Scary Junk...

I am going to say something very controversial here. I do not blame the Chinese. I blame the American industry. Joe Blow sees a rising demand for an item. He then gives that item to a guy who is a foreign trade rep. who takes it to China and says "make one just like this, as cheap as you can, and as many as you can". The Joe Blow brings them in by the container, stores them in a warehouse, and sells them to anybody who printed up a business card and calls themselves 'distributers'.
Along the whole supply chain, not one box is opened and examined between leaving the factory to arriving on the end user's door step. No one in between gives a fying fluck and the situation gets worse. Engineering schools USED to teach QC/QA. No more.
So, we used to see an Amercan forged and machined stroker crank and it worked. 440 Source buys one of those cranks without a single ounce of knowledge of what it takes to make a good crank, sends it to China and tells them to "make one just like it". The Made in USA guy goes under. WE are very stupid people and it's because immigration has dumbed us down to third world country status. The Third World: where American medical companies send their knee replacement parts that failed FDA tests and expired medicine to. They're poor and stupid down there so, no problem. Now that they're all here, the bar has lowered so badly, it's now a total mess and it's only going to get worse.

Aweee, who cares? I don't anymore.

< Sent from my tablet >
 
Dont forget about the Corporate greed that plays a huge part in all that
 
I might amend one part a little. Joe Blow, CEO, feels he needs to make his part cheaper so he can sell it for less. The Walmart/CostCo effect. When he has wrung out as much cost from his product in the U.S. he then 1) is forced to go to China to satisfy the demands of his distributors or, 2) he willing moves over to China in order to pay less thereby raising his profit margin making both Wall Street, his stockholders and eventually him happy. Closer to the mark I think. Many distributors are feeling the pressure from consumers to keep price down. With many consumers more interested in a low price, rather than quality, this is how we end up with these items. Also, today younger consumers tend to have a throw away mentality fostered partly by the manufacturers. They have been conditioned to throw a product only a few years old and buy new to keep the ball rolling. On the other hand I am from a time when you repaired an item should it need repair and such items had a built in long life you could count on. Not anymore.

According to a parts store I have gone to for decades I am one of the few who asks for and is willing to pay a higher price for a made in USA part. Most everyone else doesn't care except about cost. Only I learned long ago that low cost and quality have a see saw relationship. So while I may not care for Fram filters their line about pay me now or pay me later, really sooner, definitely is true.
 
It really is upsetting, what happened to integrity?
 
Next time you buy fishing equipment try to buy everything made in the USA......its non-existant for the most part.

I have Penn reels that are made in the USA.....I think they might be made in China now.
 
There aren't any TV's made in the USA anymore!

I think only two manufacturers left in Germany now with one about to close. My German made LOEWE TV set is now about 20 years old with one little repair; next question however is, what do they put in these German TV sets today ? Probably all made in other cheap production countries, if you're lucky to specs dictated by German engineers.
 
I used to really enjoy driving through Chicago and seeing the giant "Zenith" electric sign on my way to my parents house in Milwaukee when I was stationed in the U.S. I knew I was getting close to home when I seen the sign. Balls to the wall.......Wisconsin border coming up soon!

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I'm driving 80 mph on the Tri-State-Bypass I-294. Six lanes each direction and 85 year old grannies are passing me like I'm standing still. Crazy,crazy driving on the Tri-State!!!
 
They drive one mph per year they're old.
 
Down here, there's loaded tractor trailers, four EVENLY abreast, doing 45.........
And two FHP yacking in the median....

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BTW, the sign is still there. The letters are gone. That sign was super bright when it was lit up at night!

:sFl_america2:
 
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