Blundstones + Rant = Monday Funday!

Today I'm going to talk about Blundstones.

Yes, the traditional Aussie workboot.



There she is.

Ain't she a beaut?

Starting way back in around 1870ish, John and Eliza Blundstone arrived in Hobart, set up shop, and history was made.

In 1979, Blundstone became the first Australian footwear manufacturer to receive a Design Award from the Industrial Design Council of Australia

And in 1986 the company was the recipient of an Australian Export Award.

It has strong links to the Defense Forces - employs 380 staff, makes Army boots, etc etc.

Yes, they export to the world, we are brilliant manufacturers of footwears.

Now, I am not an economist. But, if all the shoes on the market are made in China/Vietnam/whom ever else is exploitable this season, and they are going for well over $50, in many cases several hundreds.

To employ expensive Australian workers, therefore Blundstones must increase their prices accordingly. Thus, they must be a few thousand dollars each, if my calculations are correct, which they may not be because I just made that number up.

They're around the $100 mark depending on the shoe.

So where the hell is the saving from outsourcing to China for the other shoes?

Nowhere, in someone else's pockets, silly, you don't get to see it, on you way son, and don't forget - we need to outsource to compete (with the shareholders), and just think how all this outsourcing has increased your standard of living (if you are a shareholder).

Ever gone to the local gargantuan mall trying to find Australian made clothing/footwear?

It's really not there. You don't have that choice anymore.

Did this shit creep up on us or what? What the hell happened here?

Chances are it will extend to other areas, and what with free trade agreements, reduced tariffs, we won't have any choice but to compete, or just plain do something else. Although there doesn't appear to be much the first world can do that the third world can't do cheaper. White collar jobs have already started heading out the door, they're even leaving India.

I remember joking - if we are going to have foreign slaves, why not just quit hiding behind outsourcing bullshit, save on shipping costs and bring our Dollar-A-Day struggling to feed the family slaves into the country. Unfortunately, with guest worker influx, my joke isn't funny anymore.

Howard is doing the exact opposite of what needs to be done - cutting import tariffs, setting up so-called Free Trade Agreements. Here's a whacky idea for ya - increase tariffs by a massive margin depending on the factors of the country you are dealing with - the rate of child labour, the working conditions, the likelyhood of death at work, the ability to survive on given wages. If you can't get the data, assume the worst. Would this not solve all of these problems? Create jobs maybe?

Productivity is simply another word for the closeness of zero pay, for a given amount of work.

When will people learn?