The past few weeks have not been good ones for products manufactured in China and financial instruments created in the United States.  The “Made in China” brand is now an un-trustworthy brand to millions of American consumers.  New, mortgage backed debt instruments, highly rated by U.S. bond rating agencies are now being questioned in financial capitols around the world.
In an earlier column entitled “Made in China” I discussed certain historical forces and timelines that are to some degree at cause for the recent rash of dangerous products being produced in China.  In a historically short period of 30 years, the country is moving from being a rural, agrarian economy to one of the largest industrial economies in the world.  In addition, in this same time period it is moving from being a secretive, xenophobic, communist state run by a central planning committee to a major player on the world economic stage that has standards of safety and openness.  This huge a transition in such a short time has never occurred, so a number of sizable bumps in the road are to be expected. 
This historical perspective notwithstanding, the Made in China brand is in serious trouble.  Most of the readers of this blog are probably either parents or pet owners.  If you are a parent, particularly of a young child, you will now look at all toy packaging and truly think twice before you buy a toy that has the words “Made in China” printed …