02.19.11
The fascination with junk no longer made here
Business get rick quick flacks newsmen love stories about crap “inventions” that sold and made millions.
Today at Yahoo, the unintentionally pathetic listing of such American “inventions:” the Slinky, the antenna ball, the Koosh ball, and so on, stopping at five just before nausea erupts.
Naturally, the real story is that none of it is made here now. In fact, we probably can’t even make a Pet Rock, also on the list. American labor, too expensive to make “Post-It Note” pads.
So now all the brain-stormers for junk toys and novelties — don’t forget the “Baby on Board” signs — have to put together a business that allows Chinese workers to manufacture them.
Because wages have been so compressed and rendered stagnant by corporate America in the last twenty years.
There was a lot of vigorous and sometimes angry talk about war being conducted on the middle class on the tube news from Wisconsin last night.