AmeriMark Catalog Number 027509 (click here)
Not bad, 2 for $19.99. Member price 2 for $18.99
The outside of the box is stamped, "Made in China." It came with directions in English and stated in the small print "Lights are not replaceable, do not open light assembly it will damage product."
This are basically disposable lanterns. They do a good job. I tried one out, 4 D batteries and the entire room is lit. But, there is something missing.
One of the first things I look for in any equipment I purchase is CERTIFICATION that the item is safe, RENEWABLE/REUSABLE and easy to use and understand.The lanterns are completely missing a certification of environmentally safe Underwriter's Laboratories Certified.
Using UL-certified components (click here) during production helps reduce costs and time to market. If the components have already been found to be in compliance with the applicable component requirements, costly redesign issues that may be identified during the certification process relating to components can be minimized. Certification also adds a valuable product differentiator; manufacturers know that UL’s component certification program drives supply chain and product integrity through rigorous examinations and follow-up surveillance.
Just like my family member who is young with a lower paying job, but, important enough to purchase something for my birthday, others purchasing this item never checked for the quality of the item. They trusted the sale catalog to provide some of the nicest gifts imaginable for a thrifty price.
This product takes advantage of the vast possibilities of the American market place. If the USA weren't open to China's products China could never have moved as fast as it did in building an economy or moving citizens into a Middle Class. That isn't the issue. What is the issue is the continued circumventing of USA product standards.
The Free Trade or Partnership agreements are contracts between countries. They eliminate requirements for product quality to allow cheaper goods into the American market place. What these agreements don't do is dissolve the same product requirements for American made products, so the cost of American made products are far higher than is possible for competition with foreign made products. These lanterns are perfect examples. They are junk. They will work for as long as they will work and then they are put in the trash and not recycled because there is no indication on them as to the type of plastic they are. They will go into a land fill with plastics that last forever along with electrical components.
This is my government at work? Heck, no. This is Wall Street CEOs finding cheap foreign labor at immorally run factories that practice human rights abuses. That is exactly what this is.
I want quality like I am used to to the standards in USA LAW. I want all the items coming into the USA to meet the EXACT same environmental standards of USA products. I want a level playing field for USA products that provide for FAIR market value and good wages. By the way the 'good wages' part can be enforced by the Chinese government through union organizing, too.
There is to be NO child labor with any product I purchase in Americans stores or through delivery of USPS or FedEx or UPS.
The contracts are to be EQUITABLE. They are to be based in introducing American products in competition with foreign products in THEIR markets, too. The contracts are not to ever provide such market pressures in the USA that forces the American Middle Class into poverty. NEVER.
The USA is fully capable of producing any product a consumer needs or wants. It has that capacity. Or should I say, it did have that capacity. But, if the USA closed it's borders today, there would be factories to reopen or rebuild and refurbish to produce every item an American would need or want and people 'learned enough' to work in those plants and receive a good wage. People that receive good wages can afford items that are safe, certified and meet regulations for consumer confidence.
Trade agreements between countries, be they Trans Pacific or Trans Atlantic or South America or otherwise; are suppose to ENHANCE the market place not destroy it. These partnerships and free trade agreements are promises to Wall Street they can make higher profits regardless of whether or not it puts human beings anywhere in the world, including the USA, into poverty and poor working conditions.
When the USA opens it's doors to foreign products it is a wealth for that country's markets. Why? Because there are over 300 million Americans to purchase those products, that's why. The other country can provide the same dynamic to the USA if it has a Middle Class and not simply the wealthy and the poor as their population.
But, trade agreements can also levy tariffs to make imported products EQUITABLE to those in the American market place. Never should a substandard product make the American market place as these lanterns have.
The FAST TRACK is out of the question. Trade agreements need to meet the standards set in law in the USA and are REQUIRED to elevate the standard of living of the people in the partnered country to MEET MIDDLE CLASS populous requirements. They need to meet environmental, child labor law and working condition requirements OTHERWISE they don't trade with the USA.
Having Wall Street in one's back pocket for elections is not the reason a free trade agreement or partnership should be written. THAT is a form of treason to the sovereignty of the USA when it's people are forced into substandard quality of life.
24 June 2014
A free trade agreement (click here) between all 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries is still possible despite problems that have come up during negotiations, Prime Minister John Key says.
Mr Key discussed the TPP with US President Barack Obama in Washington at the weekend, and says he's "pretty confident" outstanding issues will be resolved.
"Every country in there has some sensitivity, New Zealand's is agriculture, America's is intellectual property, everyone is a bit different," he said.
"There's always an arm wrestle, there's always give and take... but in the end, the preference is that the 12 can find a way through."...
Let the "give and take" begin with a USA in a strong position to leverage the best outcomes for both countries. Bring them up to standard, don't bring the USA down!
