Greetings Dear Readers,
Never have I wanted to get political with my commentary on this blog however I feel a deep need to share this information with you. And although the subject matter isn’t completely political it does have some implications that could be taken that way. I say that only to give you a heads up on a possible hurt feeling or two that may happen. Still I have never felt more compelled to vocalize an opinion. I also have never felt the desire to contact my elected representatives either. This matter however has warranted both of those instances. Simply put… you mess with my pals and I come swing in on ya.
Below is the text of a letter that I have sent to my representatives in the U.S. Congress, 3rd District U.S. Representative Steve Womack and U.S. Senator John Boozman. Read the letter to learn more about the situation and feel free to share it with your elected officials. You know you have to stand for something in this world. For me this is one of those things. Just because I “play with toys” doesn’t mean I’m a baby whose candy you can take away. Updates will follow as I get them.
– Jim 05/17/11
To: Congressman Steve Womack and Senator John Boozman
From: Jim Bumgardner TKO 8 Television – Harrison, Arkansas
Re: Corruption in Chinese Manufacturing
May 17,2011
Greetings to both of you gentlemen,
The reason for this correspondence is that I would like to make you both aware of a terrible injustice that is befalling small business owners in the United States at the hands of some unscrupulous manufacturers in China. While things of this nature are nothing new I wanted to take the time to personally site one particular incident that has affected some friends of mine in the collectible toy industry. And while this may seem to be a trivial subject matter in its essence, the deeper ramifications I feel are something that has a greater impact on the nation’s small businesses as a whol.
The incident that I am referring to specifically involve a small toy company based out of Kansas City and St. Louis named Castaway Toys. I’d like to pause briefly to note that I am not an official representative of the company. I am merely a fan and consumer of their products and feel as such that it is my duty to voice my concerns to you. In short Castaway had been working with a manufacturer in China to produce their copyrighted and patented 8-inch body design as well as other toy products. The name of that manufacturer is Day2Day Trading. While I’m not privy to the length of their relationship I am of the understanding it had been a fairly decent amount of time that Castaway had worked with the group. Now however Day2Day is making some salacious and untrue statements in regards to their (Castaway) and other US company’s business ethics and practices, which are absolutely untrue. Below you will see the malicious and defamatory statement in italics that they have posted on their website located via this link: http://www.day2daytrading.com/
BE AWARE OF THESE FRAUDULENT COMPANIES WHOM ARE PARTNERS
Gohero
CAST-A-WAY TOYS
Executive Replicas
THEY ORDER GOODS AND DO NOT PAY FOR THEM.
GOHERO, CAST-A-WAY TOYS – OWNER STEVE FORDE
CLAIMED TO HOLD THE LICENSE FOR RAY HARRY HARRYHAUSEN PRODUCTS AND CHEATED HIS TRUST FUND. RECIVED GOODS THAT HE DID NOT PAY THE FACTORY. CHEATED KING FEATURE AND LARRY BUSTER CRABB FAMILY. BE WARNED
CAST-A-WAY TOYS. ORDERD PRODUCTS THAT HE HAS NOT PAID FOR. AND CLAIMS THAT THE FACTORY TRIED TO SELL HIS TOOLING. THEY HAVE BEEN DESTROYED FOR FAILURE TO PAY FOR GOODS ORDERD AND RECEIVED BY DAVID LEE OWNER.
EXECTUTIVE REPLICAS – OWNER WINSTON DUNLOP
PARTNER OF GOHERO
FAILED TO PAY FOR HIS GOODS.
REPORTED GOODS STOLEN IN USA TO AVOID PAYING.
CHEATED TRIAD TOYS AND CLAIMED THAT TRIAD TOYS WAS THE CHEAT
TRIAD TOYS ARE A REPUTABLE COMPANY UNLIKE THE NAMES MENTIONED ABOVE.
These companies are now using stolen money from products they have not paid for with ZICA TOYS.
And while I understand that US policies in regards to such trade matters are complex it is not my intention with this correspondence to address that “can of worms”. Instead I would like to pose to you gentlemen a suggestion that may be more beneficial than simply ‘slapping the wrist’ of unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers. Although if you could do that I’m sure my friends and myself would appreciate that.
My suggestion and food for thought that I pose involves the possibilities of creating tax incentives to American plastic manufacturers to entertain the notion of domestic toy production. Again I openly note that I only somewhat understand the complexities of manufacturing but what I do know is that American manufacturing is in need of a boost. With that said why not consider an angle such as this? Considering the factories that have laid dormant over the past two decades (and longer in some cases) why not create an incentive to turn that around?
If in the grand scheme of things American manufacturing is to ever see a resurgence it has to start somewhere with something. Why not the toy industry? While I can’t back this next statement up with solid statistics I can safely assume that it is the American pop culture and media machine that has created such a thriving industry in the first place. With that said, I do concede the point that without lower labor costs in regions such as Hong Kong, Korea and Japan in the latter half of the 20th Century mass marketed production runs would most likely not have happened. Now however it is a new century and a new world. And considering the state of America’s manufacturing industry (or lack thereof) I can’t see a better start to changing that trend than now.
In closing I would like to again thank you both for your time and would appreciate a statement in regards to this matter and these suggestions. Having personally spoken with both of you gentlemen on numerous occasions while performing my duties as News Director at TKO 8 Television in Harrison, Arkansas, I feel confident that my request does not fall on deaf ears. In fact I am so confident in both of your respective levels of character and ethics that I feel I can easily assure my friends that you will indeed take note of the situation and pass the information on to your colleagues inside both the House and Senate.
Again I thank you for your time and attention and look forward to speaking with both of you again soon.
Sincerely,
Jim Bumgardner
News Director
TKO 8 Television
Harrison, Arkansas
(870) 741-2566
