Wednesday, July 11, 2012

A Year Without China.... Could You Do It?

Could you go for a whole year without buying anything Made In China? I'm pretty sure I could not. I'm a crafter, a DIY-er, a huge fan of dollar stores, and I always jump on bargains. This means I'm a slave to products made in China. Forget the fact that we're in debt to them for gazillions of dollars, as a country, but they also make 90% of the products we consume in this country. Think about this for a moment. It really means China owns us and I'm just not comfortable with that. So, could I kick the China habit? Maybe. If I were handcuffed and locked in a dark closet.




How did we get to this place? We're all guilty of how this happened by our insane need for *things* in this country. People in this country are out of work and still, jobs are going overseas. Does anyone else see this as completely crazy, or is it just me?


I recently read a book called "A Year Without China", in which the author and her family go an entire year without buying a single thing made in China. It was a daunting year for the author and her family, especially her young children. However, they wanted to fully realize to what extent China controlled their lives.

Children's toys? Forgettaboutit!

Electronics? Forgettaboutit!

Toasters?  Forgettaboutit!

Birthday Candles?  Forgettaboutit!

I could go on and on but you'd be bored to tears. The fact is that we're enslaved, in a way, and I don't see how this will ever change. It makes me truly sad that we've reached this point. So, who do I blame? Politicians, lobbyists, and unions, baby. The roots of all evil in this country. It's time for us to clean house, people. Otherwise, America is going straight down the toilet with all of us in tow. 


I guess that I really just wish Dave could be our president.....

On another note, we are enjoying a pounding rain today. I knew it would rain the minute I purchased a new chaise lounge for sun tanning yesterday. Frankly, I'm okay with it.

8 comments:

I Am Woody said...

Thank goodness for some rain!

Our country really is in the pisser. I'm going to challenge myself to try to go a month without buying anything made in China. I'm too big a chicken to attempt an entire year!

Roan said...

Your drought from last year has moved here. The corn crops are basically a total loss. Hopefully it will rain before the soybeans shrivel up, too.

I'm writing Dave in on the ballot this fall. ;) Why can't we have a real politician that really cares about taking care of our country and its residents instead of being on a power trip? I'm thinking we're screwed no matter how this election comes out. We'll soon be learning Chinese, so I guess it doesn't matter. ;(

Rob said...

We've ranted about the politics that Chinese-made goods support before and I still believe we'd be a lot better off if we could mindfully attempt to reduce our dependencies on those. However, breaking - or even reducing that dependency can be brutally tough!

But pragmatically, since we are going to continue to pay third world countries to mass-produce the stuff we feel that we need, why aren't we at least sending our business to Mexico? Yup, why not support our neighbors who perpetually mooch off of us anyway in the hopes that the influx of consumer monies might actually help them to become a bit more self-sufficient?

Some electronics companies are (or have been) doing this - the original xbox was manufactured at first in Mexico but later all production was shifted to China.

That Janie Girl said...

Impressive, girly!

Anonymous said...

Don't you just love all the outrage over the Olypic uniforms being made in China! What two-faced idiots...........almost everything we buy is made in China...thanks in great part to these politicians.........

Sjn said...

I'm going to take note of this, read labels a bit more. You're right, it may be difficult but worth a try.

Beth Dunn said...

I know I couldn't do it. I went to China once and the shopping was incredible.
xoxo
SC

Bodacious Boomer said...

If I tried to keep Doug outta the $ store for a year things would get really, really ugly.

 

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