jimg.allentown
Well-known Member
I sure don't intend to defend the Chinese, BUT........
They seem to be getting a bad rap that they may not deserve.
First, look at some of their accomplishments. Besides the Great Wall, they have managed to become a nuclear power in spite of getting no help from outside their country. They have put men in space. They have become a world power - one to be reckoned with.
What does it take to become a nuclear power? Well, first the ability to refine radioactive materials to separate the useful stuff from the useless stuff. This requires some pretty precision equipment. Things like centrifuges, cyclotrons, and the precision machinery to produce such equipment.
Due to the nature of the government, they can produce consumer goods on a tremendous scale. After all, with 1.2 BILLION people, the competition for jobs must be fierce. They have also managed to feed themselves for centuries without outside help, unlike certain other world powers - like the USSR.
So, while they get cursed and criticized, they are still a major force in OUR economy. I suspect that they can make as good of a product as any other country in the world. The "junk" that they sell here is only junk because the people ordering the goods are asking for it that way - cheap and dirty!! For all we know, they are being supplied with drawings, materials, and tooling to produce poor quality goods - as long as they are CHEAP!!!
Seems we had something similar happen with the Japanese. We occupied them for a time after WWII. We rebuilt their industries. We taught them how to make consumer goods. I remember as a teenager hearing the same sort of criticism about the Japanese that we now hear about the Chinese. So, now take a look outside. On the highway, easily 1 in 3 automobiles is a Japanese make. We are heading the same way with the Chinese.
As a side note, the tools that are coming out of China these days are way better than the junk that came out of Japan in the 1960s and into the 1970s. They continue to improve. Some of the sockets and wrenches that I have from HF are every bit as good as a Craftsman. Not up to a Snap-on or Mac, but a reasonable second. If we don't keep alert, the "land of almost right" will be the one calling that to US!!!!
They seem to be getting a bad rap that they may not deserve.
First, look at some of their accomplishments. Besides the Great Wall, they have managed to become a nuclear power in spite of getting no help from outside their country. They have put men in space. They have become a world power - one to be reckoned with.
What does it take to become a nuclear power? Well, first the ability to refine radioactive materials to separate the useful stuff from the useless stuff. This requires some pretty precision equipment. Things like centrifuges, cyclotrons, and the precision machinery to produce such equipment.
Due to the nature of the government, they can produce consumer goods on a tremendous scale. After all, with 1.2 BILLION people, the competition for jobs must be fierce. They have also managed to feed themselves for centuries without outside help, unlike certain other world powers - like the USSR.
So, while they get cursed and criticized, they are still a major force in OUR economy. I suspect that they can make as good of a product as any other country in the world. The "junk" that they sell here is only junk because the people ordering the goods are asking for it that way - cheap and dirty!! For all we know, they are being supplied with drawings, materials, and tooling to produce poor quality goods - as long as they are CHEAP!!!
Seems we had something similar happen with the Japanese. We occupied them for a time after WWII. We rebuilt their industries. We taught them how to make consumer goods. I remember as a teenager hearing the same sort of criticism about the Japanese that we now hear about the Chinese. So, now take a look outside. On the highway, easily 1 in 3 automobiles is a Japanese make. We are heading the same way with the Chinese.
As a side note, the tools that are coming out of China these days are way better than the junk that came out of Japan in the 1960s and into the 1970s. They continue to improve. Some of the sockets and wrenches that I have from HF are every bit as good as a Craftsman. Not up to a Snap-on or Mac, but a reasonable second. If we don't keep alert, the "land of almost right" will be the one calling that to US!!!!