[TheForge] Maybe The Prime Minister of Canada has hisunderwear(off topic rant)

[Andy Vida]

Ralph E Douglass wrote:
> 
> TOOL GYPSY wrote:

> Funny thing about Walmart and how folks see them. At leaast here in the
> US of A, we are supposedly a capitalistic society, meaning in theory
> that the customer demand is what drives prices. SO if we the consumer
> demand cheap prices, then why do we denigrate places like Walmart for
> providing this?

	Can you say "want our cake and eat it too"?  We want low
	prices but don't want the side effects.  Along with the
	low everyday prices, we want the old fashioned store front
	that feels like it is run by humans and not some mindless
	profit making machine.  This is not entirely unreasonable.
	What is unreasonable is wanting the mom and pop shops to
	provide the same pricing as Walmart.  Can't have it both
	ways.  The technology doesn't yet exist.

	The mom&Pop shop symbolizes everyone who wishes to work
	at work, among other things too.


> It is we who eventually drive the quality down with our
> insesant demands for cheaper costs.

	Precisely so.  We are screwing ourselves, in the collective
	sense.  The sad part is those who don't subscribe to this
	mentality are getting sucked down the drain along with the
	rest of them.

> And this is not only Walmart, have you looked at who it is that is
> providing most of the new machine shop tools? China, and for the most
> part the quality is not quite the same as if was years ag. Why? Because
> once again cost was the prime mover and so quality is out.

	Yes.  Hardinge cannot compete for price with China.  But Chinese
	machines are shyte and probably always will be compared to a Hardinge.

> We need to start insisting on better quality and need to be willing to
> pay for it so that it will be the driving factor in production.

	Cheaper
	Faster
	Better

	Pick any two.