Right there with ya!!

I agree with you 100%, Drafted! I am going through the same thing while looking for hand trowels and other small gardening tools.

The companies pay third world salaries while we still pay first world prices.

I am going to comb the yard sales this summer in hopes of finding what I need. Just yesterday I got a scythe and a shovel at someone's moving sale. The nice fellow threw in some plastic snow shovels for free. Maybe he is moving to Florida, I didn't think to ask at the time. :)

"Just yesterday I got a scythe and a shovel at someone's moving sale. The nice fellow threw in some plastic snow shovels for free. Maybe he is moving to Florida, I didn't think to ask at the time."

Probably not. He's most likely going to hire an illega...[previous word edited for politically correct purposes]...undocumented worker to do his yard work for him. Well...YOU opened the can of worms!

[wink] JUST KIDDING!

:) I inherited a collection of american made gardening tools when I bought the house...

most of them are held on to their poles with baling wire, but one by one i'm fixing that- because the rakes and hoes are WAY better, sharper, and more ergonomic than the modern ones- and once I get longer handles on them (short folks used to live here- most of the handles are only 3 feet tall!) I'll have an amazing collection!

the workers in China were treated as well as workers are here. They are not though; they work in poisonous air and dangerous factories. Some of them are prisoners, children, or others who have no say in where they work and are essentially slaves. Their government lies to them and encourages dangerous practices; AIDS is spreading in China like wildfire and women are getting it from their husbands. The desire for male children is causing there to be a dearth of girls for the same males children when they grow up, which means gangs of young men without purpose.
China is going to be a big, big problem in the years to come. Really.

India is already seeing a lack of marriagable females in some parts of the country. I think even more than China, India is very insular when it comes to who they choose to have their children marry. Caste first, and rarely ever outside the race, especially for the males.

Amen! I'm trying to figure out a way to do the same thing with some old garden tools I was given that are American made with broken handles.

I work for a big box store, purely a financial move on my part, but I hardly ever shop there.

I think Wal-Mart is going to either destroy this economy, or destroy itself. Hopefully, the latter.

Hi bruggirl,

If you have a broken handle which will not come out, just start a nice fire outside and put the garden tool inside of the fire after it's going. The wooden handle will burn out nicely, and you can replace it then. I've done this a few times.

I usually start my fire with the sale paper from Wal-Mart. :)

Good luck,

Is it me or has anyone else noticed how unhappy Wal-Mart employees are?

I have a garage full of Ames Garden tools ...shovels, rakes and yes, even ...hoes...all made in America. All purchased since 2001.

I'm pretty sure some of them even were purchased at Wal*Mart. However, Wal*Mart is rapidly changing many of it's suppliers to factories in China. So...Ames may not be at Wal*Mart these days We sell China scrap metal and timber...they send back a ship container of hoes.

Look for the Ames label and if you google Ames Garden tools...you'll find their website and you then can find a local retailer near you.

Wal*Mart just like the Postal Service, The Department of Defense, State Governments & County-Local Governments hires a lot of people... some who no doubt are less than thrilled with their job. My county court house is filled with grumpy people. I'd say that there are more happy people at my local Wal*Mart than at my local Post Office. And the USPS people make a lot more money and still make you wait in line.

Dose the term..."going postal"... ring a bell?

Pete In Iowa

HA!!! You should pity the poor Chinese factory workers as they are starting to lose their jobs too. Seems this past year ... if I remember my numbers correctly ... 17% of the China labor force has been layed off!!! Why? Tech is replacing the worker there same as here. The estimate is in the very near future ALL factory work will be done by automation since it will cheaper produce goods this way than even payin' so poor person a 3rd world wages to do so.
I got this info from a PBS program called 'Ethical Marketplace'. I couldn't find the numbers on the site but you may wish to check it out anyway.
Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Ethical Marketplace

Hey! I want one of those automated thingys to do the watering, weeding, picking bugs (yuck), hoeing, harvesting, cooking, cleaning, canning,.................Oh, wait, that's me! Still working on "automating me". :+)

Wal-Mart is the enemy! Especially since DH works for a small Northwest owned and operated Department/Drug store.

The majority of laid off workers in China worked at inefficient and wasteful state-owned enterprises. Prior to the changes in China's economic structure (in the 80s) no real means of accountability was in place. With the changes and movement toward a market-based economy factory managers at these places are under increasing pressure to produce. Private compaies and firms are springing up all over and they ARE competative. Automation to the extent seen in US and Japanese auto companies is still quite a ways off.