You gotta admit, you're halfway tempted to snag one to try out at that price!
Another Victim of China
I was just looking through my Cabela's mailer last night and see that they are selling the Sierra IC3 rods for $49.95 (regularly $149.95). As a long time rod builder, I'm absolutely dumbfounded at how they can sell at these prices (probably close to cost). I couldn't buy the materials and give away my time for what they are selling these at. No wonder I couldn't sell a recent E-bay listing for a custom 7 weight rod. Thank God I'm only just clearing up some excess inventory and not in the business of trying to make a living in the fishing products market -- FAGHETAWBOWIT!
I had a $90 reserve for a rod that cost me ~$135 in materials. Now I see listings like this and it is clear why no one is interested (or at least make the reserve price). Of course, you'll be lucky if the blank is wrapped on spline; several brands of the asian imports I've checked were not. And, generally the quality of the components and wrapping are low end -- but to many the price beats quality in the end.
To be fair, I've not handled or fished with this particular rod, so maybe it's the cat's meow...DOUGHNO? I'm tempted to buy one and see how it compares to the one I was selling.
...just another victim of the asian product invasion
I had a $90 reserve for a rod that cost me ~$135 in materials. Now I see listings like this and it is clear why no one is interested (or at least make the reserve price). Of course, you'll be lucky if the blank is wrapped on spline; several brands of the asian imports I've checked were not. And, generally the quality of the components and wrapping are low end -- but to many the price beats quality in the end.
To be fair, I've not handled or fished with this particular rod, so maybe it's the cat's meow...DOUGHNO? I'm tempted to buy one and see how it compares to the one I was selling.
...just another victim of the asian product invasion
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Welcome to the 21st century. Its not the "asian product invasion," but the takeover of our very lives by the transnational corporations. Their goal is to replace governments with themselves. Free market foreign trade does not work to do anything but level the living standards of 90% of the world's population to "poor," enriching only the shareholders of said corporations. There is no "trickle down." That is a lie.
Read "Solar Lottery" by Phillip K. Dick. Prescient sci-fi from the last century.
Then read the writings of the economic thinker David C. Korten. Start with "When Corporations Rule the World," then follow with "The Post-Corporate World," "The Great Turning," and then "Agenda For a New Economy," and then come back here and let me know if you still want to blame it all on the asians. (Try blaming the WTO, Tri-Lateral Commission, the Bilderberg, .... etc. ... ad nauseum).
"Agenda For a New Economy" is next on my reading list. I hope it delivers on what its title hints at.
Read "Solar Lottery" by Phillip K. Dick. Prescient sci-fi from the last century.
Then read the writings of the economic thinker David C. Korten. Start with "When Corporations Rule the World," then follow with "The Post-Corporate World," "The Great Turning," and then "Agenda For a New Economy," and then come back here and let me know if you still want to blame it all on the asians. (Try blaming the WTO, Tri-Lateral Commission, the Bilderberg, .... etc. ... ad nauseum).
"Agenda For a New Economy" is next on my reading list. I hope it delivers on what its title hints at.
It isn't an Asian invasion. Back in the '50's and '60's before most of you guys were thought of, everything was "made in Japan". The stuff then was cheap junk. Most of it still is. They do design nice cars, however. It isn't an indictment of U. S. workers but our labor costs have not kept us competitive with the Asian workers who will always take less and work longer hours to get the job done. That being said, I try to buy American whenever I can. Sometimes, however, it's not possible and I do like Chinese food.
Now I understand why Obama decided to buy GM... if you can't beat em, own em!Welcome to the 21st century. Its not the "asian product invasion," but the takeover of our very lives by the transnational corporations. Their goal is to replace governments with themselves. Free market foreign trade does not work to do anything but level the living standards of 90% of the world's population to "poor," enriching only the shareholders of said corporations. There is no "trickle down." That is a lie.
Read "Solar Lottery" by Phillip K. Dick. Prescient sci-fi from the last century.
Then read the writings of the economic thinker David C. Korten. Start with "When Corporations Rule the World," then follow with "The Post-Corporate World," "The Great Turning," and then "Agenda For a New Economy," and then come back here and let me know if you still want to blame it all on the asians. (Try blaming the WTO, Tri-Lateral Commission, the Bilderberg, .... etc. ... ad nauseum).
"Agenda For a New Economy" is next on my reading list. I hope it delivers on what its title hints at.
right. outsourcing of products by US corporations...blame the Chinese for providing cheap labor.
I hate to break it to you, but most domestic manufacturers don't build on the spine either.Of course, you'll be lucky if the blank is wrapped on spline; several brands of the asian imports I've checked were not.
That's yet another reason I build my own:thumb:I hate to break it to you, but most domestic manufacturers don't build on the spine either.
Jim,
Extremely well put and succinct.
The American dream has become the American hologram, and as it is flickering and dying, it is kept alive by cheap consumer goods and credit. Meanwhile the thieves in the transnationals are moving labor constantly, always following poverty, war, and friendly totalitarian regimes.
And still we slumber...
Extremely well put and succinct.
The American dream has become the American hologram, and as it is flickering and dying, it is kept alive by cheap consumer goods and credit. Meanwhile the thieves in the transnationals are moving labor constantly, always following poverty, war, and friendly totalitarian regimes.
And still we slumber...
Welcome to the 21st century. Its not the "asian product invasion," but the takeover of our very lives by the transnational corporations. Their goal is to replace governments with themselves. Free market foreign trade does not work to do anything but level the living standards of 90% of the world's population to "poor," enriching only the shareholders of said corporations. There is no "trickle down." That is a lie.
Read "Solar Lottery" by Phillip K. Dick. Prescient sci-fi from the last century.
Then read the writings of the economic thinker David C. Korten. Start with "When Corporations Rule the World," then follow with "The Post-Corporate World," "The Great Turning," and then "Agenda For a New Economy," and then come back here and let me know if you still want to blame it all on the asians. (Try blaming the WTO, Tri-Lateral Commission, the Bilderberg, .... etc. ... ad nauseum).
"Agenda For a New Economy" is next on my reading list. I hope it delivers on what its title hints at.
Check out these AMAZING photos if you want to see the direct results of outsourcing our voracious appitite for consumer goods built on the back the environment/cheap,expendible labor.
http://www.chinahush.com/2009/10/21/amazing-pictures-pollution-in-china/
http://www.chinahush.com/2009/10/21/amazing-pictures-pollution-in-china/
This post reminds me of every time I hear someone ranting about the US embracing socialism.....they don't understand capitalism and free markets
So I guess the crushing,iron grip of corrupt unions play no part in this situation.
Thanks for the link Jerry! Looks like the rust belt used to.
I was born at the ass end of the Steel Mill heyday in Pa. I remember my grandma used to talk about having to dry her clothes inside so they didn't get covered in soot. Don't even get me started on the open pits of chemical waste and raw sewage that were still around 20 years after the industry colapsed. shit at a 1mil per acre cleanup cost, why would they?
This is simply the result of environmentally concerned people not wanting it in their back yard anymore. We looked like that once ourselvs.
http://projects.publicintegrity.org/superfund/
Check out the map at the bottom of the page. China will be there soon if they arent already.
I was born at the ass end of the Steel Mill heyday in Pa. I remember my grandma used to talk about having to dry her clothes inside so they didn't get covered in soot. Don't even get me started on the open pits of chemical waste and raw sewage that were still around 20 years after the industry colapsed. shit at a 1mil per acre cleanup cost, why would they?
This is simply the result of environmentally concerned people not wanting it in their back yard anymore. We looked like that once ourselvs.
http://projects.publicintegrity.org/superfund/
Check out the map at the bottom of the page. China will be there soon if they arent already.
Simply put, other cultures are just hard wired to work harder. Take China... The average teenager goes to high school from 0700 - 2100. And that is all academics and no football / cheer leading. the average Chinese office worker often comes in at 08000 and works until 2100 - 2200. No one is holding a gun to their heads, it is just what they do. The factory workers come to the cities, work in factories, learn new skills, and hope to work their way up and / or take their new skills back to their home towns and start their own businesses. They look at factory work like US kids look at University - except the Chinese take this seriously. I had a friend of mine who;s 16 year old boy came over from China. US placement tests found that he should be in University.
Take the average US worker - we (business owners) are lucky to get a solid 40 hour work week. I have a friend of mine who is 75. He moved to Buffalo, NY at the height of the steel boom from rural Pennsylvania, worked 12 hours per day for 12 hours per day, and worked 14 hours on Sunday because he got double time and a half. He lived in the locker room for 8 months, sleeping on two benches put together, and paid cash for his first house. Individuals like that - and there was an entire generation of them - made the US great.
Take the average US worker - we (business owners) are lucky to get a solid 40 hour work week. I have a friend of mine who is 75. He moved to Buffalo, NY at the height of the steel boom from rural Pennsylvania, worked 12 hours per day for 12 hours per day, and worked 14 hours on Sunday because he got double time and a half. He lived in the locker room for 8 months, sleeping on two benches put together, and paid cash for his first house. Individuals like that - and there was an entire generation of them - made the US great.
Good point Marty! I would also like to point out that a lot of companies will not let a worker work. A lot of companies have turned the 40 hour or more work week into a thing of the past. I started off 30 years ago working in the transportation business working 50-60 hours per week. When I left I was fighting to get 40 hours a week. This company went the way of the part time workforce like many other major corperations have done in the last 10-15 years. By doing so a company can set minuim hours for a part time worker to work if they want to be eligible for benefits.Simply put, other cultures are just hard wired to work harder. Take China... The average teenager goes to high school from 0700 - 2100. And that is all academics and no football / cheer leading. the average Chinese office worker often comes in at 08000 and works until 2100 - 2200. No one is holding a gun to their heads, it is just what they do. The factory workers come to the cities, work in factories, learn new skills, and hope to work their way up and / or take their new skills back to their home towns and start their own businesses. They look at factory work like US kids look at University - except the Chinese take this seriously. I had a friend of mine who;s 16 year old boy came over from China. US placement tests found that he should be in University.
Take the average US worker - we (business owners) are lucky to get a solid 40 hour work week. I have a friend of mine who is 75. He moved to Buffalo, NY at the height of the steel boom from rural Pennsylvania, worked 12 hours per day for 12 hours per day, and worked 14 hours on Sunday because he got double time and a half. He lived in the locker room for 8 months, sleeping on two benches put together, and paid cash for his first house. Individuals like that - and there was an entire generation of them - made the US great.
I know that over time and benefits are expensive and in order to survive a business must watch the bottom line, to protect "our jobs" as we were told over and over. But from waht I have seen the only ones to make out in this arrangement are the share holders and wall street!
In my book, a union is corrupt when it sells out to the company by failing to represent the interests of the workers. After all, aren't unions supposed to provide collective bargaining and other degrees of protection for the workers they represent? So what do you really mean when you speak of union corruption?So I guess the crushing,iron grip of corrupt unions play no part in this situation.
--Dave E.
Yea...
I wish those evil unions would go away. I long for the days when I could work 14 hour days six days a week for a nickle a day. I think back with nostalgia at those wonderful thugs the plant used to have to enforce their rules. I fondly remember when the whole family worked in the cannery, and we all could walk to work together, Mom and I, sally, and little johnny all of 8 years old. I remember the wonderful adventures of the house we leased from the company, and the games we palyed with the rats. It was excellent math instruction for the young ones explaining about the company store, the lease, and how we just got into more debt every day. That was their whole education since they had to work to bring in enough to afford to eat, and thus could not go to school past the fourth grade. Little amy looked so cute crawling between the spinning arms of the looming machines and putting her little hands into the fray to clear away tangles. We all got to wear all our clothes at once in the plant because it was not heated. Boy we looked colorful! Remember that neat yellow dust and how it made us all cough? Man that was a blast! Remember when Harold dropped dead on the line and part of his hand got stamped off and was woven into a sweater? And how Mary got docked a days pay for not meeting her quota because of it? I loved those pre-marinated fish we used to catch on sunday afternoons at the outflow pipe from the plant. Good times.
America in 1900, China in 2010. Only the people and the location changed. Yup, unions are evil.
I wish those evil unions would go away. I long for the days when I could work 14 hour days six days a week for a nickle a day. I think back with nostalgia at those wonderful thugs the plant used to have to enforce their rules. I fondly remember when the whole family worked in the cannery, and we all could walk to work together, Mom and I, sally, and little johnny all of 8 years old. I remember the wonderful adventures of the house we leased from the company, and the games we palyed with the rats. It was excellent math instruction for the young ones explaining about the company store, the lease, and how we just got into more debt every day. That was their whole education since they had to work to bring in enough to afford to eat, and thus could not go to school past the fourth grade. Little amy looked so cute crawling between the spinning arms of the looming machines and putting her little hands into the fray to clear away tangles. We all got to wear all our clothes at once in the plant because it was not heated. Boy we looked colorful! Remember that neat yellow dust and how it made us all cough? Man that was a blast! Remember when Harold dropped dead on the line and part of his hand got stamped off and was woven into a sweater? And how Mary got docked a days pay for not meeting her quota because of it? I loved those pre-marinated fish we used to catch on sunday afternoons at the outflow pipe from the plant. Good times.
America in 1900, China in 2010. Only the people and the location changed. Yup, unions are evil.
G
Good Grief...Every time I see one of these threads pop up I just want to puke. Complain all you want about Transnational Corporations but remember that when you are out on the river swinging your graphite rod that is built with HIGHLY refined resins, and has nickel in the guides and real seat. Then consider your completely synthetic fly line, your mono (read plastic) leaders and your lead or tungsten sink tips (if you use them). Next, lets talk about the waterproof gear on your body and feet.
I don't know where people think the raw materials for all our toys come from...but a safe bet would be TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS. Oh yeah, the bulk of these materials where developed for the evil (Congressional) Military Industrial Complex. So the next time you pull that dime bright winter fish out of the river for your hero shot be sure to send a thank you card (and a copy of the aforementioned hero shot using your digital camera with all the most up to date date goodies ) to ______________________________ . (please insert transnational corporation of your choice).
Tight Lines.
I don't know where people think the raw materials for all our toys come from...but a safe bet would be TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS. Oh yeah, the bulk of these materials where developed for the evil (Congressional) Military Industrial Complex. So the next time you pull that dime bright winter fish out of the river for your hero shot be sure to send a thank you card (and a copy of the aforementioned hero shot using your digital camera with all the most up to date date goodies ) to ______________________________ . (please insert transnational corporation of your choice).
Tight Lines.
Sorry to hear Eric Helm that you're around a hundred years old and had to live through the terrible time before unions.They served a vital purpose at one time.My father having worked at Boeing for 35 years has had more than his fill of dealing with unions who use fear and intimidation to prop up the goals of the union over the best interest of the workers.The current goal of unions to have the votes of workers made public through card check must just be for the workers best interest.If workers had the ability to vote there conscience unions may suffer.Best to make the names of workers who vote against unions public so they can be punished.It's worked well in detriot so far.
Forgot to mention,without the US military there would be no internet and w/o big corps there would be no computers to handle the internet.Ponder that as you consider your better than though response on your corp made internet machine.
1 - 20 of 39 Posts
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