Buy North American made products !

[PJ 3]

Since 1908 we had a paper mill in our town that produced paper for making boxes. It employed many people over the years from harvesting wood for the river drivers to the men who sweat in the paper machine room. It was a stable employer and our younger youth getting fresh out of school could go down and get a job, and a good one at that providing a decent paycheck. Our community boomed over the years while we continued to purchase our goods and enjoy life. I was one of the fortunate to land a job there, making good coin until they decided to pull the plug. Why ?

Everything we buy today is either made in China or Taiwan. With less exporting going on and more importing, the supply for shipping boxes and packaging has declined to the point that our industries suffer along with our quality of life ! I drove down today to see my past employers mill being demolished. A sad day for our youth !

[ellis93]

Same thing has happened here. International paper was here in south Mississippi for 50 years or so. Bought several 1000 acres of land here in lucedale to grow pine on to produce their paper with. They have been closed up for maybe 10 years now. Folks lost jobs and the land was sold to people in alabama who inturn tripled the price and sold 2 and 3 acre lots that no one can afford. Progress

[Richie O]

I like US and CANADA as far as products. Its sad things are made overseas. We lost the very last sardine canning co in the whole country this year. When I was young there were 3 in the area. Fast forward 25 years or so and the last one in the country closed. Some of our paper mills have closed as well. My grandfather used to scale wood for International Paper back when they used horses.

[CAJUN 93]

as long as the video playing, i-phone carrying, self important, inattentative folks in this nation continue to shop for the cheapest priced merchandise they can find, this won't change. i ain't going on a bash wal-mart rant here but when you shop at these stores (harbor freight, walmart, et al) you aren't helping the situation. i understand my hypocrosy as i'm just as guilty as anyone else. i work hard to aquire my money and want to stretch it as far as it will go. i buy chinese junk at the expense of american jobs. until we gather a sense of ourselves and agree to say he11 with the cheap junk it wont get any better. not that we're all the blame. corporate suits that move jobs overseas to increase bottom line $$$$$ wether the economy dictates it or not just to keep shareholders making their divedends are just as much to blame.

i believe it will fix itself eventually but it wont be pretty getting there.

sorry for the rant
daryl

[BobS]

Here is my demented view on the subject. Your thought may differ but keep in mind I been around since 1950.

The current situation started 1946 when we set up Japan with our newest engineering, manufacturing, and distribution networks under the rebuilding of Japan which we openly participated. Then in 1959 step number two started and the visible results are now quite evident today.

In 1959 we opened up the global economy which has blossomed into today's world. We started to import cars and light trucks from Europe which were subject to trade tariffs. The exchange rate on the dollar versus the pound and the tariffs sort of leveled the marketing field. As our economy grew it was discovered that those foreign companies could be permitted to establish manufacturing facilities here in the US. A common know fact was Toyota started to import cab & chassis trucks with the beds being assembled and installed here in the US which in part circumvented portions of the tariffs. We also did the same things in reverse order to other countries. I worked at a place in the 70's that exported partially assembled plumbing parts where the completion required handles to be installed as the final assembly in the foreign country. Tariff free!

Domestic corporations developed corporate ties with foreign businesses time marched on. This was the first major step toward the world economy. Now factor in something new that started to grow by leaps and bounds in the 70' & 80's; inflation at different levels between the countries. The corporations had to balance the corporate greed and the worker's greed in their attempts for survival. In technical terms jobs were not shipped overseas but the manufacturing processes for them and the products could be completed cheaper than done here domestically. This kept the corporate greed and the labor greed both happy but resulted in the elimination of the domestic jobs required to produce the product. Now factor in the consumer greed for the "mostest & bestest" for the "cheapest" which provides the avenues of corporate pursuit that helped lead us to where we are today. When the corporate greed & the labor greed exceeded an attainable amount the corporations moved off shore but retained the domestic brand names, offices, and distribution systems for their products. This was the time of the dawning of the golden parachute.

The bottom line is that corporate wealth has a trickle down feeding effect. In the functioning world you invent a product and manufacture it, possibly even as a one man operation. As the demand for your product increases you hire somebody to help you. Then the business grows needing more help, etc. I see a lot of good products today where the initial price is too high prohibiting sales growth. It seems that today's philosophy is make one and sell one for the month and call it good. No profit sharing by creating jobs through increased production. When you start dealing with a world market you are in effect doing the same as adding fractions. You end up using the least common denominator.

[1STGENFARMBOY]

I will pay a little more for an american made product or shop at a mom and pop store, but there is a limit
to how far i will go with that, so i guess i am just as guilty as the majority , for instance i just bought
a head gasket set for my boys 4.0 jeep and paid $145.00 for felpro, but when i got home i checked e-bay
( which is the new walmart) and could have gottin it for $35.00 shiped, now dangit thats to much mark up,
and i feel like i got screwed.

Darwin

[dpuckett]

I buy groceries and personal products at WalMart, occasionally engine oil. Everything else they have is cheap junk that I wouldnt let into my house. I'm all for stretching one's dollar, but you also have to support your neighbor.

Plus, there is the quality factor (why I dont go to AutoZone)- it may be cheaper up front, but how many times are you going to have to replace it in the same lifespan of the better quality unit? My mom bought an O'Reilley "lifetime warranty" starter for her 92 D350 that has been junk since it came out of the box. "But it has a lifetime warranty." true, but you have the hassle of crawling under the truck in the mud and rain at 40* (stuff like that wont go bad when it's 70 and sunny), or paying someone to redo it twice. I DID finally talk her into taking the alternator for her Lincoln to a local electrical shop, though.

My hoof nippers are another example- I paid $75 for a pair that wore out before I finished school. I now have some top-of-the-line, made in America nippers that have already outlasted the old ones by 3-1, they were $190, and still cut like new. So, on a per horse basis, the $190 ones are MUCH more cost effective.

Darwin- that $100 isnt going to make a big difference in the long run. You KNOW what you got from the local parts house- you could look at it before you bought it. That is worth something right there. You may or may not have gotten the same thing at the online flea market (though I have bought some good used stuff there).

Dan

[dpuckett]

ANother major beef of mine is, you just cant find quality anything anymore. I dont mind paying for quality, but you cant even find it, thanks to the "video game playing, iPhone toting, self- important, inattentive folks" that CAJUN mentioned, I cant find good brake drums, boots, jeans, or even household furniture (our one high end furniture store has sold half its inventory and moved to a smaller location). It's all junk made overseas, by some chimp in a sweat shop living on rice and dirt, who only cares about staying alive, and doesnt give a rats behind about doing a good job.
DP

[BobS]

It's all junk made overseas, by some chimp in a sweat shop living on rice and dirt, who only cares about staying alive, and doesnt give a rats behind about doing a good job.
DP

Now where did I hear that before? Oh, yea now I remember. It was my Dad talking to my Uncle about imported Japanese made junk and the year was around 1960. Now jump ahead and read the reviews in the 1980's about the published quality differences between Honda verses Oldsmobile and Pontiac cars in the same price range. Also check the upward jumps in living standards that took place in Japan starting in the 1950's. They still make Hondas today but where have all the Oldsmobiles gone?

China today has the same standard of living as the United States had around in the 1950's. Yes they still have some farming going on in in the back country still using the same methods as they haves for centuries but their industrial base and living standards are a lot higher than most people here think it is. Just do a google on Chinese manufacturing and look at their cities growth over the last 20 years. Check out their tonnage demand and usages of coal and concrete and what they are paying for it. You will be surprised.

[ahale2772]

Bob i think china has the urge to be the next big thing, they are the biggest producer there is right now, BUT they are doing just what we did....for example 1930's dustbowl america was caused buy farmers thinking we could farm anything with out any consequence, well not china is doing the same thing getting the same dust storms, america learned, europe learned, china will learn, exponential growth of production and population is NOT possiple

[dpuckett]

BobS- I cant argue with their improvements in the standard of living in China, but I still have yet to find ANYTHING stamped with MADE IN CHINA that is worth a poop. All I have seen is junk, junk, and more junk. It may be cheaper due to lower production costs and whatnot, but the quality just isnt there- one gets what one pays for. I cant find good anything anymore. But, I do live in a cesspool of mediocrity, so that may be a factor.

Japanese cars vs American cars isnt what I'm talking about- everyone knows the Europeans and Japanese have the US beat in quality- have had for all of my life. I wont own an American car, but would gladly buy a VW or Toyota.

Where are the good quality Chinese products? Besides the contents of the china cabinet.

DP

[truckwrench1]

Where are the good quality Chinese products? Besides the contents of the china cabinet.

DP[/quote]
i love that comment, but really how good could they be if we can only use them once or twice a year

[turboram]

Japanese cars vs American cars isnt what I'm talking about- everyone knows the Europeans and Japanese have the US beat in quality- have had for all of my life. I wont own an American car, but would gladly buy a VW or Toyota.

Are you sure about that? vdubs have part failures on some models that rivals gm and a newer Toyota can't even take a single overheating without needing a rebuild

[ellis93]

Are you sure about that? vdubs have part failures on some models that rivals gm and a newer Toyota can't even take a single overheating without needing a rebuild

Not to be a smart as5 but that's the reason for heat gauges,all toyotas have them.

On the vw thing,I agree fully. When you have to pick and choose the correct model from the various line up they have in all the different years to get one that will last more than 150k,its not all that great. I've had a Chevy truck run for 230k with nothing done but simple maintenance. It was a 2000 yr model,you'll not see many do that after the 07 year model,oil consumption issues and a nasty suspension up front,with a horrid engine vib when it falls off in v4 mode. Don't tell me they don't cuase I have 4 different family members with similar issue with all of theirs.
Toyota is a great vehicle,their trucks have some of the highest resale value,second only to a diesel powered truck,we all know people give stupid money over a beaten down old diesel powered truck.