Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for August 12, 2021

First worlders really don’t know how to bribe effectively.

Same as in Italy.

P.S. I’m Italian.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, a guy arrives to set up a web-based bookstore. 30 years later, he can’t quite buy Vietnam outright yet, but he’s got the down payment covered.

Only because he brought Vietnamese working conditions to the US

The Web. That thing will never make money! :-)

Spoken with a healthy dose of cynicism

It’s now 2021, and they’re building cars in Vietnam.So, yeah.

Viet Nam has done well. Too bad we didn’t realize all they wanted was self determination. No European/US interference but happy to do business with you.

Surprisingly astute question for the ol’ Boopster to ask.

More greased palms than an oil tanker running aground in Los Angeles.

George seems to be a couple of decades too early.

A cousin tried to invest in Russia, after the collapse of Communism. He felt he was in on the ground floor. He lost everything….

George was right – when it isn’t made in China, Vietnam is one of the alternatives.

“Sir,are you trying to offer me a bribe?”“How much?”

Groucho Marx—-“MONKEY BUSINESS”(1931)

Hence the requirement for foreigners to have a local partner. The partner is presumed to know all the bribes that have to be paid in order for one to do business, including themselves of course.

Just checked the label in my brand new $150 New Balance shoes.

Yep…. it says ‘made in Vietnam’

So much for the Domino Theory.

Boopsie would have cleaned up as an influencer.

Well, at least until three years ago there was a small Vietnamese company manufacturing the most perfectly designed rosewood and ebony knitting needles.