Trouble in Toyland: U.S. recession jolts China

[Contrary1]

Laid-off factory workers smash an office during a protest at a Kaida
toy factory in Dongguan, Guangdong province, in China on Nov. 25
after the company indicated it would not pay them full compensation.


Dwindling demand hastens closure of at least 3,600 factories, stirs unrest

For American parents, bargain prices for toys this holiday season qualify as good news: A Barbie fan who rose before dawn for Wal-Mart’s Black Friday sale could secure the coquettish “Barbie Diamond Castle Princess Liana Doll” for $5 — royally marked down from its regular retail price. At Target, a 10-pack of die-cast Hot Wheels cars also went for just $5, while a radio-controlled helicopter cost a mere $15. The price wars were enough to draw consumers out of their bunkers for their first shopping spree in months.

But wrapped up with those cheap toys are ominous economic omens for both sides of the Pacific. The rock-bottom prices show how desperate U.S. retailers are to plump up weak consumer demand — a symptom of the ailing U.S. economy and a serious problem for China, which makes nine of every 10 toys sold in American stores.

Declining U.S. orders already have contributed to the closure of at least 3,600 toy factories since the beginning of 2008, according to the Chinese government, leaving hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers suddenly out of work in this sector alone. Some of the shutdowns have triggered violent protests, a situation that could worsen if the Western recession drags on through 2009, as many economists are predicting.

“Unemployment in China could deprive a lot of people of their lifeline,” says Hu Xindou, an economics professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology. “So it could trigger social instability or even shake the rule of the Communist party.”

More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28037960/

[Auggie]

1. The lead-paint industry is going to be in real trouble

[Mari333]

2. They should unionize

as for american companies who sent the factories to china or bring chinese goods over here

:nopity:

[Greyhound]

3. Maybe they will get a real "People's Revolution"?

I have admit that I'd laugh my ass off if the Chinese rose up and took all the factories that we sent there back from the corporate assholes that did all this.
:rofl:

[NOW tense]

4. The Island of misfit toys is going to be crowded this year.

[sandnsea]

5. They should blame themselves

the way American workers do. :sarcasm:

[Idealism]

6. This is why China's economy must expand 15%+ per year

Otherwise, you may have 1 billion people literally "up in arms"

[Karenina]

7. Poison your kidz wit cheep plastik shite!

Yeah, THAT'S the ticket!

[Crunchy Frog]

8. Ah, so that's what it is. A plot to finally destroy Chinese communism.