Yankee Make-Do

Here's the thing, much of what we make and sell to ourselves can't be fixed. It's patriotic actually because throwing things away and buying new ones keeps our economy alive. Build a whatzit but do not offer parts. Or, if you do, make the shipping and parts cost more than a new whatzit.

Consumer spending drives our economy but I sometimes wonder what the redeeming value is in manufacturing throw-away consumables. In this green age shouldn't we be making stuff that lasts? I mean, look at the Honda 90 trail bike. Ahead of its time. And discontinued because (I suspect) it worked too well and lasted forever if you took care of it.

But what do you do after you build a whatzit that is a) built so well that repairs are not needed for a long time and b) when a fix is needed parts are readily available? Well, think about it. You'd have to lay off your workers, close your plant, and disappoint your stockholders because you've satisfied the need and the demand has filled itself up. Sort of self-defeating.

The manifesto maybe sounds a little lofty but I buy it anyway. We have been sold on recycling so that we don't feel so bad about throwing things away. They're really not gone to a landfill they actually are reborn! I'm amused that we can pay ten or 15 bucks at Office Depot for them to haul our old computers off to be recycled (picture the Indian child melting out the gold in motherboards).

But I'd fix things even if it weren't "creative" or "challenging" for the simple reason that it's how I was raised (and perhaps where I was raised). I'm from the east coast you see, Yankee stock. We were decidedly middle class and my dad worked in the field of radio, designing and testing vacuum tubes for various military instruments. Unlike my mother though, he came from a less fortunate background and was not in the habit of buying things when they broke down. He passed on this trait to me, a college-educated kid who grew up during the (for kids) worry-free 50's and 60's.

So I'll spend ten bucks to fix a five dollar whatzit just to prove to myself once again that we're not doing this right.