I hear ya.

I'm a first generation American. My father and my grandparents thought it was normal to work 6 or 7 days a week, 12+ hours a day. I don't think my grandparents ever took a vacation in their lives. They were happy to be alive, to abe to pay the rent, put food on the table, and to go worship.

As a society, we have regressed a long way in terms of work ethic, and have developed expectations that are just not sustainable. It goes right to the very root of this thread and the issue of whether or not we can compete long term.

 

Between the American worker and the EPA/CARB... no way we can compete with China... You want to know where the paint booth was the factory I was in used? Middle of the street on mornings with no wind.. pretty sure it was lead paint also... dried real fast and smelled like spray paint did here 30 or so years ago..

Air quality was terrible at best... left here in July of 2008.. most of California was on fire...Sky over there was much worse and I didnt see any fires...did see lots of buildings, vehicles, and people with smoke pouring out of them.. (approx 85% of men there smoke cigarettes)


Just thinking... my time in China has me working 12-14 hr days 6-7 days a week..

 

I'm sure it's been discussed: Is there a thread which explains what you were doing there?

 

All of it is covered in the SpinZone (now a private thread here)..

I think a bit of it was covered in the Chinese section(no idea how far back) but I got told to shut up by the guy who sent me there..and trash canned most if not all of the threads.. He had a guy working for him reading the SZ.. He wanted a more sugar coated version of what was going on over there for the forum..He wasnt gonna get that from me..

 

Basically I was sent there for 2 reasons..

1) Jetmoto had just started working with a new factory..Shenmao Appliance co..

2) We had just developed a 350/400cc here in the US.. (northern ca). It was being shipped to China and I was in charge of its development over there..

The economy killed it all..

 

I thought it was "I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you..." stories. Still, fascinating stuff.

A buddy of mine is over in China for a second tour, managing large IT projects for a big U.S. company. The stories and pictures he sends back are fascinating. If I could wind the clock back ten years, I'd find something to do over there, just for the experience.

 

It might be different if Jetmoto was still selling quads...

Funny side to it all.. My Dad passed away about 7 years ago now... miss him a lot.. but was glad he wasnt here when I left for China.. But then again if he had been here I might not have gone.. My dad was kinda funny... always said stuff like "watch out for commies son" and "those commies are no good"... Sarcastic kinda guy..

Me? I let a Russian (jetmoto pres) send me to China..

Listen to your parents kids!!

 

I didn't realize they are not.

I don't worry so much about communists, per se. I worry more about governments.

Most people can be counted on to have a selfish addiction to air, water, food, shelter, and safety. If they are wealthy enough, then some material goods beyond that. Fairly predictable. Governments (of any persuasion) can be counted on to having a selfish addiction to power, and the inevitable abuses that follow.

If you tell me I live under a communist form of government, I can expect to be told my rights are secondary to the well being of the state and society. If you tell me I live under a democractic form of government, I can expect to be told my rights are supreme, except for the tens of thousands of pages of ever-expanding laws and regulations that limit my rights (for the well-being of the state and society), which will also result, inevitably, in making the claim of democracy a lie.

I've got no beef with the Chinese guy hammering bearings into a hub in some junk factory. He's doing what I'm doing: Surviving in one form or another, preferably without harming anyone else in their quest to do the same.

 

Selling Neon Clocks now... but do still sell parts...

My dad was a bit crazy... (and this apple didnt fall far from that tree)

Me neither... but Im not gonna buy one...you can if you want to....