[SEL] @#$%! Chinese Tools

Rob Skinner rskinner at rustyiron.com
Mon Aug 21 16:17:51 PDT 2006


On 8/21/06 2:23 PM, "Tom Dunlap" <tdunlap at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> Chinese tools reflect the whole walmart concept of "cheaper is better".
> and we buy it....

Here's something to think about and to bring the conversation fully on
topic...

A long time ago on a continent far, far away, there were dudes building
engines.  They were Frenchmen, Germans, Englishmen, and even a few of those
Scotsmen...  The engines that they built were fabulous creations.  They were
complex mechanisms built to a high degree of precision.  Not only were these
engines built for functionality, but they were built with an equal concern
for aesthetics.

Then a few years later, a bunch of uncivilized yahoos across the ocean and
half a world away got the notion that they, too, could build engines.  But
these yahoos only copied the basic concepts of the existing engines.  They
took the basic idea, cheapened it up, eliminated expensive parts, ignored
precision and abandoned aesthetics.  These "engine" builders flooded markets
with their inexpensive machines.  Established builders of "quality" engines
fell by the wayside as consumers snapped up the cheap copies.

Who were the manufacturers of these sloppy imitations?  They called
themselves "Americans."  They were to become the most powerful industrial
force the world has ever known.

So it would appear that the Wal-Mart Concept was alive and well long before
Sam Walton ever started offering goods and discounted prices...

Rob





 


=-=-=-=-=-=
Rob Skinner
La Habra, California
http://www.rustyiron.com
iChat: rob_skinner










More information about the sel mailing list