[Jewelry making - Article 00278] - Re: [Orchid] India among lowest cost producers of jewelry

[MillsGem]

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Umesh,

    Thanks for your enlightenment about the Indian Jewelry business. I
    can't help but wonder why your skilled laborers have not organized
    and established unions? I have recently begun carrying goods made in
    your country and I am grateful for the fine workmanship and design
    that has emerged. You are now the dominant players in the diamond
    buisness and you are rapidly gaining a foothold in the better quality
    jewelry manufacturing. I suppose one could surmise that as your
    involvement increases there will be ever greater opportunities for
    your people. 

    In the grand scheme of things you might be surprised to know that
    your counterparts here in America are experiencing reduced
    expectations in many industries, jewelry included. There is a strong
    trend amongst American corporations to reduce benefits, lower wages
    and eliminate retirement benefits. The American dream of owning a
    home is fast fading as real estate values continue to rise
    astronomically. Here in California only ten percent of the public can
    qualify for home ownership ! 

    Realistically, as Dan has pointed out, no comparison of incomes can
    be truly meaningful without considering basic costs of commodities
    in a given locale. You might not have a fancy house in India, but
    chances are that you would have servants. Then, of course, you would
    have to consider what it costs to put food on the table. Sugar in
    America is artifically elevated in price because the lobbiests have a
    stranglehold on congress. We pay five times more for sugar than the
    world price. The same goes for many other commodities. 

    Our loony distribution system causes us to pay more also. Locally we
    grow nearly every vegetable available in any super market, yet we
    import fruits and veggies from all over America and the world. I
    went into a supermarket recently and asked the produce manager why he
    didn't have any Brussel sprouts and he said that the crop comes from
    Arizona and was not in season. Meanwhile, just a few blocks away, a
    farmer was bringing in a bumper crop of Brussel sprouts ! Another
    anomaly in the American scenario is that we cling to a lavish
    lifestyle simply because we expect so much and will splurge money on
    things that are ridiculously expensive.......things like eating out;
    it costs five to seven times more for food in a restaurant ! Then
    there are the gas hog vehicles. Who the hell needs a two ton behemoth
    with four wheel drive and a 350 horsepower engine ? It is a crazy
    world, but in the grand scheme of things, nature usually eventually
    rectifies its' mistakes....... 

Ron Mills, Mills Gem Co. Los Osos, Ca.

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