Tony Olsen on thu 20 mar 03
What's this got to do with clayart???
lets leave the politics out of the group and stick to the subject. =
thank you.
Tony Olsen
Galveston
Wendy Rosen on thu 20 mar 03
From Business Week Magazine...
A lot of Americans are calling for a boycott of French and German
products as retaliation for those nations' refusal to support a war
against Iraq. I'm all in favor of Buy American campaigns (or, more
realistically, Buy North American campaigns now that the U.S.,
Canada, and Mexico are tied together economically through NAFTA). But
I have a better idea. If Americans are going to boycott any nation's
goods, make it China's, instead.
Boycotting France and Germany is silly. Unless you're fond of French
wine or can afford a BMW or Mercedes, France and Germany don't have
too many products to boycott. That's why Congressmen Bob Ney of Ohio
and Walter Jones of North Carolina had to resort to the symbolic
measure of renaming French fries "freedom fries" (see BW Online,
3/13/03, "Will 'French Kiss' Be Next to Go?"). Even that's ridiculous
in my view.
Targeting France and Germany is also anti-democratic. The
establishment of a strong democracy in Germany is one the greatest
accomplishments of the post-World War II era. And the fact that
Germany -- formerly one of the most warlike nations on earth -- is
now standing up to the U.S. in the name of world peace is a triumph,
not a defeat, for world democracy. American soldiers didn't fight and
die in World War II to establish lapdog governments in Europe. The
goal was to promote freedom and democracy -- which, whether you agree
with their specific policies or not, is what we now have in France
and Germany (see BW Online, 2/24/03, "Stop Frying the French").
LABEL CHECK. China, however, is another kettle of fish. It's ruled
by a cabal of aging, unelected autocrats. It jails or deports
dissidents who agitate for democracy or openly believe in religions
deemed unacceptable to the government, such as Falun Gong. It's
trying to crush Tibet, a peaceful Buddhist nation, and would dearly
like to take control of Taiwan, a long-time American ally. It employs
prison labor and forces abortions on many of its own citizens. And,
like France, China has said it would likely vote against the U.S. and
Britain on the Iraq issue in the U.N. Security Council.
To my mind, China also represents a major economic threat to the U.S.
America's trade deficit soared to more than $400 billion last year,
more than 4% of GDP. China accounted for nearly one-quarter of the
total, far more than any other country. If you stroll around stores
such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Sears checking the labels on products,
the big retailers start to look like giant funnels for cheap Chinese
clothes, sports equipment, toys, and other goods. And China is trying
to move upstream into producing higher-value-added goods, such as
aircraft components, autos, computers, and telecommunications
equipment.
It's no secret that U.S. manufacturing already has been hurt as
production has shifted overseas. Only about 17 million Americans
still work in the sector, but 48% of that total are in service jobs
connected to manufacturing companies, such as engineering,
consulting, marketing, and design. It's shocking to realize that
fewer than 9 million Americans are directly involved in making
something -- and that the number seems destined to continue dwindling
steadily.
ENRON USA? The bright lights who have crafted U.S. economic policy
for the past two decades assure us that none of this is really
worrisome. Competition from cheap labor nations, the theory goes, is
good for the U.S. economy because it forces Americans to train for
higher-paying service jobs and provides U.S. consumers with a bounty
of cheap goods. China, in particular, is steadily becoming more
democratic, they contend, and trade with the U.S. is a major force
for further reforms. Wal-Mart, for one, says it refuses to do
business with any factory that employs prison labor and regularly
polices its suppliers in China and other developing nations to make
sure their labor practices are responsible and humane.
However, it seems to me that the trade deficit is a disaster waiting
to happen. The structure of the U.S. economy is now strikingly
similar to the "Look ma, no assets" model pioneered by Enron, with
Americans still holding the service jobs but most of the actual
production farmed out to suppliers overseas. Having so many factories
outside its borders makes the U.S. more vulnerable than other nations
to any disruption in the free flow of trade -- which is why
terrorists are expected to target shipping containers or air-cargo
transport in future attacks.
The U.S. standard of living is also heavily dependent on the rest of
the world's confidence in the American economy and its system of
capitalism in general. The trade deficit has been sustainable so far
only because the dollar has been so strong -- essentially, it's a
huge vote of confidence by foreigners willing to sell their goods on
terms highly advantageous to Americans because they believe in the
future of the U.S. economy.
PICKING UP THE TAB. As Enron discovered, however, a loss of
confidence can quickly lead to a downward spiral. You have to wonder
if the dollar's recent decline is a temporary reaction to the slowing
U.S. economy -- or the beginning of a long-term loss of confidence
that could permanently erode the U.S. standard of living.
It could be the latter for many reasons. The seeming unilateral
nature of a war with Iraq could lead to an increase in
anti-Americanism around the globe, for one thing. Corporate scandals
have already raised questions about the U.S. system in the minds of
many foreigners.
More important, only a year-and-a-half after the September 11
attacks, projected federal budget surpluses have disappeared, and the
Bush Administration is racking up huge deficits to fund its war on
terrorism. A go-it-nearly-alone invasion of Iraq will put immense new
strains on the budget. And if the war on terrorism must continue for
years to come, as seems likely, the question arises: How can the
country possibly pay for it without undermining the economy?
BUYING POWER. So what does all this have to do with boycotting
China? If America is really sending troops into Iraq to promote
democracy there, average Americans can't do much to help. Cutting
back on consumption of Chinese goods, on the other hand, is something
everyone can do to promote the spread of democracy around the world.
My guess is that a voluntary consumer boycott would push Chinese
authorities to democratize far faster than they otherwise would. And
spendthrift American consumers could see how frugal they can be
without resorting to the "Made-in-China" label.
More important, in my mind, is the idea of favoring North American
products over foreign ones whenever possible. The sort of
beggar-thy-neighbor consumerism that sends millions of jobs packing
overseas seems inappropriate in a time of crisis. It also seems clear
to me that U.S. service industries such as software development and
telecom are about to come under the same heavy competitive pressure
as manufacturing jobs did, not just from China but from India and
other rapidly developing nations. Buying North American could help
keep more jobs at home, including yours and mine.
Peterson is a contributing editor at BusinessWeek Online. Follow his
weekly Moveable Feast column, only on BusinessWeek Online
Edited by Douglas Harbrecht
--
Wendy Rosen
President, The Rosen Group
3000 Chestnut Ave #304 Baltimore, Maryland 21211
410.889-3093 phone 410.243.7089 fax
AmericanStyle Magazine http://americanstyle.com
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Career Services & Mentors http://americancraft.com
The Buyers Markets of American Craft
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OWLPOTTER@AOL.COM on fri 21 mar 03
In a message dated 3/21/2003 7:06:50 AM, neslot@HOUSTON.RR.COM writes:
<< What's this got to do with clayart???
lets leave the politics out of the group and stick to the subject. thank you.
>>
In my opinion, Wendy's post has a lot to do with Clayart, because I am trying
to make a living for my family by selling my "clay" art.
When I first started selling my pots and windchimes 30 years ago, the world
economy, national import policies, tarrifs, and especially "politics" seemed
to have nothing to do with me. My only problem was how to make all the pieces
I could possibly sell!
Today, I can make more pieces than I can sell! And the source of my problem
seems to be centered around the facts that Wendy set forth.
Our mall used to have wide open aisles with lots of space where local arts
and craft shows were held. Now, it is filled with kiosks and booths full of
imports.
It is impossible for me to walk through the mall, shop in stores, or even go
to shows without recognizing imports that are knockoffs of artists and
crafters that I have known for years. These knockoffs all bear the little
label, "Made in China" or some other offshore country.
A few years ago, I took my daughter to Disney World near Orlando, and as we
were walking along, at the bottom of a hill, the path we were on ended at a
strategically placed kioske of clay work. Along the overhang of this kioske
were lots of windchimes.
My daughter, rushed towards it, exclaiming, "Look! There's our moon and
stars chime!"
Sure enough, hanging from the overhang was a perfect copy of my original
artwork! The only difference was - it was made of lowfire clay that would
not hold up in the wind; unlike my original creation - which are made out of
a special high fired clay that is extremely durable, because I spent years
formulating a clay body that would not break up when the pieces chimed
against each other.
The little gold sticker on this chime - "Made in China."
Yes. Wendy's post really struck a 'chime' with me.
-Carolynn Palmer, Somerset Center, Michigan
Rikki Gill on fri 21 mar 03
Have you thought of suing? I know of at least one potter who brought suit,
and won a large cash settlement. Rikki Gill
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2003 9:30 AM
Subject: A Case for American Crafts- Boycott Made In China
> In a message dated 3/21/2003 7:06:50 AM, neslot@HOUSTON.RR.COM writes:
>
> << What's this got to do with clayart???
>
> lets leave the politics out of the group and stick to the subject. thank
you.
>
> >>
>
> In my opinion, Wendy's post has a lot to do with Clayart, because I am
trying
> to make a living for my family by selling my "clay" art.
>
> When I first started selling my pots and windchimes 30 years ago, the
world
> economy, national import policies, tarrifs, and especially "politics"
seemed
> to have nothing to do with me. My only problem was how to make all the
pieces
> I could possibly sell!
>
> Today, I can make more pieces than I can sell! And the source of my
problem
> seems to be centered around the facts that Wendy set forth.
>
> Our mall used to have wide open aisles with lots of space where local arts
> and craft shows were held. Now, it is filled with kiosks and booths full
of
> imports.
>
> It is impossible for me to walk through the mall, shop in stores, or even
go
> to shows without recognizing imports that are knockoffs of artists and
> crafters that I have known for years. These knockoffs all bear the little
> label, "Made in China" or some other offshore country.
>
> A few years ago, I took my daughter to Disney World near Orlando, and as
we
> were walking along, at the bottom of a hill, the path we were on ended at
a
> strategically placed kioske of clay work. Along the overhang of this
kioske
> were lots of windchimes.
>
> My daughter, rushed towards it, exclaiming, "Look! There's our moon and
> stars chime!"
>
> Sure enough, hanging from the overhang was a perfect copy of my original
> artwork! The only difference was - it was made of lowfire clay that would
> not hold up in the wind; unlike my original creation - which are made out
of
> a special high fired clay that is extremely durable, because I spent years
> formulating a clay body that would not break up when the pieces chimed
> against each other.
>
> The little gold sticker on this chime - "Made in China."
>
> Yes. Wendy's post really struck a 'chime' with me.
> -Carolynn Palmer, Somerset Center, Michigan
>
>
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__
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>
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> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Lee Love on sat 22 mar 03
For many years, I've paid attention to where things are made and have tried
to avoid Chinese goods (ever since I became interested in helping Tibetan's
preserve their culture.) But if you start paying attention to where things are
made, you'll soon find that it is very difficult to avoid buying Chinese goods.
It is even more difficult here in Japan, where things like onions, mushrooms and
eel are imported from China.
Friends visited from Minneapolis over the New Year holiays. One of
them brought her Advanced Gameboy with her, that she bought in the States, & I
compared it to mine, that I bought here in Japan. Her unit cost about $20.00
less in America than mine. They are identical, except that my domestic unit
was made in Japan and her exported unit was made in China. This can only be
done with cheap oil (oil priced lower than the environmental cost of burning
it.)
The overarching story here is that capitalism/materialism is
becoming a world paradigmn at the cost of freedom and democracy. An economy
based on endless consumption will always be a violent one.
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan Ikiru@hachiko.com
"The first thing we must begin to teach our children (and learn ourselves) is
that we cannot spend and consume endlessly. We have got to learn to save and
conserve."
Quote from: "Thoughts in the Presence of Fear" by Wendell Berry
Full article: http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~ikiru/sustain.html
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