WAYBACK MACHINE: On the Subject of Outsourcing

This ASZ blog post was originally written on 3/30/04, and was selected by the author for the ASZ Wayback Machine project. All text is exactly as originally posted. Formatting has been updated to fit current Blogger templates, and in many cases, original links may no longer work.

Little Red Wagon Meets the Little Red Book

OK, I stole the headline from Newsday, along with this shocking news that contrasts horribly with John Snow's speech about outsourcing today (referenced by Richard Cranium below). Newsday Article

Chicago -- Radio Flyer Inc., maker of the little red wagon loved by generations of children, plans to move its manufacturing operation to China.

The 87-year-old company said it would keep its headquarters and distribution business in Chicago but decided the Chicago plant where the metal wagons are built is too expensive to maintain. With the plant closing, Radio Flyer will lay off nearly half its 90 employees.

Forget that most of Radio Flyer's product are already made in China. This is an American brand beloved by kids throughout the ages. I had one. There's even a movie starring that All-American Hobbit Elijah Wood as a resilient but abused boy persevering through all. I can't help but think of the movie as a metaphor.

A father reminisces about his childhood when he and his younger brother moved to a new town with their mother, her new husband and their dog, Shane. When the younger brother is subjected to physical abuse at the hands of their brutal stepfather, Mike decides to convert their toy trolley, the "Radio Flyer", into a plane to fly him to safety.Plot summary by www.imdb.com

Perhaps Bush and Snow aren't brutal stepfathers, but they are clearly trying make outsourcing palatable in a time when Americans are worried about their jobs. Yes, only 90 Radio Flyer employees, but MCI has announced big layoffs as well, and the new jobs figures come out this week.

Meanwhile, I have a friend on a Message Board who cannot afford the diagnostic tests so he can find out if he has stomach cancer. Health care and jobs in the Age of Bush are growing scarcer.

Sometimes one doesn't have the energy to spit, but disgust is all that propels us.