News, Workers riot at Chinese toy factory. (borrow, pay, wage)

[John1960]

DONGGUAN, China (AP) - It started as a pay dispute at a southern Chinese toy factory. But it quickly turned into a riot as laid-off workers tapped into a network of friends and unemployed laborers who flipped over a police car, stormed into the plant and smashed office computers.

The latest violent protest to rock China's export machine was still simmering Wednesday at the massive plant, which makes Nerf toys for the U.S. company Hasbro Inc.

Workers riot at Chinese toy factory

[harry chickpea]

I can just imagine workers and police lobbing nerf balls at each other. What next, riots at pillow factories and massive pillow fights? Good thing the U.S. bailout included funds for U.S. made toy arrows. Those Chinese would have put out an eye or two.

[HappyTexan]

Just wait til it's the food factories that they close and destroy.
You can dismiss the nerf toys but what about your food ?

Almost all vitamins and wheat gluten come from China. Many food additives come from China.
Although I wouldn't be sad if they rioted and burned down their melamine factories

[Humanoid]

Dude, the Toy factories are closing because demand for Toys is declining. Not some magic factory destroying monster. If demand for Chinese foodstuffs doesn't decline why would the related factories close up? They wouldn't.

[ocpaul20]

The Chinese authorities are moving as swiftly as they can to increase domestic demand rather than relying on the global economy as they have in the past. They are pumping money into the economy in the form of infrastructure projects like rail and road building to provide jobs for those who have lost them in the factories. Not ideal, I know, but at least they are trying to do something to help. I suppose it makes sense to not rely on outside economies if you are not sure what will happen in those other countries and no-one is certain at the moment, are they?

Of course it will take many months to move through the economy and really help, but unfortunately, everyone all over the world pretended this global economic crisis did not exist. I think the world economies have still a way to go before they pick up again.

Yes, the toy factories have come to depend on exports to keep them afloat and over the last few years many people have moved into the cities from the countryside where there are more jobs and higher wages. Now those jobs have gone because demand has fallen, and they have got used to living on a city wage. The government is also trying to create more jobs in the countryside now too as it realises that there are going to be fewer jobs in the cities.

In the last few days they have dropped bank savings rate by at least one percent to try to stop people saving and to start spending more, and I suspect we will see more cuts of similar sizes too. Everyone Chinese I know is scrabbling to save their money into longer term accounts of one or two years fixed rate to try and get over the worst period.

An economy and a population of 1.3billion people is a huge management problem.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Humanoid

Dude, the Toy factories are closing because demand for Toys is declining. Not some magic factory destroying monster. If demand for Chinese foodstuffs doesn't decline why would the related factories close up? They wouldn't.

Global demand is slowing. First to go are the luxury and non-essential items.
Deflation is lowering prices and the cost of shipping is becoming prohibitive.

Yes I'm speculating based on how the economy is going today..how much it has gone downhill in the past 6-12 months and the possibility of the future if it continues on this downward path.

[texdav]

Originally Posted by ocpaul20

The Chinese authorities are moving as swiftly as they can to increase domestic demand rather than relying on the global economy as they have in the past. They are pumping money into the economy in the form of infrastructure projects like rail and road building to provide jobs for those who have lost them in the factories. Not ideal, I know, but at least they are trying to do something to help. I suppose it makes sense to not rely on outside economies if you are not sure what will happen in those other countries and no-one is certain at the moment, are they?

Of course it will take many months to move through the economy and really help, but unfortunately, everyone all over the world pretended this global economic crisis did not exist. I think the world economies have still a way to go before they pick up again.

Yes, the toy factories have come to depend on exports to keep them afloat and over the last few years many people have moved into the cities from the countryside where there are more jobs and higher wages. Now those jobs have gone because demand has fallen, and they have got used to living on a city wage. The government is also trying to create more jobs in the countryside now too as it realises that there are going to be fewer jobs in the cities.

In the last few days they have dropped bank savings rate by at least one percent to try to stop people saving and to start spending more, and I suspect we will see more cuts of similar sizes too. Everyone Chinese I know is scrabbling to save their money into longer term accounts of one or two years fixed rate to try and get over the worst period.

An economy and a population of 1.3billion people is a huge management problem.

At the rate they have bouhgt treasuries and we have borrowed from them they shopuld ahve no trouble paying for those infrastructure. We on the other hands will have to borrow to do teh same as we basiclly are tapped out. That means the interest we pay will eat into any tax money limiting what we can really do at a reasonable cost.