chillywilly
Member
Think you just blew everyone's mind. :0
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What would you have done? (American made vs. China)
- Thread starter chillywilly
- Start date
Think you just blew everyone's mind. :0
The iron ore for those skegs was dug out of the ground with a Caterpillar backhoe with an engine made in India/China. Then it was put on a train with a Cummins engine made in Britan and shipped to a foundry where they put it in a blast furnace made in Spain. Next we put it on a truck with a Mecedes engine made in Germany. Now we put it in a press/milling machine etc, etc. The DC controls on that machine were made in Mexico. The dies where made in Japan. Now we need to package it. Plastic made from an injection molding machine made in Korea. Print cartrage for the lableing made in Twain. It goes on and on and on.
You see where I'm going with this? Just because a product says made in USA, does not mean that company isn't supporting foreign economies.
Nobody's saying it's not. And yes, there is nothing you can do about it yourself. But you can buy products that marginally help US workers more than others. Like Moose said, if 10,000 or 10 million people started to think this way, the country would be different than it is now. There's no doubt its a global economy, that free trade provides benefits in terms of being able to take advantage of other's country's comparative advantages, and so on, but the country needs a more diversified economy than one where everyone works in the service industries. This is a good discussion.
I hate to paint the picture worse but it has moved beyond manufacturing and in to Engineering. My company has opened up offices in China, Romania, and India in the past 3 to 5 years and we are expected to use these Engineering resources before we are allowed to hire locally. Makes the day for us here 18 hours somethimes because we have to work with the European resources starting at 6 AM or so and end the day working with the China resources at midnight or later. This does not cost the company anything as we here are all Salary exempt! The new expectation for the workday of an engineer is 9 to 10 hours for 8 hours of pay.
Tough issue. I remember when Walmart, yeah I know I'm using a walmart example, used to sell clothing that was clearly labeled "Made in the USA." They were responding to the demand for American made products. There were banners and ads galore around pointing this fact out. About a year later all that was gone, people just didn't buy it. So now you hear customers complain about very few offerings that are American made being offered yet they didn't purchase it when it WAS offered. Its a tough economy and customers shop for value and I get that but in the long run the old saying "shop locally" (no big box ) really does make a difference in the community. I can't say I always do what I preach but I do try.
anonomoose
New member
"I can't say I always do what I preach but I do try."
That is the point. We have slowly moved to these far away ports to manufacture goods and products which they ship back to us and sell to us.
The walmart example is a good one because when old Sam was around they didn't go cheap Chinese because HE PERSONALLY told the crew who "saw the big advantage of selling that stuff" that he would not do that to America.
As soon as he died....days afterwords, they got the big machine going to bring in the stuff that was way cheaper for them to buy and sell it at Wally World.
He knew that this was not a good thing....but the bean counters won out in the long run....now it is hard to find anything there that is NOT made outside our borders.
We American's are brain dead when it comes to the destructive process this brings. Just like the ocean....dump crap away in it...cause there is a lot of water out there but eventually you can even screw that up because it is not an endless supply.
We need to pay attention and buy American where we can....here is a point.
The next time you shop for a car or truck, read the label on the window and see which car or truck has the most USA content, assembly, AND DESIGN AND ENGINEERING PROCESSES. You can still buy a car or truck that is made 100 per cent outside the USA which brings 3 dozen workers in the USA Nothing! Every time you buy another 3 dozen are out of a job. Do the math.
From faucets to food....we are cutting our own throats, and deeep down.....to a man, you have to be able to see this destructive process and understand that the job that gets cut or cut back or the wage that you would like but can't command is reliant upon your decision to buy the cheap one or buy American...as much as humanly possible. Don't turn a shoulder to the big picture because doing that will put your son or daughter out of a job. Yep....27 bucks is a bunch of money, but tell yourself that when you son says, "geez dad....I lost my job today and now I have to take one down the street at 8 bucks an hour." Then that 27 bucks you could have paid becomes a bargain.
That is the point. We have slowly moved to these far away ports to manufacture goods and products which they ship back to us and sell to us.
The walmart example is a good one because when old Sam was around they didn't go cheap Chinese because HE PERSONALLY told the crew who "saw the big advantage of selling that stuff" that he would not do that to America.
As soon as he died....days afterwords, they got the big machine going to bring in the stuff that was way cheaper for them to buy and sell it at Wally World.
He knew that this was not a good thing....but the bean counters won out in the long run....now it is hard to find anything there that is NOT made outside our borders.
We American's are brain dead when it comes to the destructive process this brings. Just like the ocean....dump crap away in it...cause there is a lot of water out there but eventually you can even screw that up because it is not an endless supply.
We need to pay attention and buy American where we can....here is a point.
The next time you shop for a car or truck, read the label on the window and see which car or truck has the most USA content, assembly, AND DESIGN AND ENGINEERING PROCESSES. You can still buy a car or truck that is made 100 per cent outside the USA which brings 3 dozen workers in the USA Nothing! Every time you buy another 3 dozen are out of a job. Do the math.
From faucets to food....we are cutting our own throats, and deeep down.....to a man, you have to be able to see this destructive process and understand that the job that gets cut or cut back or the wage that you would like but can't command is reliant upon your decision to buy the cheap one or buy American...as much as humanly possible. Don't turn a shoulder to the big picture because doing that will put your son or daughter out of a job. Yep....27 bucks is a bunch of money, but tell yourself that when you son says, "geez dad....I lost my job today and now I have to take one down the street at 8 bucks an hour." Then that 27 bucks you could have paid becomes a bargain.
Jonger1150
New member
It is a tough call. Sometimes it is impossible to avoid buying China product. My job has taken me to China 14 times in the last three years. I can tell you there is a reason for the low price and it is not just low labor cost. China labor rates are going up fast. In our business when we quote new business we have to use a special quote form for year over year labor costs increase for China. China is now outsourcing to other country's for low cost labor! My company has fought to keep our North American business supported out of our North American plant and we have. We can be just as competitive and continue to be. Our China plants builds for the local market there.
Some things that are built in China, really don't have to be in order to keep prices down.
I read recently that if Apple decided to start manufacturing the iPhone in the U.S, prices per device would rise only $15.
I would rather pay the $15, if I bought an iPhone.
Some things that are built in China, really don't have to be in order to keep prices down.
I read recently that if Apple decided to start manufacturing the iPhone in the U.S, prices per device would rise only $15.
I would rather pay the $15, if I bought an iPhone.
You are 1000 percent correct. I work with plant in china, Europe, and North America and it is not cheaper to build auto electronics in china and ship them to the US. We had to prove this and the most pressure to move our manufacturing to china came from the OEM (one of the big three). They pushed to the point of threatening the loss of future business. They were convinced that if we built their parts in china we could reduce our price. They were wrong and our North American plant is still open!
HardwaterHoosier
Member
I'd miss the coffee too much to go to US only products.
How do you know that the person who owns this business is not an American?
How would you apply your thoughts for other purchases?
Such as.
Buying gas from a station that is not American owned.
Or renting a room from Motel or Hotel that is not American owned.
Anonomoose you are absolutely right - agree with you completely. When the US flag symbol Made in America is on the product it is made here. When the flag isn't there, it is probably only assembled in America and they usually say that now. Some manufacturers don't have the b-lls to admit the origin of the manufacture, just the company's American address. For example, of the plastic bags sold here, Glad bags are the only bags that say made in America and I assume the rest are not made here. The companies with the American made products are proud to show that flag symbol. Menards, by the way, have their Made in America days and they do sell more American products than certain other hardware chains