Boycott Mattel and anything from China
I read the story about Mattel CEO testifying before Congress. I remember when the U.S. had a trade ban against China, it was lifted in the early 70’s.
Has anyone checked prices on Mattel products? Does anyone think they passed their savings on to the Consumer?
I think the American people should boycott Mattel and anything from China, that includes Catfish, toothpaste or any food or drug product.
I also think they should boycoyt Walmart until they go back to carrying “made in the USA Label.”
This letter has not been edited.
Rave on, your dumb scheme of trade barriers and boycotts was tried decades ago and helped to worsen the 1929 Depression. Walmart, moreover, has 100 million happy customers, 1 million happy employees, provides affordable healthcare to millions of folks and enjoys millions of happy shareholders. Their low prices help keep inflation and interest rates down. Who appointed you the China czar and the anti-WalMart Nazi?
What have you done for America lately? DHHUUU? You sound like another whinning, angry liberal and union flunky.
Posted by Hank on September 21, 2007 02:16 PMHank, our resident "damn the safety, full speed ahead in the name of profits", doesn't understand the need for moderation and oversight.
Globalization is here to stay...the idea is for all parties involved to benefit. China will get it's poop in a grou; and full, safe trade will resume unhindered by currently well-founded safety concerns.
Lighten up, Hank. Capitalism is alive and flourishing; a minor tweaking of the system is both overdue and underway. China, America and globalization in general will benefit.
Just imagine that the "invisible hand" gave China an overdue swat to ensure a course correction.
Posted by carl on September 21, 2007 02:58 PMHank,
I know you are an O'reilly fan, he boycotts everything he doesn't like. The only weapon consumers have is to not buy. Can you make a good living working at Walmart? You are a dichotomy, you love America so much that you support everything that destroys middle America. Their low prices keep keep interest rates down? WTF? Walmart drives out mom and pop shops because they buy in such bulk they get discounts, small shops can't keep up. Walmart used to be BUY AMERICAN, but of course money talks and when the kids took over it was all about the money. It's all about the money with corporations, they don't care a lick about you or anything but the bottom line. WAKE UP HANK, you are promoting the selling out of America!!!
Posted by Karl Cheney on September 21, 2007 03:33 PMGood post Karl Cheney!! I couldn't agree with you more!!
Posted by A on September 21, 2007 03:46 PMThe government can`t force us to by Chinese goods. I won`t even buy used toys from Schin at yard sales now. I only have so many grandchildren, and I care more about them then China.
Posted by Sharon B. on September 21, 2007 03:46 PMYes, Karl, mandate Walmart out of business!
Posted by on September 21, 2007 03:56 PM3:56,
Who said anyting about mandating Walmart out of business? I'm telling you an economic fact. Walmart puts many small business out of business and then pays it's employees just enough to survive. Do you think you could purchase a house and live comfortably on the hourly wage from Walmart? We are shopping ourselves into poverty by supporting big box stores like Walmart. There are many communities where Walmart is the main employer, I find this concerning.
Posted by Karl Cheney on September 21, 2007 04:29 PMAgreed Karl. We are a consumer society. All large businesses have an advantage over small businesses. That's the incentive to grow. But I don't think it's selling out America. This is America in a world economy. Because of low priced foreign goods, people who are considered poor are living at or better than the same standard that middle class used to as far as creature comforts. We don't need to make more to live better than the rest of the world because we buy cheaper. My mother didn't feel poor because they had a wooden floor in their home and their neighbor had a dirt floor. She considered them poor. America's soul is the quest for more, regardless of what we have.
Posted by on September 21, 2007 04:44 PMMake a bet: This Christmas the "Made In America" label will be on everything, even handmade items.
Posted by Sharon B. on September 21, 2007 04:48 PMYep, you never see happier employees than those poor bastards at Walmart. Hank shows yet again that he can write while giving himself a rectal exam, face-first.
Posted by on September 21, 2007 04:57 PM"This Christmas the "Made In America" label will be on everything, even handmade items."
Including the forgeries made in China; Hecho en Mexico, etc....
Posted by on September 21, 2007 05:13 PM5:13 good one!
Posted by Sharon B. on September 21, 2007 05:16 PMSimplicity Inc., a supplier of baby furniture to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and other big retailers, is recalling about 1 million Chinese-made baby cribs which have been linked to at least two infant deaths, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday.
The drop-side can detach from the crib, which can create a dangerous gap that leads to an infant being trapped and suffocated, the safety agency said in a statement. It urged parents to check all Simplicity-made cribs to ensure the drop-side is installed correctly.
The cribs, priced between $100 and $300, were sold by U.S. retailers and chains including Target Corp. (TGT), Big Lots Inc (BIG) and family-owned Meijer Inc.
Posted by on September 21, 2007 06:08 PMHank must be ghost writing scripts for Mattel..
U.S. toy giant Mattel issued an extraordinary apology to China on Friday over the recall of Chinese-made toys, saying most of the items were defective because of Mattel's design flaws rather than faulty manufacturing.
The company added that it had recalled more lead-tainted Chinese toys than was justified.
The gesture by Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, came in a meeting with Chinese product safety chief Li Changjiang, at which Li upbraided the company for maintaining weak safety controls.
"Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls," Debrowski told Li in a meeting at Li's office.
"And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," Debrowski said.
Mattel ordered three high-profile recalls this summer of millions of Chinese-made toys including Barbie doll accessories and toy cars because of concerns about lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.
The "vast majority of those products that were recalled were the result of a design flaw in Mattel's design, not through a manufacturing flaw in China's manufacturers," Debrowski said.
Lead-tainted toys accounted for only a small percentage of all toys recalled, he said, adding that: "We understand and appreciate deeply the issues that this has caused for the reputation of Chinese manufacturers."
Posted by on September 21, 2007 06:10 PMYep 6:10-it sure was interesting reading that an American company (Mattel) apoligized to China because China's manufactorers tried to poison us. Kind of like that guy who apoligized to Cheney for getting shoot in the face.
Somehow, I don't think the use of lead paint is a "design flaw".
Guess we know who's the ecomonic boss--and it ain't us.
Posted by Not Hank on September 21, 2007 06:25 PMNot Hank, that had me laughing. Lead paint a "design flaw" on baby bibs. Of Course, I should have realized!
Not even buying used "Chinese" stuff.
Posted by Sharon B. on September 21, 2007 06:44 PMBlack folks should boycott Wal-Mart because they hired Rev. Al Sharpton as their paid lobbyist (amnesty) for criminal illegal Mexicans. Even Rev. Jesse Jackson (Toyota, Coke, etc.) is blushing at Sharpton's windfall. The last time I checked, criminal illegal Mexicans were emotionally and financially raping blacks, nationally.
In N.E. Denver, criminal illegal Mexicans also register and vote. They have "nullified" the votes of blacks in N.E. Denver, in a manner that would make Bull Connor blush (BOMBINGHAM, AL). K. Salazar and Owens arranged these Voting Rights Act violations, which rendered for the 1st time in decades, there are no elected blacks on RTD's board of directors. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Balcks have no voice in the federal funds being disbursed in the T-REX, CBMS, Fas Tracks, and Fitz redevelopment cash-cows. Mucho thanks to these 2 draft-dodging wankers.
Posted by draftdodgingisntafamilyvalue on September 21, 2007 08:23 PMI wonder if the CEO of Mattel was forced into giving an apology to China or if it was his idea?
Here China is trying to poison our kids and WE apologize to them?
Just when you think some in the USA can't get anymore insane, it DOES !
Hope nobody buys Christmas gifts made in China.
Hi 40 acres, how you doing this Friday?
Posted by Sharon B. on September 21, 2007 10:35 PMKarl, you seem to think that these Mom and Pop businesses are such a great thing.... did most of them pay health insurance? Did most of them pay more than min wage? Did any of them have any opportunities for advancement? Did they have low prices or did they gouge the customer? You might want to ask yourself these questions when you decry Wal-mart.
Simple, if you don't want to buy chinese goods, don't. If you don't like to shop at Wal-mart, then don't. That's why it is a free country.
Posted by Dravur on September 21, 2007 10:57 PMDravur,
I have owned small business, it is tough to keep up and they want you out of business. America was built on the inginuity of small business people but now that timehas gone...
Posted by Karl Cheney on September 21, 2007 11:14 PMHi All: Many years ago... long before it was popular to deride the American way of importing everything from China... I tried to find Christmas gifts, decorations, etc. that DIDN'T say 'made in China' (or Indonesia, etc.). It was a daunting task, to say the least. I did wind up with one tiny little christmas tree, homemade decorations, baked goods and one shirt that cost over $50 (nearly 22 years ago). It CAN be done, but it comes with a hefty price. Searching for good, quality and inexpensive goods can be OH-SO-TIME consuming (and futile, in some cases).
I still don't like to buy ANYTHING made in China, but sometimes it is nearly impossible.
no kisses on this post. :-(
Karl
You're right, good post. I hate buying anything from China. I read all labels like if it's from China or Mexico, hell no I won't buy it. I'll look around for Made in USA. It's just hat they (China) and WalMart has us over a barrel and we're forced to buy some items. I even look at the food. A lot of meat that WALMart has in big pkgs or ribs are from
Canada, and I don't buy. Hard telling where anything comes from. Like Salmon or Catfish at the deli.(no labels)
China and Mexico don't care what s*** they send to America so as long as they get our almighty dollar. That is so offensive....
Now ..even vehicles are foreign..not mine I
will drive American.
Hi Sheila, one year my family grew or shot everything we ate for thanksgiving.
We cheated on the beverages, not smart enough to make good whiskey.
Some things were missing altogether, olives, cranberries and such.
Ate a lot of buckshot and the goose was so greasy it slid around on the plate.
That was fun, probably cost 5 times as much as if we had bought the food in the market.
Guns, gas, expenses, but fun.
Posted by Sharon B. on September 22, 2007 12:48 AMTo get the chinks outta the chains, take the ka-chink away from the chink and outta the chains the chink will slink!
Posted by on September 22, 2007 08:48 AMhey franki,
the next time you travel be sure not to fly on any Boeing or Airbus aircraft, the tail sections of Boeing aircraft and the wings of Airbus aircraft are made in China and have been for several years.
Buy from Mexico, don`t we want their economy to grow so fewer need to come here?
Posted by Sharon B. on September 22, 2007 12:24 PMI have 4 friends who worked, at different times, for WalMart. All 4 told me WalMart was the worst employer they ever had. I used to shop there but then they stopped buying American so I stopped buying at WalMart.
Posted by Stan Broyles on September 22, 2007 01:03 PMQuestion : What is the truest definition of Globalization?
Answer : Princess Diana's death.
Question : How come?
Answer :
An English princess with
an Egyptian boyfriend
crashes in a French
tunnel, driving a
German car
with a Dutch engine,
driven by a Belgian
who was drunk
on Scottish whisky,
(check the bottle before you change the spelling),
followed closely by
Italian Paparazzi,
on Japanese motorcycles;
treated by an American doctor, using
Brazilian medicines.
This is sent to you by
a Canadian,
using Bill Gates's technology,
and you're probably reading this on your computer,
that uses Taiwanese
chips, and a
Korean monitor,
assembled by
Bangladeshi workers
in a Singapore plant,
transported by Indian
lorry-drivers,
hijacked by Indonesians,
unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen,
and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....
That, my friends, is Globalization!
Posted by on September 24, 2007 11:17 AM
Interesting Karl... I too own my own small business and seem to be doing great. I do it on a part time basis and I do it by selling and doing things Wal-Mart doesn't do or do well.
Karl... when you had your own biz, did you pay $20 an hour to your employees? Did they have Health Insurance? Could they advance? People seem to think the good ole days were when the mom-pop stores paid these mythical wages and provided unlimited health care and advancement opportunities.... I hate to say it, but in my biz, the only advancement is my job.... and I'm not giving it up. So, if I ever need to hire someone, they ain't going anywhere.
I found a niche and I am making money. It is still possible. There are hundreds or thousands of stores in the greater Denver area.... and not all have Wal-Mart in the name.
You have the options of buying whatever you like, use that power. If Wal-Mart becomes non-competitive, it will go out of business. But, and my guess is probably accurate.... people want the lowest price on goods based on a certain level of service. Wal-Mart will continue to provide that and the few dissenters and Wal-Mart haters won't effect the bottom line at all..
Posted by Dravur on September 24, 2007 12:20 PM