Comments on: John Hilary

By: gene berman

gene berman — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:01:35 +0000

Guess I gotta own up to being (temporarily) “south-east asian boy.”

By: south-east asian boy

south-east asian boy — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:58:22 +0000

Jack–

I see just the opposite–nearly unbelievable quality and functional design for far less than comparable American-made goods would have cost, even going back 40 or 50 years.

Of course, a good part of the better stuff is actually American-designed and specified and made in China. Luggage, sporting goods, clothing, furniture (indoor and out), etc. From what I see, you’d actually have to look for the junk. In 1980, I paid north of $250 for one of the best tents available at the time. I can get a better one today for about $40! Same with backpacks, fishing tackle, inflatable boats, tobaggans, gardening tools.

And the quantity! A buddy of mine imports baskets for the floral trade. Go by his place and there’s always 3 or 4 containers unloading. He tells me there’s hundreds of competitors and several dozen much larger than he. By my calculations, enough of those damn baskets are coming in that it must take 34.5% of the US workforce employed getting rid of baskets just to make physical room for new ones coming in.
And the fake fig trees, and ivy, and silk flowers–it’s mind-boggling to just keep up with how to get rid of it all.

By: Jack Coupal

Jack Coupal — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:18:40 +0000

Now all Wal Mart has to do is make sure that that the weekly thing-a-ma-jigs that it imports to the states start being of high quality.

The poor quality of much “cheap” Chinese imports is junk, and I’m not talking boats here!

By: Tim Newman

Tim Newman — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:54:08 +0000

Basically, you go to these discount stores and they may have a load of rugs one week, and a load of children’s shoes next week.

Heh! This is like shopping in the more far-flung parts of Russia: pop into a store just to see what they’re selling this week.

By: Monty

Monty — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:56:17 +0000

The success of China has been built on the back of the western discount stores. I was in China in 1988, watching the merchandise being made in the factories, and buying it too. (I bought all the silk I could get my hands on.) Ever since, the stuff has been coming in to the west in shipping containers. It’s generally good value for money, and the retailers and customers have drifted along with this new business model. Basically, you go to these discount stores and they may have a load of rugs one week, and a load of children’s shoes next week. You can’t rely on them having any particular commodity at any one time. But hard-up shoppers have learned that it pays to be patient and vigilant, and to plan ahead. No silk yet though. But when it arrives, I’ll be there like a shot.

By: David Gillies

David Gillies — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:32:46 +0000

I reject out of hand the notion of ‘corporate social responsibility’. The sole responsibility of a corporation is to its stockholders.

By: PC6300

PC6300 — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:08:25 +0000

Wal-Mart is evil and we shouldn’t let facts get in the way of the crusade to ruin them. They are also lowering the cost of prescription drugs in the US independent of government programs.

By: Kay Tie

Kay Tie — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:08:20 +0000

“Does this newspaper even employ editors?”

It will after it gets spanked by Tesco in court for blatant lying.

By: DavidV

DavidV — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:59:04 +0000

Has the general population become so stupid that people feel they can print or say anything and get away with it? Michael Moore claimed on the Larry King show that the average French person pays 10% of their wages in income tax and he wasn’t challenged on that at all!
How anyone could say that Wal-Mart has driven wages DOWN in China is beyond me. Does this newspaper even employ editors?