Living in the Future Tense #05
When Fast and Cheap Is Not Good Enough
Edward Renner
For 5,000 years,
humans lived in the past tense: “Yesterday was the same as tomorrow. “ For the
next 500 years people lived in the present tense: “Today can be whatever we
want it to be.” But now, for the next 50 years we must start living in the
future tense: “Tomorrow’s social, economic and political constraints must
become today’s reality.”
As a boy, I
knew that my grandfather respected the John Deere dealer. At 15 I got my first
job in agriculture. A John Deere tractor did the heavy work. Although I lusted
to drive it, I was never allowed to do so.
My chance to own my tractor came when I purchased 3 acres in
western North Carolina. As an urban back-to-the-lander, everything I know about
tractors I learned from Keith, who runs a small engine repair shop near
Hendersonville North Carolina. His specialty is to fix and resell used
tractors.
I now know that my grandfather’s deep sense of loyalty and respect
for the legacy of John Deere was well deserved.
In 1933 when small farmers were losing their land, houses
and equipment to foreclosures, the exception was tractors financed through John
Deere. The company, though losing money itself, told farmers who owed them
money to keep the tractors and pay as much as they could when they could. The
nation needed food, and the farmers needed their tractors.
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Keith has a classic 1941 Model B John Deere tractor. This model
was the most popular one in the company's history, remaining in
production from 1935 until 1952. With the exception of the occasional
replacement part it is still mechanically sound and functional. It has
already seen more than one owner out. Photo courtesy of Keith.
|
But it is not 1933. The small farmer with his own tractor is
a thing of the past. In 2000, John Deere obtained a banking license in
Luxembourg giving it the ability to finance the sale of large equipment used by
corporate agri-business throughout Europe. In 2012 it celebrated its 175
anniversary with record sales of over $36 billion.
In 2003, not to be closed out of the small rider mower market
by cheap garden tractors from China, John Deere sold the use of their label to
Home Depot. Now, you too can have a John Deere label for a two hundred dollars
premium price, but other than the green and yellow paint it will be just like
the ones for sale beside it with a 500-hour life expectancy before major
repairs or replacement is required.
But this essay, like most legends, is not just a story about
tractors. The John Deere legend is about the political and social consequences
of achieving cheap prices and easy access at the expense of reduced quality. What
economic globalization has created is the 21st Century mind-set that
fast and cheap is an acceptable trade-off for quality.
John Deere is not alone. Levis did the same thing for Wal-Mart,
as other brand names have done for big market retailers. This is the new
normal.
The modern way to make a profit is by shifting the commercial
focus from quality and customer loyalty to cheaper prices and more accessible markets.
While this may serve the financial returns of global corporations in the short
term, it is not necessarily in the best long-term interests of individuals, the
nation or sustainable living on a finite planet.
But, the potential damage is magnified when this global
economic mindset also intrudes into the political and social aspect of our
lives. In particular, that a cheap (lower taxes) smaller (fewer regulations)
government is also best for our general wellbeing.
If we insist on lower taxes and smaller government with
fewer regulations we will not have effective food inspections, air traffic
controllers, parks and recreation, affordable public education, and all of the
other services that living in a complex global world requires. Adequate taxes,
effective government and a high level of social wellbeing are each fully
dependent on the other two.
What would have happened in 2008 if the Bank of America had
said to the people who had lost their jobs “keep your house and pay what you
can when you can”?
The Bank of America would have been better off in terms of
customer loyalty, and perhaps financially, if they had done so. Certainly the
homeowners and the nation would have been better off. In the end, the bank had
to pay a 17 billion dollar settlement for their predatory loan and automated
foreclosure processes.
The John Deere legend perhaps explains why I bought a 15
year-old garden tractor manufactured in Kentucky for which I was able to download
a complete mechanical schematic and parts list. This summer it hauled 5,000
pounds of gravel, mowed my field and carried logs from the forest for firewood. Last week it wouldn’t start. I replaced the
ignition solenoid for $14.03 plus shipping and it is working fine again. With
the exception of an occasional replacement part, I expect it will see me out,
thanks to Keith, unlike the one I might have bought new from Home Depot.
Fast and cheap is not a substitute for quality, either for
us as consumers or for our government. Two out of three is not good enough.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Edward Renner has
been a Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the
University of Illinois in the US, and at Dalhousie University in Canada. He is
now retired and teaches one course, Forums for a Future, as an Adjunct
Professor in the Honors College at the University of South Florida. . He blogs at
http://forumsforafuture.blogspot.com
on the modern challenge of living sustainably and peacefully
on a crowded planet in the 21st Century. He maybe reached at kerenner@usf.edu.
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