"Made In America" fights back.

[Possum]

One of the biggest reasons the USA has lost its market competitiveness is their inate ability to justify buying crap because it ..... yada yada yada (in other words fill in your reason here) yada yada.

[Ed-Sommers]

Advocates of buy only USA made products are making emotional decisions. Like it or not, this is a global economy. Few items are really MADE here, just assembled here. Also IMHO, is you buy something made in a forced union shop, you are dealing with the modern mafia. Ed

[BigV]

This editorial: How China Changed the American Lighting Industry was posted on a photo site I read. The guy summed things up pretty good.

Photography equipment has been foreign made by overseas companies for as long as I can remember. Mostly in Japan. Lighting accessories were produced a lot in the U.S.A. because the small production numbers made it more cost effective to do so. As demand increased the easy lure of Chinese production has bit them in the backside.

It is a lesson that other companies need to learn. China is producing better engineers and we are producing fewer. It wont be long before they take the lead on innovation instead of reverse engineering other peoples work.

I am not a protectionist. I am a firm believer in balanced trade. We export to China a very large amount of raw materials that they in turn make into finished goods. The problem is there is nothing we export that cannot be sourced somewhere else. Especially in agriculture.

Trade is a complicated issue. It is not going to be solved unless you look at a much broader picture.

[mythplaced]

Do you eat?

If so then you are not "Buying from the USA"

Per the USDA and FDA ......about HALF of what we put in our mouths came from outside North America (USA and Canada) , and if you look at the total (all food imported into USA regardless of origin), it is around 75%

ERS/USDA Data - U.S. Food Imports

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications...125/fau125.pdf

What Share of U.S. Consumed Food Is Imported? - February 2008

[rmmpe]

Emotional and horse-pucky reasons aside, I make it a point to at least try to buy "Made in America" products.

[mrblanche]

Someone mentioned the Ipod, but on both it and the Iphone, something like 80% of the value added is in the U.S. Not that much of the cost of one actually goes to China.

I went to Walmart a couple of weeks ago for some new cookie sheets. They had 3 levels of quality. The best one was made in Malaysia. The second best one was made in China. The worst, cheapest one was made in the U.S.

Of course, next week that may all be different.

My "Made in America" 2011 Chevy Malibu has a Mexican transmission (designed and manufactured, I've heard, in cooperation with Ford). My 1987 "Made In America" Ford Ranger had a transmission from Korea, I believe. The best "Made In America" Ford Taurus SVO had a V8 built by Yamaha. Funny how it all shakes out, isn't it?

[PyrateSilly]

Misconception: Most of what Americans spend their money on is made in China.
Fact: Just 2.7% of personal consumption expenditures go to Chinese-made goods and services. 88.5% of U.S. consumer spending is on American-made goods and services.

Misconception: We owe most of our debt to China.
Fact: China owns 7.8% of U.S. government debt outstanding.

Misconception: We get most of our oil from the Middle East.
Fact: Just 9.2% of oil consumed in the U.S. comes from the Middle East.

People need to look things up for themselves instead of relying on the Right or Left of anything to tell them what they want you to think is the truth.

[Gary - K7GLD]

Originally Posted by Perry White

How many of you have Apple I-Pods?

YUP - sorta ridiculous to gripe about needing to "Buy American" - as well as the fantasy that all American-made stuff is somehow superior in quality - ALL while sitting in front of an Asian PC - and later watching TV on an Asian or Mexico-made TV - and later driving out in a German or Asian-made vehicle, to eat out at a Chinese or Mexican food restaurant...

A store selling ALL 100% American made stuff - must be a shop with about 200 square feet of storage and display space...

Don't get me wrong - it's a nice warm and fuzzy thought - just doesn't mesh with the reality of the world we live in - like it or not,,,

[Possum]

Originally Posted by Gary - K7GLD

YUP - sorta ridiculous to gripe about needing to "Buy American" - as well as the fantasy that all American-made stuff is somehow superior in quality - ALL while sitting in front of an Asian PC - and later watching TV on an Asian or Mexico-made TV - and later driving out in a German or Asian-made vehicle, to eat out at a Chinese or Mexican food restaurant...

A store selling ALL 100% American made stuff - must be a shop with about 200 square feet of storage and display space...

Don't get me wrong - it's a nice warm and fuzzy thought - just doesn't mesh with the reality of the world we live in - like it or not,,,

I'm not so sure, from my original post https://www.saveourcountryfirst.com/
BTW I first heard about this site on an American News show that got carried over here in BC. The ABA has lists of several tour buses a day that their affiliates schedule with this place as a prime destination. Some like that warm cozy feeling I guess.

[Freebird23]

If my Neptune and Grand Prix is the way American products are made----not happy.

[cmpncrsaider]

Hanover Lighting, I helped install a bunch of these outside light fixtures made by Hanover, they are made in USA, everything was excellent quality, even the socket the bulb screwed into was like on an older fixture, not like on the cheap fixtures where the socket turns with the bulb when you start screwing it in. There is a trend starting where if people have an "American Made" option they wil choose it if it's not to much more expensive.

[RovinOn]

YUP - sorta ridiculous to gripe about needing to "Buy American" - as well as the fantasy that all American-made stuff is somehow superior in quality]

Ridiculous,,, Not in my book. I'll do whatever I can do to keep my money in the U.S. and by the way I'm still watching television on an American made Zenith TV, it may be 20 + years old but it's still working and has a great pictue!

[dieselclacker]

Originally Posted by cmpncrsaider;

There is a trend starting where if people have an "American Made" option they wil choose it if it's not to much more expensive.

The only problem with this trend, is you have very few options for american made goods, and when you do find one, it is likely to be much more expensive. Equating all american made products with qualityis a mistake.

[Gary - K7GLD]

Originally Posted by RovinOn

Ridiculous,,, Not in my book. I'll do whatever I can do to keep my money in the U.S. and by the way I'm still watching television on an American made Zenith TV, it may be 20 + years old but it's still working and has a great pictue!

Sounds great - on the surface, but now the million dollar question:

What brand PC did you use in your post?
What brand car do you drive?
What brand tires on that car?
Where did the fuel come from that powers it?
Where did MOST of your appliances and clothing originate?

There ARE American-made alternatives to MOST of those questions - did YOU make them - or simply do like the rest of us, and go for what you determined to be the best price and value for your $$$?

"Buying American" is a great concept - when there IS an American Made alternative - but as this poster realistically states:

The only problem with this trend, is you have very few options for American made goods, and when you do find one, it is likely to be much more expensive. Equating all American made products with quality is a mistake.

As is equating ALL foreign-made stuff as "junk"..

Whose interests are most important where personal selection and expenses are concerned - American Labor Unions - OR, the financial stability of the individual family, and the necessary goal of keeping families adequately clothed, sheltered, and fed in a steadily worsening national and world economy?

As a nation, we started down the road to buying foreign-made products MANY decades ago - and at THIS point in history, "Buying American" out of a false and pointless sense of Patriotism, is like whistling in the wind - it's a battle already LOST!