4 ms·
It's hollowed out the middle, not just the middle class, but the spectrum of products available to buy. You used to be able to buy decent quality, medium price
by douche 11y ago
It's hollowed out the middle, not just the middle class, but the spectrum of products available to buy. You used to be able to buy decent quality, medium price products that were made in America. They might not be as high-quality as the very best, but they were a lot better than the foreign-made WalMart/Harbor Freight-grade trash.
Now we've still got the high-end products, but everything else is almost indistinguishable cheap trash. The corporations don't really care whether they make something in Ohio or Shandong or Hanoi, as long as the differentials for labor and shipping come out positive. The biggest corporations are effectively post-national anyway.
- bko 11y agoI disagree that today's products are "cheap trash". Consider the automobile, today's entry level Camry is faster, safer and more comfortable than a 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa. Air conditioning is in over 100 million homes [0], a significant increase from even the 1980s. TVs, telephones and appliances are the same story. The only reason that there is a perception of cheap things is that low cost items didn't exist in the past and were limited to the well off. [0] https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/reports/2009/air-conditioning.cfm https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/reports/2009/air...
- DrScump 11y ago<today's entry level Camry is faster, safer and more comfortable than a 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa.> ... and is also the "Most American-made Car" based on domestic parts contents. https://www.yahoo.com/autos/toyota-camry-tops-ford-f-150-as-the-most-american-122790558077.html https://www.yahoo.com/autos/toyota-camry-tops-ford-f-150-as-...