Letters to the Editor
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Another Lesson About Quick Fixes
People love cheap. I got a Prius for two reasons. One was 9/11. I knew it was about gasoline. I figured what I did was tantamount to stamping my feet and shaking my tiny fists in impotent rage, but it made me feel like I was doing something. The other was that buying gas once every three weeks instead of two meant I had more time to do other stuff I like better. But, people kept coming up to me and gravely telling me I was not saving money by buying a Prius. Big duh, dumbass. I know I paid 10K more for what was basically an Echo with a spoiler fin and a groovy electric motor. I was not about just saving pennies on gas. Its not all the money.
I watched people go bananas about India for cheap programmers and am watching them go bananas because they did not factor in all the planning they need to do to make it work. The company I work at had to allocate an executive to outsourcing and he had people putting in solid work here to make it happen. Other companies are sitting and saying, "Buh?" when they get the bill. India's infrastructure is still catching up. A server crashes there and I look up the Bangalore weather report. Dollars (or rupees) to donuts, there's been a big rainfall. I digress.
Now China. Of course, we forgot that "made in Japan" used to be a bad thing. Japan had to catch up. I don't think they sent us poison in our food and medicine. They just sent stuff that broke a lot. Much better now. I like Japanese stuff. But we're back to China and no one even thought to inspect their process or help them out or teach them stuff. No MacArthur plan. No efficiency experts. No one learned anything. Its cheap! Shiny! Let's buy lots of it! Dead pets, dead kids, and I am regularly call food manufacturers and clothing retailers and ask where the stuff is made.
But, as long as its cheap, the careless will buy.