Heritage Tools? Not Any More

           I remember when I was growing up that my best friend’s dad was a machinist who worked in middle management of a big machine tool company.  He had a beautiful wooden chest on his workbench in the basement at home with fine measuring instruments in it – calipers, gauges, and fascinating special tools.  These were tools that would last several lifetimes and became family heirlooms, of sorts.  They were made of the finest metals and were relatively expensive.

            Most boys eventually put together a set of tools, and later build on that to sometimes fill a toolbox that they use as adults.  I’ve got a Craftsman® multi-drawer tool chest on rollers that holds a collection of various tools I accumulated over the years.  I always tried to get tools in the mid-price range that would last and serve me well.  Sears was always the place to go, but local hardware stores also carried a variety of well-known American tools like Stanley®, Estwing®, Channellock®, Vise-Grip®, and others.

            One day in the 1980s I broke a metric socket while working on a car.  I was in a hurry to get the job done, so I went to a new store that carried all kinds of tools.  Many carried the brand name Buffalo®, and that sounded like a good American company, and the price for a whole set of metric sockets was really cheap, so I bought it.  The original socket held up for decades before it succumbed to my overpowering abuse.  The new one lasted a month, and then I looked more closely to discover the “Made in China” imprint.  This was a new wave of throw-away tools that truly aren’t made to last, but will get the job done.  And if it breaks, it won’t cost much to buy another.  Of course, this keeps production going on the other end of the chain, too.

            Once these tools became entrenched in our retail landscape, the superior-quality American tool sales slipped and slid downward.  These great companies, like Black & Decker®, Skil®, Briggs & Stratton®, began looking for ways to lower their costs to become more competitive.  No way, said the unions.  Our state and federal governments also made more rules, regulations, restrictions, fees, taxes, etc. that simply increased the cost of production, which must be passed on to the consumer.  Their only recourse was to build factories where these problems don’t exist.  So now, when you look for those American brands that you grew up with, be sure to look at the packaging to see where the product is made now.  You shouldn’t be surprised.  Here’s a list:

            Channellock®                      USA

            Crescent®                            USA

            Wiss®                                   USA

            Nicholson®                           USA

            Estwing®                              USA (Rockford, IL, my hometown)

            Johnson®                             USA & China

            Vise-Grip®                           China

            Weller®                                 Mexico

            Irwin®                                    China

            Plumb®                                 China

            Porter-Cable®                      China & Mexico

            Great Neck®                         China

            DeWalt®                                Mexico

            Milwaukee®                          China

            Ridgid®                                 China

            Vermont American®            China !!

           

            So, if you want to buy someone a gift of a tool this Christmas, birthday, or for whatever reason, get them something that’s still made in this country, regardless of how nice the packaging and tool itself looks.  Check the back of the package and see where it is made. 

A Campaign of Deception

            Throughout his campaign for Congress, Bill Johnson has been deceptive.  All of 2009 he campaigned and raised money in the 17^th District, where he lives.  Then in January 2010 he decided that the challenge to beat Tim Ryan was too great, so he became a carpetbagger and jumped down to the 6^th, angering a lot of his campaign donors and county chairmen.  Didn’t matter to him, he wants to win.

            Before the primary ballot, he told all of the 6^th’s Republican chairmen that he had raised over $106.000.00, making him the only “qualified” candidate.  His Federal Election Commission report states that he raised $96,000.00.  He stretches the truth for his benefit.

            He doesn’t say who he works for.  His campaign literature and website states, “a global manufacturer of highly electronic components for the transportation industry.”  What’s the reason for not saying who he works for?  What’s the deception there?  (He works for Stonebridge http://www.stonebridge.com/)

            According to Vote Smart, “Bill Johnson refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.”

            Hard to tell what his political affiliation is.  He doesn’t like to use the word “Republican” in any of his campaign material.  Who’s he trying to fool?  He told the editorial board of the Youngstown Vindicator that it would take $2 million to defeat Charlie Wilson and that he could raise it.  Really?

            If you want to vote for the candidate who most agrees with your beliefs, try going to www.votesmart.org and click on their “vote easy” button.  It’s a great interactive questionnaire that shows who you should support, if what you believe in is truly important to you.  If not, just vote D or R like you’ve always done and expect different results (see Albert Einstein’s quote on insanity).

Biggest Friend of Chinese Workers

            What American company is responsible for more jobs shipped to China than any other?  Wal-Mart!  Yes, this corporation has grown so huge, and has become so greedy that it has dictated the prices it will pay for products for many years.  If an American manufacturer wouldn’t reduce its wholesale prices to meet Wal-Mart’s demands, Wal-Mart would tell them to start manufacturing in China, so that production costs would come down and they could meet their prices.  Or, sell their products through someone else.

            Needless to say, as the biggest retail chain in the world, nearly everyone did as Wal-Mart told them to do.  American factories shut down and production moved to the sweat shops over there.  No more EPA or OSHA to worry about, no more restrictions, rules, unions, fees, permits, fines, inspections, worker’s compensation, Social Security, retirement plans, paid vacations, sick days, insurance, and other perks and benefits paid to American workers.

            So, yes, you are able to buy things cheaply at Wal-Mart.  But what is the real cost to all of us and our country?  Spread your purchasing to other companies, like Target, K-Mart, Sears, Penney’s, and others.  Don’t do all your shopping at a store that has become un-American.

More Berries In Your Cereal!

Berries In Your Cereal – From Where?

By Donald K. Allen, MS, DVM

            I’m a raspberry-aholic.  I admit it.  There is nothing finer in life to eat than raspberries, unless it is raspberries with dark chocolate.  So, imagine my delight when I saw breakfast cereals with “more berries” and more varieties, like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.  But, wait, with today’s food crises occurring more often, I wondered where these freeze-dried berries were coming from.  Are they from the USA, Mexico, or South America?  Guess again.

            My first call was to Kellogg’s, and I asked if they were buying their freeze-dried strawberries from China.  The answer was, “We do not buy any finished product from China.”  Hmmm.  What does “finished product” mean?  Is it not “finished” until it is in the box, ready to be sold?  A follow-up e-mail stated, “Kellogg sources vitamins from a number of countries, including a small amount from China. Because of the Quality Assurance programs we have in place, we are confident of the safety of these ingredients.”  Did you know that the PRC forbids foreign inspection of farms?

I contacted Post also and got a denial that they were buying ingredients from China.  “Please be assured that none of the ingredients used in the manufacturing of Post General are from China.”

            Next I contacted the biggest strawberry producer in Florida and asked about freeze-dried strawberries.  The CEO answered, saying that no freeze-drying was performed in Florida, but that he believed freeze-drying was being done in California.  Finally I e-mailed the California Strawberry Commission and here’s their answer:  “Thank you for contacting the California Strawberry Commission with your question.  The origin of the freeze-dried strawberries used as ingredients in many cereals is difficult to determine.  There is no public source of information regarding origin, imports, exports and usage of freeze-dried strawberries as an ingredient. Our industry does not directly manufacture freeze-dried strawberries, but frozen strawberries from California are often used to manufacture freeze-dried strawberries.  Much of the world’s freeze-drying production capacity is in China and in some cases frozen strawberries produced in California are shipped to China, dried, and then returned to the US for ingredient use.  However, production of strawberries in China has increased over the last few years and may now exceed US strawberry production, so it is likely that much of their domestic production is used to manufacture frozen and freeze-dried strawberry ingredients.”

            Thank you, Congress, for first allowing more and more food products and ingredients from China and other “developing” countries, and secondly for allowing US companies to hide that fact from the public.  This is just one more negative effect of moving toward a “one world” or “global economy.”  I guess I’ll just have to buy my fruits and vegetables locally, or raise them myself.

End

Donald K. Allen, MS, DVM

4501 Market St.

Youngstown, OH 44512

330 727-4240 cell

330 782-7333 off

Indentured Servitude – the Future of American Children

            American life in my generation has required the use of loans to purchase big-ticket items, like a home or car, which was then paid for over an agreed upon time period.  Then came the credit card, and we began to buy everything using month-to-month “mini loans,” which often grew to unmanageable proportions.  We truly began living in debt during the latter half of the 20^th century. 

            War debt after World War II encumbered the current and subsequent generations, but America was making things of value, and we were able to retire our national debts through massive production of goods.  Many manufacturing jobs have left, however, for lands with low labor costs, and the “Arsenal of Democracy” has lost the sounds of factories and mills operating at full capacity.

            America and many colonies throughout the world relied on the use of indentured servants to do much of the work involved in daily life.  Now, these were not slaves, because they were people who worked for the owner of their contract for a given number of years, and then their contract was fulfilled and they were free to carry on with their lives.  Slaves were owned entirely, with no set future of release from bondage.  Have we come full circle?

            Now we see a future for our children and grandchildren of indentured servitude, being born with a debt of over thirty thousand dollars.  In a country that has lost a great deal of its ability to “produce” to countries with low labor costs, how will our progeny get out of debt?  Unless we take drastic measures, the only solution might be total socialism, as took place in the Soviet Union, where everyone works for the state.  The state will control production, meter out utilities, provide everyone with a guaranteed pay check, and manage whatever “profits” are left over. 

            Why haven’t the people in our government learned from the example of the Soviet Union?  When there is no incentive to excel and work harder, production stagnates.  Why knock yourself out when the slug next to you gets the same pay?  In this system, the only people who rise to enjoy the perks in life are those in government itself, who control everyone else.  They’ll be the ones enjoying the state-owned vacation homes, beluga caviar and fine wines.  As throughout history, they are the people with vast fortunes and those with political power.  Their only motivation is to maintain their family’s status without regard for everyone else.

            Drastic measures are needed to return America to sound footing.  We must face the fact that government cannot continue taking our incomes and redistributing it to others.  We need to increase the number of producers in this country and reduce the number of people on the receiving end.  Economic collapse is a hard way to learn this lesson.

Communist China’s Inventivity

            Yes, I know the Chinese invented gunpowder, paper, printing, and the compass.  That was then, this is now.  The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids and other incredible structures.  What do they build now?  (Don’t tell me the Aswan Dam – that was Britain first, then the USSR.)  Times change, and so do societal abilities.  Today China seems to have little ability to innovate, but a great capacity to copy.  All of the technology that accompanies corporate movements to China is analyzed, adopted, and incorporated.  It is copied, pirated, stolen, and extorted.  They don’t care about copyrights, patents, or proprietary information.  They take it, because the end justifies ANY means, and the end result for Communist China is world dominance.

            Long before our Congress filled Wal-Mart’s shelves with Chinese goods, Communist Chinese companies were copying successful Japanese products and selling them in third-world countries.  On my first trip to Lithuania in 1994 I went into a new electronics store that had a limited number of products for sale.  There were several boom boxes in the glass case and I thought they looked familiar.  Were they Sony, Sanyo, or Panasonic?  No, they were “Pensonic,” “Pansionic,” and “Panasony.”  All names that would fool the average buyer who wasn’t too savvy about the genuine article.  Was it worthwhile for Panasonic to go after this outright fraud?  Not really.  Too hard to prove when you can’t go into China for evidence.  Did they ever stop the pirated music and video business there?

            Nothing has changed today.  Communist China will do anything to come out ahead, and that means our rules are not their rules.  With all the international business world scrambling to move production to China, I believe they are overlooking the long-term disadvantages with cheap labor.  Instead of business growth and increased profitability, companies will eventually see copycat competition take over market share of their formerly exclusive products.  The Chinese can make very good copies!  In time they may be able to make copies that hold up almost as well as the originals, but right now they have problems with raw material quality and product longevity.  But, hey, who cares?  If the radio, tool, motor, etc., breaks, just go out and buy another one; they’re so cheap!  I just know I’ll never buy a BMW made in China.

Total Weight Onboard (TWO)

            During the early days of aviation passenger planes were not very large or powerful, and the weight that the plane could carry was limited.  Therefore, everything had to be weighed that went onboard, and the load had to be balanced as well; fore and aft, and laterally.  People were weighed as well as baggage and cargo.

As aircraft and engines developed, the payload increased and passenger weight was dropped from the preflight boarding check.  Luggage weight, however, eventually was limited.  As fuel costs increased, profit margins fluctuated depending on the total weight the planes were carrying.  During the past 50 years our luggage restrictions have remained relatively constant, but the weight of the passengers has dramatically increased.  Sixty percent of Americans are now overweight.  The airlines had to do something to recoup the expense of flying fatter people, so they have decreased luggage weight limits and are now chipping away at carry-on luggage.  Some airlines are making you pay for your bags, regardless of weight.  Isn’t it time we look at another solution? 

Disregarding complaints from the ACLU about “discrimination,” I believe airlines should reinstitute weighing passengers as well as their baggage, for a “total weight onboard” (TWO) limitation.  A total weight should be established, such as 300 pounds, which would include the weight of the passenger and his or her luggage, combined, for a “total weight onboard.” This would not be discriminatory because all passengers are treated the same.  The only difference is that if you are lean and weigh 130 pounds, you would be allowed 170 pounds of luggage.  If you weigh 300 pounds, you will be charged for whatever your luggage weighs above that. 

Why charge everyone when the problem is only with overweight passengers?  Is everyone charged more for their glasses so that people who need bifocals don’t have to pay more?  Are oversize coffins the same price as standard size?  Times have changed and conditions have changed.  This reversion to airlines’ original weight balance requirements is just common sense and fair for everyone.  I’m angry that I now have to pay a fee for each piece of luggage simply because the guy behind me is twice my weight.