Don’t Buy Anything From China

Who is sick of hearing about all the horrible things China is doing to the world? Personally, I don’t think I can stomach another recall of some kids’ toy because of dangerous materials “accidentally” included in with it. From toxic toys to noxious pajamas, the list of items recalled from China keeps growing, and it keeps getting worse. The latest additions include SpongeBob SquarePants journals, dog treats and disposable chopsticks, making us wonder what are they doing over there… and how can they keep doing it?

Well, for starters, I think the Economic Czar, whomever holds that seat in China’s government, doesn’t exactly care. Some kids get poisoned in far-off America, so what? Much in the same way big business’s lackadaisical attitude toward customer service, for every pound of “Made in China” garbage that is hoisted off of the barge in Long Beach and then promptly recalled because of some strange poison or random toxicity, there five pounds right behind it to take its place.

From the Lex column in Financial Times: China’s economy, by contrast, can take it on the chin. So far, according to a local press report, the official tally of items directly affected by recalls stands at $700m. That is less than 0.1 per cent of last year’s exports and an even tinier fraction of this year’s forecast $1,200bn. Toys, the main segment affected, accounts for a mere 1-2 per cent of China’s exports. Besides, even if Americans wanted to ban all Chinese-made toys, it would be extremely difficult to replicate a similar-sized industry at home or anywhere else: the Chinese mainland accounts for 80 per cent of their children’s playthings.”

Well, I’ve had enough. The first premise is that I’m sick of my hard earned money being shipped in barrels overseas just because I think that I need something that is made there. I no longer shop at Wal-Mart, which should take care of a great deal of the Chinese market, but I think I need to do more.

From now on, I’m not knowingly going to buy anything made in China, and that includes Hong Kong and Taiwan. Why support them, when it is quite evident they are only in it for the American buck? We should turn our resources inward, find a company here in the States that makes what you want and keep the American dollar in America.

Sounds racist? So what. If that’s the way their going to be, if they’re not going to take care of quality control, then I don’t have to buy their products. It’s not like I’m going to stop talking to Chinese people; I’m just not going to buy what they’re selling.

Sounds economically un-worldly? That’s right, because it is. I don’t believe in a lot of foreign policies that my tax money is funneled into and if I could only pay the portion of my tax bill that pays for things only in this country, then believe me, I would. But unfortunately, I’ve got to suck it up and help Russians grow corn for their vodka, Africans dig wells for water and South Americans build bridges then that’s just what has to be done. However, why should I purposefully support the economy of a giant country that is only interested in making money and taking over the world, one pile of fake rubber dog poop at a time. Frankly, I just don’t want to anymore.

Sounds impossible? It probably will be, because I can’t ensure that everything I buy isn’t made in China, but I’m going to try. It just involves reading labels and making wise choices in what I buy. Like I said, I already avoid Wal-Mart like it’s the Black Hole of Decency, so I’ve got most of it licked already.

Why flush our own economy down the toilet while helping a billion people create a world-dominating juggernaut that only continually bites us in the hand, time after time?

When will it stop? It will stop when we start looking for the tags that say, “Made in the U.S.A.”

That’s what I’m going to do. Care to join me?