06-27-2007, 03:14 PM
[quote cbelt3]However......
I look to my Aunt's experience, where her Berkely CA based business started by local artisans was completely destroyed by illegal Chinese knock-offs of their art pottery pieces. They went out of business three years ago, despite 'protection' from the US copyright laws.
Have you ever looked at where the (whatever) you just bought was manufactured? It can be very difficult to find something that wasn't made in China. When consumers base their decisions on price (as I admittedly often do), the cheaper Chinese goods will always win. I don't know if this trend is inevitable, but it sure seems that manufacturing in this country may be largely eliminated.
What worries me about this trend are the social consequences - we are losing so many blue-collar jobs that don't require a college education. If you aren't college-bound, how are you going to support a family on a minimum wage job? Why should you even try?
I look to my Aunt's experience, where her Berkely CA based business started by local artisans was completely destroyed by illegal Chinese knock-offs of their art pottery pieces. They went out of business three years ago, despite 'protection' from the US copyright laws.
Have you ever looked at where the (whatever) you just bought was manufactured? It can be very difficult to find something that wasn't made in China. When consumers base their decisions on price (as I admittedly often do), the cheaper Chinese goods will always win. I don't know if this trend is inevitable, but it sure seems that manufacturing in this country may be largely eliminated.
What worries me about this trend are the social consequences - we are losing so many blue-collar jobs that don't require a college education. If you aren't college-bound, how are you going to support a family on a minimum wage job? Why should you even try?