I was in Lowe’s the other day. The fact that it was Lowe’s is only incidental. It could have been any of the many big box store chains that dot Generica.
They provided to me a pretty clear snapshot of the some issues that are troubling me about American business. It all seems to boil down to corporations being willing to sell out this country because they are more concerned about the quarterly profit statement and executive pay than anything else.
My first observation is that Spanish is nearly as prominent in the store as English. The lettering was not quite as big as the English, but it was only a small percentage less so.
I know there are arguments on both sides about this country going bilingual. I have several thoughts on this, most of them stemming from a knee-jerk emotional place. My current thought is that is it is more or less to a nod to the illegal Mexican immigrants in this country. Stay with me here. These folks provide a goodly percentage of the lower end jobs, especially those involving manual labor and lack of air conditioning. Because they are outside the legal system they have no redress to wrongs and are frequently paid less. This drives down wages and benefits for all workers in that field. Also because they are illegal they do not assimilate as quickly as other folks. See Measuring Immigrant Assimilation in the United States. Providing bilingual signage and verbiage on products is aiding the illegals and thus business’s desire to put downward pressure on wages. Okay, okay… it sounds like a conspiracy theory, but somewhere in there is a kernel of reality.
My gut reaction to encroaching bilingualism is that there are enough divisive forces in this country without adding language to them. I’ve read through a couple studies on this. The consensus seems to be that legal immigrants assimilate quicker and by the 3rd generation are speaking English only. My girlfriend is a 3rd or 4th generation from Russian immigrants. She speaks English and a spattering on Yiddish only. So their studies must be right. (Picture a big smiley face here)
I suppose at least part of my gripe is this. They do not value me and many, many more like me, as a customer. What other explanation can they have for insulting me with Spanish like that when there is a majority of citizens who think English should be the official language? See Rasmussen Reports finds that 87 percent of Americans favor making English the official language of the United States. 2/3rds of Americans are opposed to Spanish becoming one of the official languages of this country. I could find multiple studies that found the same thing.
My lady friend was in there to buy some paint. I thought I would pick up a pair of work gloves as she has a tendency to recruit me into yard work (I don’t mind, dear!). I saw an employee in the aisle and asked her where the gloves were. She pointed me towards the backside of aisle 23, and there I went. I found the gloves, and started trying to pick out a pair.
Now I fully expected to not be able to find a pair made in the USA. That would have been my preference, but I am realistic or cynical enough to not raise the bar that high. My first cut was to be a pair not made in China. Something from Vietnam or Bangladesh would have been nice. I never got pass my first cut. I did not buy a pair of gloves, and I am still looking.
I understand why. Capitalism is all about the race to the bottom. Wherever you can get it the cheapest…money wise is where you are going to buy it. There are so many other things that should factor into the equation that never are considered. I’ll not go into those. I do think though with so many economies in this hemisphere that could stand a boost why do we not source some of it from places a little closer to home. Just imagine for a minute what jobs would look like for a country like Haiti, or any of the Central American countries. Not sweatshops, but jobs with employers that cared about employees. See How One Tiny Factory Is Challenging the Sweatshop Norm.
I don’t know what the percentage of merchandise in these stores is of Chinese manufacture, but I would venture a guess in the 60% to 75% range. This is the second way corporations are selling out America. It their capitalistic race to bottom of the price ladder they have outsourced most production to other shores. If you’re only concerned about quarterly profits and executive pay, this makes wonderful sense. If you are concerned about maintaining the American dream, it is a nightmare.
The following facts are from WakeupWalmart.com:
- Wal-Mart is the number 1 importer of Chinese goods. They were 75% higher than the number 2 on the list Target.
- 70% of the goods on Wal-Mart shelves come from China
- 80% of the 6,000 factories that Wal-Mart uses are in China
- There are a multitude of other issues involved in this price race to the bottom. The above article is worth the read.
I could not find any stats specific to Lowe’s and the above data is a little dated, so I am going to stick by my guestimate on the product mix from China. Having said that, Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in this country, and they are by far the largest importer of Chinese goods.
I want to buy American, and low price is not the end all and be all.
When we were checking out the lady I had asked for directions from was cashiering. She asked if I had found the gloves. I explained that I had, but that I could not find any that were not made in China. She looked at me weird. Robin commented that everything in the store the seemed to be made in China. I had picked up a sticker that was a stylized American flag with a big thank you written across the bottom. I offered to bet the cashier as to where they were made, China. She would not take my bet, but she did give me a couple of them!
In the mean time, if someone could point out to me where I could buy a pair gloves suitable for yard work, not made in China, I would be appreciative.
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Addendum:
Are your cheap shirts worth the price in inhuman treatment of workers? Yes any job might be better than no job in some of these countries, but there has to be a way to provide these jobs and not exploit and abuse the workers.
See Vision: Deadly Accidents, Inhumane Conditions — Why We Must Fight to Stop Abuse of the World’s Sweatshop Workers @ alternet.org
A Nicholas Kristof editorial on the value of jobs in countries like Haiti : Ladders for the Poor