanese/European "know-how" being supplied to China, be it legitimate or stolen, has elevated their productivity and quality to a level that is very difficult to ignore. Two years ago, I would go out of my way to avoid buying a Chinese built OPE engine because the build quality was inconsistent . Now, I have no qualms whatsoever. Their engines quality has improved that much. Being that some components in B&S engines are built in China, we have virtually no choice but to buy a foreign small engine, like it or not. You are correct in pointing out Walmart as being the catalyst that began the exodus of blue collar jobs out of our countries. They completely changed the way business had been conducted between manufacturing and retail. I like to refer to Walmart as the "Great Wall Mart".
Hello to all, I am the original poster. In a way it was a bit of a slam to Ariens, after all just what does "Made in America mean these days"?, The tag caught my eye first thing! Leave the that tag off and all would be well. I realize it is a world market, just dont try and pull the wool over anyones eyes with a shiny tag.. Is that fair enough? The engine may be great. How many laid off workers will it take for this country to realize this. SAD Situation. I'm a young 60 yrs old and cant believe what is going on here. There will always be some politician to say ..."dont worry it will work out in the end." Sorry to get a bit political but that is our future...SNOW or NOT. MADE IN THE USA
The Made in the USA is misleading. Be careful about thinking that Made in USA means quality. However, there's something else that is not. "Made in China" means that the people who put these engines together are proudly displaying for the public to see. 60 and 15 years ago, we thunb down our noses at products made overseas from Japan and Korea. Look at where they are now. Let's not make the same mistake the third time.
US has to get competitive or all we can provide are weapons and services. If a pair of jeans already costs $60 and are made over there, who's going to pay for $200 jeans made in the US of A.
Re: Ariens Sno-Tek sticker Reply #16 Dec 20, 2009 1:28 am
Your reference to jeans caught my attention. A while back my wife and daughter were shopping for dresses at JC Penny's. I was bored and spent about 40 minutes walking through the store looking at everything and anything to see where it was made. The ONLY items I found that carried a "made in USA" label were blue jeans.
Lenin once said (paraphrasing) that a capitalist will sell a rope to someone for a profit even though he knows the buyer intends to use the rope to hang him with.
That's because the capitalists' greatest value is profit. All other values are secondary and dispensable as long as the first value is obtained. Any social reality is acceptable as long that first value is materialized.
The "rope" that China used was cheap labor. China went to American business leaders and offered to build products cheaper for them. American businessmen knew that outsourcing their manufacturing to China would produce quick and easy profits, so they went for it...even though they also knew that it would ultimately lead to their demise. They just could pass up the quick profit.
Re: Ariens Sno-Tek sticker Reply #17 Dec 20, 2009 10:11 am
Paul7 wrote:
Your reference to jeans caught my attention. A while back my wife and daughter were shopping for dresses at JC Penny's. I was bored and spent about 40 minutes walking through the store looking at everything and anything to see where it was made. The ONLY items I found that carried a "made in USA" label were blue jeans.
Lenin once said (paraphrasing) that a capitalist will sell a rope to someone for a profit even though he knows the buyer intends to use the rope to hang him with.
That's because the capitalists' greatest value is profit. All other values are secondary and dispensable as long as the first value is obtained. Any social reality is acceptable as long that first value is materialized.
The "rope" that China used was cheap labor. China went to American business leaders and offered to build products cheaper for them. American businessmen knew that outsourcing their manufacturing to China would produce quick and easy profits, so they went for it...even though they also knew that it would ultimately lead to their demise. They just could pass up the quick profit.
Ahhh, you left out one very important fact. Domestic manufacturers did not voluntarily close down their plants and rush off to China because they wanted to. WALMART caused the exodus many years ago when they became the dominant retailer in North America. A couple of years ago, PBS produced an excellent documentary on how Walmart forced American manufacturing to move to China. If you have a chance to see it, you should. It's a real eye opener.
Ahhh, you left out one very important fact. Domestic manufacturers did not voluntarily close down their plants and rush off to China because they wanted to. WALMART caused the exodus many years ago when they became the dominant retailer in North America. A couple of years ago, PBS produced an excellent documentary on how Walmart forced American manufacturing to move to China. If you have a chance to see it, you should. It's a real eye opener.
I'll look for it. Walmart just entered our local markets a few years ago so I don't know a lot about any historical influence they had.
quit bashing walmart. thet have what the public wants at a good price.i work for a family owned supermarket, who proudly displays a sign, american owned.but what do i see in the backroom, is cases of product coming from china and everywhere else in the world. why is that? money, money ,money , means profit's, profit's , profit's.i'm sorry to say this this but get used to it.i go to walmart when i want price and selection. the super stores are unbelievable. everything you want under one roof.every business is out for themselfs and that's the bottom line
quit bashing walmart. thet have what the public wants at a good price.i work for a family owned supermarket, who proudly displays a sign, american owned.but what do i see in the backroom, is cases of product coming from china and everywhere else in the world. why is that? money, money ,money , means profit's, profit's , profit's.i'm sorry to say this this but get used to it.i go to walmart when i want price and selection. the super stores are unbelievable. everything you want under one roof.every business is out for themselfs and that's the bottom line
you are entitled to your opinion.. I am entitled to disagree with you..
I have the same right to continue to bash walmart that you have to say "quit bashing walmart" ..
just because you hold a certain opinion, doesnt mean people who hold the opposite opinion have to shut up..
When Walmart puts your family-owned supermarket out of business, and you are out of a job, you will feel differently.. and make no mistake..it is Walmarts goal to put your family-owned supermarket out of business.. every business is out for themselfs and that's the bottom line ..and you cant win against Walmart.
