Another huge shipment from China on the way to L.A. But what do we get out of it?
As I ponder the mess that we find ourselves in today courtesy of the People's Republic of China, I remember those days about six years ago asking a question of a state official as part of a proposed infrastructure project that seemed much too ambitious for its own good. I asked why did he think such ports as Jacksonville and Tampa were appropriate since the harbors were shallow and had serious limitations. He said, "Because Florida has to be ready to get a big piece of the pie as we trade more with China? When I asked why he thought it was a good idea with a potential trading partner who made it clear that they wanted a military presence everywhere to challenge America in so many ways other than trade? He just looked at me blankly and changed the subject. Now, I can't blame him, for it was his task to defend the project at the behest of state politicians and their lobbyists from the Chamber of Commerce, but it was a good question nonetheless and it just points out one example of where we were putting our faith in the Chinese Communist government with no real basis for doing so.
We are all guilty of that to some degree since we've sold out many of our small businesses for the cheap products that come from China, yet many of us have noticed that the old saw "you get what you pay for" is really so. How many of us have bought a washing machine with all the bells, whistles and doodads only to find it falling apart in record time? Or how about the big refrigerator-freezer by some of the same companies that used to make them last for generations when they fail in short order? Those same companies lost their qualities when they moved overseas and in the case of moving to China, they allowed themselves to fall under the power of the Chinese state to provide all information about how and why they build what they do. And so, they put themselves in a position as subservient to a Communist authoritarian government to make money there. They turn over business processes and trade secrets and then they get the things they need done by relying on peasant and other forms of cheap and some pretty unsavory labor and seem unfazed. They literally sold their souls for the buck and then, at some point, they realize it isn't the wonderful capitalist operation they thought it would be.
And we Americans have just looked the other way, rationalizing that since we aren't there and don't see it, we aren't at fault. Yet time and time again the evidence is provided and we just change the channel and watch some silly sitcom or a movie or sporting event. Meanwhile, so many of the things we must have are now produced by China since we gave up our manufacturing prowess as more and more move to the service sector where the pay is lower. We also lower our own standards by accepting cheap products, dumbing down our education so as not to offend anyone with truth, and the latter generations coming along see nothing wrong with China while finding everything wrong with the United States. I never believed I would ever see large groups of Americans say they favored a foreign country over our own, yet they do as they try to make us more Chinacentric rather than America oriented. This can't end well. And what we are seeing, the closer we look and the more time that goes by, is that some of our policies, originated for good reasons but now approaching insanity as they continue, further fuel the problem. What do I mean? Well, I'm talking about the United Nations and two of its prime subordinates, the World Trade Organization and the World Trade Organization.
The United States, as a member of UN Security Council, strongly supported the entry of China into the parent UN and both entities based upon high ideals. But ideals don't hold up too well when the recipient has ulterior motives and we've seen time and time again that China tries to use the advantages of favored nation status which we granted to selfishly promote themselves with no concern for the other party. China has worked hard to create itself as some kind of special and good entity and most of the members of the UN and its subordinate entities have bought it hook, line and sinker. China still has developing nation status which allows them to avoid so much of the bureaucratic nonsense that swallows others and she continues to belch pollution everywhere while the rest of the world has worked hard to lower emissions and has done a pretty good job. And then, of course, the aforementioned WHO has been involved in the Corona fiasco by becoming nothing more than a puppet to Chinese propaganda. It is by far most offensive of recent actions which we pay so dearly for but it has, thankfully, finally opened the eyes of not just our government but we, the people as well.
The WHO is led by Dr. Tedros, an Ethiopian native who attained his position with a big boost from the Chinese government. He has continually accepted Chinese information without question and the result has been an international disaster. As the CoronaVirus carnage grew, China was still saying that things were under control and even when the word got out, Tedros continued to hide the truth. Remember, China was in the throes of the early stages of the virus growth when Chairman Xi brought home his work brigades from the Silk Road projects in Italy for the Chinese New Year celebration, sending them back to work when the holiday ended. It's not a coincidence that Italy, the only European nation fully engaged in the program with China, was hit so hard. And also don't forget that before we were aware, over five million Chinese from Wuhan escaped the city before it was locked down. Meanwhile, when we became aware of what was happening, but not from the WHO, the President cut off air traffic from China much to the chagrin of Dr. Tedros who adamantly opposed it. Soon thereafter, he cut off much of Europe as well, with Tedros and Europe, and yes, even our own Democratic Party calling our President all kinds of names while Nancy Pelosi was busy telling the world to come to San Francisco, where Chinatown was open and safe. Meanwhile, we have been paying approximately five hundred million dollars a year to fund the WHO with nothing to show for it. And as for China, a nation continually received glowing reports from Dr. Tedros. China, by the way pays about forty million dollars a year and gets the lion share of benefit. This is totally unsatisfactory.
So, it becomes obvious that our government has been duped, yet it is now apparent that finally a wake up call has been sounded by our President. And as we, the people of the nation who pay the bills are now realizing. This must stop now and the President has done so pending a full investigation. Maybe we're also becoming aware that in seeking the best price for a product, we need to factor in those other important considerations such as safety and does it really work efficiently and effectively over time, should be priced into the value. The old saw about price mentioned earlier becomes very, very real. We also must also realize the pitfall of dealing with a nation which, by its every action proves it wants to surpass us in every way and uses that to dictate to us conditions, and particularly when it comes to critical items such as medical items. If we don't change our ways and the imbalance continues too long, we'll destroy ourselves. And it will all be because we just sat quietly by and allowed it to happen.
We are all guilty of that to some degree since we've sold out many of our small businesses for the cheap products that come from China, yet many of us have noticed that the old saw "you get what you pay for" is really so. How many of us have bought a washing machine with all the bells, whistles and doodads only to find it falling apart in record time? Or how about the big refrigerator-freezer by some of the same companies that used to make them last for generations when they fail in short order? Those same companies lost their qualities when they moved overseas and in the case of moving to China, they allowed themselves to fall under the power of the Chinese state to provide all information about how and why they build what they do. And so, they put themselves in a position as subservient to a Communist authoritarian government to make money there. They turn over business processes and trade secrets and then they get the things they need done by relying on peasant and other forms of cheap and some pretty unsavory labor and seem unfazed. They literally sold their souls for the buck and then, at some point, they realize it isn't the wonderful capitalist operation they thought it would be.
And we Americans have just looked the other way, rationalizing that since we aren't there and don't see it, we aren't at fault. Yet time and time again the evidence is provided and we just change the channel and watch some silly sitcom or a movie or sporting event. Meanwhile, so many of the things we must have are now produced by China since we gave up our manufacturing prowess as more and more move to the service sector where the pay is lower. We also lower our own standards by accepting cheap products, dumbing down our education so as not to offend anyone with truth, and the latter generations coming along see nothing wrong with China while finding everything wrong with the United States. I never believed I would ever see large groups of Americans say they favored a foreign country over our own, yet they do as they try to make us more Chinacentric rather than America oriented. This can't end well. And what we are seeing, the closer we look and the more time that goes by, is that some of our policies, originated for good reasons but now approaching insanity as they continue, further fuel the problem. What do I mean? Well, I'm talking about the United Nations and two of its prime subordinates, the World Trade Organization and the World Trade Organization.
The United States, as a member of UN Security Council, strongly supported the entry of China into the parent UN and both entities based upon high ideals. But ideals don't hold up too well when the recipient has ulterior motives and we've seen time and time again that China tries to use the advantages of favored nation status which we granted to selfishly promote themselves with no concern for the other party. China has worked hard to create itself as some kind of special and good entity and most of the members of the UN and its subordinate entities have bought it hook, line and sinker. China still has developing nation status which allows them to avoid so much of the bureaucratic nonsense that swallows others and she continues to belch pollution everywhere while the rest of the world has worked hard to lower emissions and has done a pretty good job. And then, of course, the aforementioned WHO has been involved in the Corona fiasco by becoming nothing more than a puppet to Chinese propaganda. It is by far most offensive of recent actions which we pay so dearly for but it has, thankfully, finally opened the eyes of not just our government but we, the people as well.
The WHO is led by Dr. Tedros, an Ethiopian native who attained his position with a big boost from the Chinese government. He has continually accepted Chinese information without question and the result has been an international disaster. As the CoronaVirus carnage grew, China was still saying that things were under control and even when the word got out, Tedros continued to hide the truth. Remember, China was in the throes of the early stages of the virus growth when Chairman Xi brought home his work brigades from the Silk Road projects in Italy for the Chinese New Year celebration, sending them back to work when the holiday ended. It's not a coincidence that Italy, the only European nation fully engaged in the program with China, was hit so hard. And also don't forget that before we were aware, over five million Chinese from Wuhan escaped the city before it was locked down. Meanwhile, when we became aware of what was happening, but not from the WHO, the President cut off air traffic from China much to the chagrin of Dr. Tedros who adamantly opposed it. Soon thereafter, he cut off much of Europe as well, with Tedros and Europe, and yes, even our own Democratic Party calling our President all kinds of names while Nancy Pelosi was busy telling the world to come to San Francisco, where Chinatown was open and safe. Meanwhile, we have been paying approximately five hundred million dollars a year to fund the WHO with nothing to show for it. And as for China, a nation continually received glowing reports from Dr. Tedros. China, by the way pays about forty million dollars a year and gets the lion share of benefit. This is totally unsatisfactory.
So, it becomes obvious that our government has been duped, yet it is now apparent that finally a wake up call has been sounded by our President. And as we, the people of the nation who pay the bills are now realizing. This must stop now and the President has done so pending a full investigation. Maybe we're also becoming aware that in seeking the best price for a product, we need to factor in those other important considerations such as safety and does it really work efficiently and effectively over time, should be priced into the value. The old saw about price mentioned earlier becomes very, very real. We also must also realize the pitfall of dealing with a nation which, by its every action proves it wants to surpass us in every way and uses that to dictate to us conditions, and particularly when it comes to critical items such as medical items. If we don't change our ways and the imbalance continues too long, we'll destroy ourselves. And it will all be because we just sat quietly by and allowed it to happen.
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