Does Moral Have Values

Does Moral Have Values

(天下無馬, Jan 22, 2008)

 

I have been America for more than two and half decades. Moral value has been a term that I heard a lot but thought less about.

Does moral have values? I mean the real value that one can measure with some thing real? Maybe even in money?

Here is my story that triggered my writing on this less interested "Moral". (Actually, to many people, who cares? Money is most important thing to them).

Recently, I get into replacing my windows. I bought my house many years ago. At that time, double pane window was a new thing. The builder uses less expensive (but good quality) single pane window. Thanks for the none stop inflation, the energy costs kept rising that prompted me to think about replacing my windows. So I did. Some places on the window block moldings and sills are rotted. I thought to get a wood router to cut the trims to fit original molding and trim style. So I was looking for a wood router.

Now the story starts. A good router in Home Depot or Lowes costs around two hundred dollars. That is not too expensive to me but why, I can find same thing cheaper. So I started my hunting over the net. I surfed from pricescan.com, to nexttag.com. Here it is, at Amazon.com, the same tool that sold in Lowes for $185 was asking for $119, no sales tax, free shipping. What a good deal! (Amazon since raised price by another $20. My fault to buy it that cheap.)

The router arrived after Christmas. I was happy to open the box. I am a tool bug, love nicely made tools even I do not use them that much. The tool is called the Plunge and Fixed Based Router combo, designed by Hitachi and made in China. Of course, those days, every thing is made in China. The tools are very well made: stainless steel body, precision cut and milled.

I had about 6 years working in a machine factory when I was young (under aged labor, uh?) Therefore, I appreciated all nicely made tools, some time from my own hands. This one is no exception. I love the smooth surface. I have not used it yet. I understand the motor is very quiet. I just can’t wait to start new projects.

What I really tried to say is: how could a nicely made tool be so cheap, that based on my own experiences will take many hours of man power with precision machine to make it?

$119!

Assume Amazon.com made $20

Hitachi made $30

Ship from Amazon.com to my home $10

Ship from China to US $5

Material and energy need to make this router $40

The total of tool profits and material cost is $105.

Chinese government probably made $5 exporting tax on it as well. The Chinese worker only made $9 in the entire process. That is real sad. My heart is bleeding. (hey! do not blame me for buying it cheap. If I paid more, only Amazon made more money, nothing will be transferred to Chinese worker).

This is not a single case. Many products made in China went through the same process. The real profit was taken by western industries. Chinese gained very little but pollutions and disappearances of fertile farmland that converted to factory. Talking about government stupidity!

But I understand that Chinese enterprises are more willing to do that with foreigners rather than domestic merchants. You have to ask that why nicely made Chinese products can not be enjoyed by its society.

I also understand the driver behind such behavior is if Chinese are dealing within themselves, there is no trust. No payments, late payments are a norm. When a business needs to run efficiently, it needs cash flow to sustain the borrowing and payments, the cash flow chain. That cash flow chain can not be interrupted or production will stop. Therefore, Chinese exporters are more willing to do deals with foreigner with little profit than do deals with domestic merchants to gain prompt payments.

Lack of trust among people, no business ethics among enterprises, cheating, betrayal, are moral hazards, common in today’s Chinese society and destroying the basic human value that has been accumulated in 3000 years’ Chinese civilization. I am optimistic about China’s future. But what China need to focus today with high priority, is to restore the moral value, instead of making more investments and make more money. For lack of such moral value, China as a nation, and as a society, is selling cheap, losing billions if not hundreds billions real value to foreigners.

Well, this is not to say only happening in China. It is happening in the US. The subprime, is hurting US financial credibility real bad. The consequences of this Wall Street gimmick is that foreign capital will flow into future US financial instruments slower than before. If investors can buy sound assets with prompt interest payments, why do they have to take a chance to buy US instruments? Then if US need more capital inflow to sustain its debt payments at $2 billions a day, it has to pay high interest rate on those financial instruments, from government treasury and corporate bonds. High interest on bonds will lead to high borrowing costs to make corporations less profitable with reduced stock price. Now, we are just seeing the beginning of it. More subprime and prime debts default will capsulate the boat in the near future. Talking about Moral value!!

Can Moral be measured with real value now?