Thanks Globalization for all these !#%*#y products!

[badshotbob]

I have been in my new home for three years now - every appliance was put in brand new. Here is a list of things that have failed in my home thus far:

Frig:
Brand: KitchenAid
It arrived in non-working condition and only after several service calls to practically rebuild the thing it finally worked. One of the problems? Electronics. In three years it still runs, but certain shelves and drawers have broke due to every day normal use.

Washer
Brand: GE
During the first year of use the motherboard fried. Warranty replaced the board with another cheap offshore component. After two years of use certain cycles still don't work. But of course, it's only warranted for A YEAR!

Dryer:
Brand: GE
During the first year the igniter went bad but was replaced under warranty. To this day, certain cycles do not work.

Range:
Brand: DCS
After two years of use, the igniter system is going out and at times the igniters stay on after lighting a burner. Warranty - only a year. I will have to replace at my expense.

Dishwasher:
Brand: Kitchen Aid
After three years use, the thing sits there and hums and will not start in any cycle. The warranty has expired so I will have to take a day off work to wait for a repair guy to come out and fix it, on my dime of course.

Garage door openers:
Brand: Genie
After one + years use, the smaller door's opener stopped working. Not sure what I'll do since it's not covered under warranty. The larger door's opener blew a board during the first year of operation. Genie sent me a new board under warranty. It's still working but for how long.

Is it just me, or are products just flat out crap these days, no matter the price tag? I've got thousands into the above mentioned products and purposely bought higher end in order to avoid the early break-downs. That turned out well.

IMO, products across the board these days no matter where they are made (and we all know USA made means assembled with inferior offshore parts), are just flat out crap. A friend of mine has a frig in his basement that was made 30-40 years ago that still runs and keeps things cold. It looks like a school bus but has never broke down. Where'd those days go?

I've talked about the vicious loop of greed that is destroying not only this country, but the products available to us as well. In a word, globalization.

Sorry for the rant, but thanks for listening to my gripe.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted by Admins]

[burniegoeasily]

NAFTA NAFTA NAFTA, What a wonderful game. Opened the door to our economic demise. Not to mention "free trade". Real free, our products are tariffed, while others come to us with little restrictions.[:'(][:'(][:'(]

Can you say, off shore beef stands near China. Any one want to invest with me.

[etothepii]

"Made in China" is a natural consequence of capitalism. Sad, but true. We want prices on goods to be low, and we want stocks to go up (i.e. companies' profits.) How can this be achieved? Cheap labor. Anyone here willing to work cheap? I don't think so. Sorry this isn't some miraculous answer to America's problems, but it's the way it is. Capitalism tends to work a lot like nature. It follows the path of least resistance. It self levels. Osmosis. etc.

Trying to stop capitalism's natural trends works out a lot like building a coastal city 8 ft below sea level...

Maybe, Bob, you should buy the cheapest appliances you can find, and in a couple years replace them. After five or six rounds, you'll have the effective life span of a quality American made product, at about the same expense.

[NCOutdoors]

Badshotbob:

Where are all of those products made?? I think some of the GE stuff comes in from Canada? Maybe?

I have a Whirlpool waterheater that isn't 18 months old and the control board fired itself. Grrrr. . . .

[badshotbob]

Badshotbob:

Where are all of those products made?? I think some of the GE stuff comes in from Canada? Maybe?

I have a Whirlpool waterheater that isn't 18 months old and the control board fired itself. Grrrr. . . .

I believe the GE stuff is assembled in Canada, Mexico, and here. Not for sure though.

The KitchenAid stuff is actually Whirlpool, made by Amana - assembled here, China, Mexico. I'm certain all their control boards are made in the best part of China though. As you can attest, they hold up great.

[kevin1]

Bob , GE appliances are made right here.
The GE Appliance Park ,right here in Louisville , Kentucky probably made your fridge , stove , and washer/dryer and many other products. BTW , GE owns Whirlpool , Hot Point , Frigidare , and many other common "Amurican" brand names . They've been using largely foriegn made parts for decades . How do I know this ? My Dad retired from GE after 26 years . There is no such thing as completely American made , and there hasn't been for decades . Why do you think I tweak your nose so much when you harp on that nationalistic crap diatribe of yours? Hate to pop your bubble dude, but that's the ugly truth . Corporate America has been selling us out since beforeboth of us were kids . Live with it , buy what's cheapest , and move on with your life .

[badshotbob]

ORIGINAL: kevin1

There is no such thing as completely American made , and there hasn't been for decades . Why do you think I tweak your nose so much when you harp on that nationalistic crap diatribe of yours? Hate to pop your bubble dude, but that's the ugly truth .

"nationalistic crap diatribe of yours"?Geez Kev, who pissed in yourpot roasttonight? You as well as many people have missed my point - it's fairly easy to see what's headed our way if one would get their brainwashed head out of the sand - that's all.

Corporate America has been selling us out since beforeboth of us were kids . Live with it , buy what's cheapest , and move on with your life .

You are correct. However the more educated you are on the matter the better off one can be to know what the future holds for them, their family, their generations to follow. If you suck out of the "everything is going to be ok" straw your entire life and ignore what's going on around you, you'll be playing the game you were manipulated into following along with. Help yourself.

[kevin1]

Unscrew your headgear , Bob , you live in 1955 where unions save you from having to think . It ain't that way anymore and hasn't been for over thirty years . You're on your own ,and you're gonna get sucked down the toilet that corporate America has created . Like it or not , that's what we're faced with . Truth that sucks is no less true , and I think you, of all people, know that . Become self employed and learn to live with that , Bob ,we both know that I'm right . That's what I'm looking at , and I work in a job that can't be outsourced for now . I'm seriouisly looking at Belize as a retirement option because at least I can live on my savings there . We're on the same side this time , I'm looking at bailing out with minimal loss simply because the people I work for are greedier than I am , is that so hard to understand ?

[badshotbob]

ORIGINAL: kevin1

Unscrew your headgear , Bob , you live in 1955 where unions save you from having to think . It ain't that way anymore and hasn't been for over thirty years .

Nah, quite the opposite actually - I despise unions and know the benefit of thinking.

You're on your own ,and you're gonna get sucked down the toilet that corporate America has created . Like it or not , that's what we're faced with . Truth that sucks is no less true , and I think you, of all people, know that . Become self employed and learn to live with that , Bob ,we both know that I'm right . That's what I'm looking at , and I work in a job that can't be outsourced for now . I'm seriouisly looking at Belize as a retirement option because at least I can live on my savings there . We're on the same side this time , I'm looking at bailing out with minimal loss simply because the people I work for are greedier than I am , is that so hard to understand ?

I'm not denying truth, Kevin, especially the way I understand (as limited as it may be), real Truth. With my faith in God, I look at things as not sucking, but rather an exciting time we live in where things are actually happening for a reason. Understanding that is why I can sleep at night. And yes, we are on the same page with most things we as hunters chat about out here. I understand why you did what you did and I applaud you. I wish I had the brass to do the same.

So, back to my gripe and the original point - shouldn't I be pissed that my $1,500 dish washer worked for three years? Or my $2,000 frig is a POS? Or what about that 6g stove I bought that has bad igniters (the only thing on that hunk of steel that was made overseas btw)? Well I am pissed about it as I should be. What am I going to do about it? Nothing. What can I do about it? Nothing. Just educate myself further as to why they are all crap.