Made in the USA

[Dee Mak Jack, SASS #55905]

Got a nice pair of canvas suspenders for Christmas and just got around to using them Sunday. As I was putting them on I was removing the tags I came to one "Made in USA. A smile came to my face, I guess we still do make a few things here. Then, as I put them on, I found that one of the straps was not sewn to the asjustment buckle. For the price my wife paid for these they should have been of top qsuality. What a bummer ! My smile quickly turned to a frown. We can do better than that and we must.

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

I'm with you on looking for "Made in USA". My wife and I are starting to become more conscious of where are dollars go. Unfortunately, it is becoming harder and harder to find the label any more.

[Oddnews SASS# 24779]

One of the most disappointing experiences of several years was when I got home from the dealership and hung up my brand new, Harley-Davidson brand motorcycle jacket and saw the "Made in China" tag in the collar. I'd have been willing to pay $100 more for the jacket, if it was of equal quality and made in the U.S.

 

I realize we live in a global economy, but there's always value in turning raw material into finished product. America was once the best in the world at that -- wish we still were.

[Rye Miles #13621]

America is still the largest manufacturer in the world. Check it out on google or whatever. Apparently we make lots of BIG stuff. We're letting the other countries make our toasters, microwaves etc. Companies here can't make enuff dough to produce that stuff cheap enough to profit. Unions and taxes have pretty much did them in.

 

 

Top 4 manufacturering countries are: USA, Japan, Germany, China.

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

I realize we live in a global economy, but there's always value in turning raw material into finished product. America was once the best in the world at that -- wish we still were.

 

We all wish we still were. Used to be we were a totally self sufficient nation, the envy of the world.

 

Then the government decided they knew better ... people who aren't smart enough to run a corner store. Between the EPA, IRS, and other alphabet soup groups they choked the economy into the mess it's in today.

 

In the Cleveland area, it takes on average around 20+ months to grind through all the permits, studies, committees, and other nonsense before a business can even open their doors. Nearly 2 years of beuracratic BS. No wonder so many companies go to China where they can ink a deal and start production in a matter of weeks.

 

You lament that your Harley jacket was made in China - all the large American tanneries got run out of business by EPA regs. All that's left are a handful of boutique tanners who are basically fancy taxidermists.

 

Congress hasn't helped much either. Trade treaties designed to hobble American companies and open the floodgates for foreign goods; letting American companies slip across the border to layoff Americans without any penalties ... you'll never see a Levi's tag on my butt for just that reason.

 

Not so long ago a man with a high school education could easily find a good job, buy a new car, get a nice house in the suburbs, and live the dream.

My son graduated from college last year. The only job he could find is warehousing & stocking at Wal*Mart, filling shelves with Chinese made stuff. He, and the rest of America deserve better.

[Badlands Beady]

My wife and I drive Subarus; both were made in Ohio. We were told that it doesn't matter, the parts were made outside the US, and we should have bought a Detroit car, instead (my wife and I both came from General Motors families in Michigan, btw). So, should we put the Ohio Subaru folks out of business, as well as any other Americans who work for foreign-owned companies? If we do, will they be able to find other jobs, even ones that don't pay as well?

 

BTW, Capt, Woody? Don't blame Congress for all of it. When's the last time you tried to hire a kid to do some yard work, shovel your drive, or anything else? I may be remembering wrong, but I couldn't wait for it to snow, rain or whatever so I could make the rounds and earn some cash. Today, though, forget it; the work ethic in this country isn't what it was. *

 

*Unless you're an immigrant, legal or illegal. Those people seem to work their ***es off.

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

I try to buy American (and more specifically, not buy Chinese)whenever possible. I will not buy inferior goods just to have a USA label; I will not buy Chinese just to save a buck or two.

 

But I don't know that I have a real complaint with the overall effect of EPA regulation. Our former manufacturing dominance came at a huge environmental price. I have the sense that, if left unregulated, we would be wallowing in stench and offal by this time. I realize that its painful, but if we want to be manufacturers, we need to find ways of doing so without dirtying our own nests. I've been on properties, formerly used for manufacturing in the "good old days", with 200' long "lagoons" waist deep in heavy metal contaminated liquids, ever so slowly seeping into our groundwater. Think of that happening every day for 50-60 years, and then look at the cancer rates in the neighborhood.

 

If we are as smart as we think we are, we will come back better and stronger. Our natural resources, creativity, energy and freedom of thought made us great, and they are all still here.

 

 

LL

[MMJ#89586]

Well I like quality USA made products. Believe it or not Walmart actually carried a lot of USA products, like clothing. It was almost all sub par, in order to compete they sold out to companies from overseas. Handmade premium priced USA products are the best in the world, anything else can be a gamble. We CAN do better, the question is WILL we. As long as we can buy somewhat quality products from other countries for low cost I say we will not.

[Fairshake]

Capt. Cahill hit it dead center. Back in 1990 I was preparing myself to RIDE NOT TRAILER my bike to the 50th Sturgis. I wanted a new jacket and found that the the tanneries had been closed down because they could not meet the clean up. India lets it hit the ground and doesn't worry. They also drink the same water that is used for their bathing and sewer.When all of our manafacturer's finally go elsewhere, what americans are going to be working to buy the products. Badlands Beady also made a hit. I injured my lower back very bad, so bad that at times I can't walk. My wife stopped over 50 kids in our neighbor hood and ask if they wished to make money by cutting our grass. She told them that they could use our mower and gas and we received no takers.

[Oddnews SASS# 24779]

I have no brief against the EPA, but we should never have handed China "most favored nation" trade status unless we had a binding treaty that they would play by the same environmental rules.

 

They'd probably still beat us at small manufacture -- we simply don't have the luxury of paying people with effectively slave wages. But it's a tragedy that I searched for a year trying to find a waffle iron NOT made in China. I finally lucked out -- I bought one for $3 at a DAV Thrift Store that was made in Chillicothe, Ohio -- about 1960 (the waffles still taste good).

 

I don't know the solution to the problem. It's not just that we are over regulated, and it is no longer that we are over-unioned (union employees are a small and diminishing segment of wage earners across the U.S.). We do have a higher standard-of-living than most of the rest of the world, and Americans simply won't do small assemblly line work for minimum wage (and minimum wage is too high to be competitive against China or Vietnam).

 

No easy solutions. We can't even un-do some of the undue things we've done. We can't revoke China's MFN status without them calling in our debt, and we can't function our (admittedly bloated government) without that debt. It's going to take years, decades, to solve these problems, if they're ever solved at all.

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

Jack,

 

This stuff makes me sad. I've tried not to buy anything made in China. It's nearly impossible to stick to.

 

SIGH!

 

Allie Mo

[DocWard]

We all wish we still were. Used to be we were a totally self sufficient nation, the envy of the world.

 

Then the government decided they knew better ... people who aren't smart enough to run a corner store. Between the EPA, IRS, and other alphabet soup groups they choked the economy into the mess it's in today.

 

In the Cleveland area, it takes on average around 20+ months to grind through all the permits, studies, committees, and other nonsense before a business can even open their doors. Nearly 2 years of beuracratic BS. No wonder so many companies go to China where they can ink a deal and start production in a matter of weeks.

 

You lament that your Harley jacket was made in China - all the large American tanneries got run out of business by EPA regs. All that's left are a handful of boutique tanners who are basically fancy taxidermists.

 

Congress hasn't helped much either. Trade treaties designed to hobble American companies and open the floodgates for foreign goods; letting American companies slip across the border to layoff Americans without any penalties ... you'll never see a Levi's tag on my butt for just that reason.

 

Not so long ago a man with a high school education could easily find a good job, buy a new car, get a nice house in the suburbs, and live the dream.

My son graduated from college last year. The only job he could find is warehousing & stocking at Wal*Mart, filling shelves with Chinese made stuff. He, and the rest of America deserve better.

 

Don't forget a tax structure that often makes it more profitable for U.S. owned companies to manufacture off-shore.

 

Mrs. Doc bought me a Toyota Tundra when I was deployed. She knew I have always liked Fords so she started looking there first. However, as she researched it, she found out that the Tundra was made in San Antonio of mostly made in the USA parts, quality reports were good, and it had more power and better towing capacity than any comparable truck of the Big Three.

 

Oh, if it's all the same to you, I won't be looking at your butt, I'll just take your word for it.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

But I don't know that I have a real complaint with the overall effect of EPA regulation. Our former manufacturing dominance came at a huge environmental price. I have the sense that, if left unregulated, we would be wallowing in stench and offal by this time. I realize that its painful, but if we want to be manufacturers, we need to find ways of doing so without dirtying our own nests. I've been on properties, formerly used for manufacturing in the "good old days", with 200' long "lagoons" waist deep in heavy metal contaminated liquids, ever so slowly seeping into our groundwater. Think of that happening every day for 50-60 years, and then look at the cancer rates in the neighborhood.

 

Loophole, once again I am in complete agreement with you. I get a bit tired of people complaining about over regulation by the EPA today. I remember when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969. I remember when there were no salmon running in any of the rivers in New England. I don't live too far from the toxic waste disaster in Woburn. People living today generally have no idea of the air pollution that affected major cities in the heyday of the Industrial Revolution. London Fog was not a raincoat, it was the fog laden with soot that was in the lungs of everyone who lived in 19th Century London. The same with New York and every other major industrial city. I don't mind paying a little bit extra so that we do not have to live in an industrial cesspool.

[Oddnews SASS# 24779]

The thing is, YOU may not mind paying more so as not to live in a cesspool, but apparently the vast majority of Americans aren't -- they're willing to pay the same or less, and to let someone in China live in a cesspool.

 

I don't know what the answer to that quandary is. I know it's a shame that we can't buy products made in this country. Even my Harley motorcycle has parts sourced from Belgium and Japan (its electronics are Japanese).

 

I understand the argument that foreign trade is something that rewards both sides, but our trade deficit shows that to be only theoretically true. America is bleeding both jobs and money overseas -- that Subaru car built in Ohio or Toyota truck built in Texas leaves only the payroll from its contruction in this country. The profits go to Japan, and the Japanese have no vested interest in doing things to improve our country. They have a country of their own to hold their concern.

 

I hate to be a harbinger of doom and gloom, but I don't see an end in sight as things currently operate.

[Mustang Gregg]

 

RUGER...HENRY...What else is really made in the U.S.A. ?

[Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L]

I recently bought a nice leather wallet and pair of sunglasses - both made here in the good ole USA!

 

GG ~

 

 

[Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L]

Don't forget a tax structure that often makes it more profitable for U.S. owned companies to manufacture off-shore.

 

Mrs. Doc bought me a Toyota Tundra when I was deployed. She knew I have always liked Fords so she started looking there first. However, as she researched it, she found out that the Tundra was made in San Antonio of mostly made in the USA parts, quality reports were good, and it had more power and better towing capacity than any comparable truck of the Big Three.

 

Oh, if it's all the same to you, I won't be looking at your butt, I'll just take your word for it.

 

Too bad the money still goes back to Japan..

 

GG ~

[Quick Will Lee]

American manufacturing is something near and dear to my heart. I can empathize with finding something made in the USA and then finding out it is not the level of quality you expected.

 

I really don't think when a manufacturing company goes under it's the EPA or IRS or a Union's fault. My experience is that they are often the scapegoat for poor vision and strategy on the part of the management.

[The O'Meara Himself]

Several years ago I decided I needed an SUV. Specifically a Ford Explorer. (This was before SUVs were everywhere.) I went to a Ford dealer and looked at one. This ford dealer also sold Isuzus. I looked at an Isuzu Trooper. Liked the name. But the machine was, well, tinny. I was looking under the hood and I called the salesman over. I asked him to point out the engine among all the boxes and plastic junk under there. He pointed to a shoe box sized thing and said "There. Its a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder with 120 horse power." I said it probably wouldn't bo uphill then. The salesman said "you can get one with the big engine. Its a 2.2 liter v6." I asked about horsepower. He said "120" same as the 4 cylinder. "But" he added, "those are Chevrolet engines." As I stood there trying to sort this out I saw that there was a 3-year 36000 mile warranty on this Japanese tin can, while the Ford explorer had a 2-year 24000 mile warranty.

So here we had a Ford dealer selling a Japanese car with a Chevvy engine with a better warranty than a Ford has. Made my head swim. Still does. I got curious and started looking into American vs Japanese cars and parts. Thought it might a good article. When I found out that at that time there were more Japanese parts on a Harley Davidson than there were on a Honda built in the USA I quit looking into it.

Whole thing still makes my head spin.

 

P.s. I still love Harleys and I bought the Explorer anyway.

 

The O'Meara himself

[Holden A. Grudge]

BTW, Capt, Woody? Don't blame Congress for all of it. When's the last time you tried to hire a kid to do some yard work, shovel your drive, or anything else? I may be remembering wrong, but I couldn't wait for it to snow, rain or whatever so I could make the rounds and earn some cash. Today, though, forget it; the work ethic in this country isn't what it was. *

 

*Unless you're an immigrant, legal or illegal. Those people seem to work their ***es off.

 

Badlands, I respectfully but whole heartedly disagree with you on this.

 

Having a 16 year old daughter who is trying desperately to find a job I know first hand about work ethic. She is willing to work. She understands that you have to earn your money in this world and nothing is free (this is something her mother and I stress as important…unfortunately not all parents do). In helping her through her search I discovered some very disturbing things.

 

Most places will only hire 18+ year olds. She had to get some kind of form from her highschool that stated that she could work no more than 20 hours a week and that her school ( ????) could tell her employer to limit her hours. Seriously! I about lost my freaking mind!!

 

I went with her to the local Trader Joes and they told her that because of some of the equipment they had in the store that they only hire 18+ year olds. (again ??????) I was operating heavier equipment at 13 years old than that store manager has operated in his whole life.

 

My 12 year old son has gone to all the neighbors and tried to mow lawns. Many would rather do it themselves. Surprisingly my direct neighbor would rather hire immigrants (at a higher price ) than have my son mow his lawn.

 

It isnt the work ethic of our kids. It is the fact that no one wants to give them the chance. I have not been without a job since I was 15 years old. How do we instill a work ethic when the everything they try they are shot down. Why dont we trust our kids anymore to be responsible workers. I am truly dumbfounded.

[Badlands Beady]

...that Subaru car built in Ohio or Toyota truck built in Texas leaves only the payroll from its contruction in this country.

 

Not true. It's Americans that build and maintain the plants and provide goods and services for the plant workers, and the plants pay taxes. In Plattsburgh, NY, the Air Force pulled out ~10 years ago (incidentally leaving the area without a military presence for the first time since 1814). It wasn't long before the mall was half empty and college students were the only tenants that landlords could find. Then Canadian businesses started moving in. The first big one was Bombardier; they're big in subway cars; the latest is Laurentian, who service airliners. The Larentian project, alone, is bringing 900 jobs directly related to the company and is expected to generate an additional 1200 jobs in the community; net increase is expected to be an additional 1400 households in the area, and a drop in unemployment to 4.5% by 2014. Should we send all that back north of the border?

[Dusty Balz, SASS#46599]

 

RUGER...HENRY...What else is really made in the U.S.A. ?

 

 

Indian Motorcycles!

 

http://www.indianmotorcycle.com

[Jack Houston # 35508]

I recently saw a really nice western shirt I was going to buy at a local western wear store..until I saw the "Made in Vietnam"..No Way!!! Those people tried their best to KILL me in 69-70!!

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

When a foreign concern expresses an interest in building a plant here, the local politicos do everything possible to kiss up.

Tax abatements, discounted utilities, infrastructure upgrades, etc. All incentives (in the old days they were called bribes) to build in their town.

 

Re: the EPA, when have they have showed up at a company with anything helpful? Has this scenario ever played out?:

"Hi Mr. Smokestack. We noticed high levels of phenablaplam being emitted by your factory. Here's a machine and the technology to clean it up. No need to thank us. Just doing our job."

 

Nope. It's always:

"Clean it up or else. No, we don't know how to do it, but you better figure it out. In the meantime, here's a big fat fine. Can't afford it? Too bad! See ya in court."

 

The saga of your daughter's employment plight is probably pretty common Holden. We have posters at work from OHSA, HHSA, and other agencies that spell out what kids can and cannot do. The cannot do list is pretty long. But, it's all for the children, right? When I was 14 I had a job doing roofing. Hoisted 5 gallon buckets of boiling hot tar on a single rope & pulley to the top of a three story building. Then scampered up a ladder and spread it around using an old mop. Plus, I got to drive a dump truck too. Think I got $1.25 an hour for doing that. Try that nowadays and everyone involved would be under indictment or in jail for something or other.

 

I think in some ways the education system in this country has some responsibility. There's a lot to be said for the manual arts, and practical hands-on skills get neglected. Doesn't do much good in the long view of life if you can operate a computer but can't pound a nail into a snowbank without bending it over.

[Utah Bob #35998]

Jack,

 

This stuff makes me sad. I've tried not to buy anything made in China. It's nearly impossible to stick to.

 

SIGH!

 

Allie Mo

 

Yup. There is one thing however, that I absolutely refuse to buy foreign made.

An American flag.

[MMJ#89586]

Several years ago I decided I needed an SUV. Specifically a Ford Explorer. (This was before SUVs were everywhere.) I went to a Ford dealer and looked at one. This ford dealer also sold Isuzus. I looked at an Isuzu Trooper. Liked the name. But the machine was, well, tinny. I was looking under the hood and I called the salesman over. I asked him to point out the engine among all the boxes and plastic junk under there. He pointed to a shoe box sized thing and said "There. Its a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder with 120 horse power." I said it probably wouldn't bo uphill then. The salesman said "you can get one with the big engine. Its a 2.2 liter v6." I asked about horsepower. He said "120" same as the 4 cylinder. "But" he added, "those are Chevrolet engines." As I stood there trying to sort this out I saw that there was a 3-year 36000 mile warranty on this Japanese tin can, while the Ford explorer had a 2-year 24000 mile warranty.

So here we had a Ford dealer selling a Japanese car with a Chevvy engine with a better warranty than a Ford has. Made my head swim. Still does. I got curious and started looking into American vs Japanese cars and parts. Thought it might a good article. When I found out that at that time there were more Japanese parts on a Harley Davidson than there were on a Honda built in the USA I quit looking into it.

Whole thing still makes my head spin.

 

P.s. I still love Harleys and I bought the Explorer anyway.

 

The O'Meara himself

 

Yeah, don't ever try to figure where a vehicle comes from.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

RUGER...HENRY...What else is really made in the U.S.A. ?

 

Colt

 

S&W

 

USFA

[Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440]

Don't let the label fool ya. Before they finally quit doing any "work" here, my wife worked for one of the most famous "fine men's leather glove" makers in the world, in (you might guess) Gloversville, NY (where HALF of the world's leather gloves were once made, before the tanning industry and the associated glove business went overseas as WASTEWATER TREATMENT became LAW. Ya can't clean the chrome and mercury and "stuff" outta the water cheap enough).

In the last 20 years or so, "Made In USA" meant very little. They'd bring CRAP India or Phillipine gloves using CRAP Argentine leather into the USA as "unfinished" goods, meaning ONE SEAM, the one running from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger not sewed, sew that seam and affix the "Made In USA" label here, and it was all perfectly legal.

 

If I had to guess, yer "Made In USA" suspenders come to the US with that little bit of sewing needing done, and your pair slipped through......

[Wiley Desperado, SASS # 49558]

A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit the newly opened Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia. By-the-way a great museum and well worth your time if you like such things. Anyway, after I finished viewing all the exhibits I ventured into the gift shop. After looking around for awhile a really nice looking jacket with a Marine Corps emblem caught my eye so I was looking it over with the intention of purchasing it...until I saw the label inside the collar. Made in Vietnam, I couldn't believe it, being an ol Vietnam Marine veteran that elevated my blood pressure a few point. My next thought was what a difference forty years will make. True story I promise.

[Matthew Duncan]

Made in America

 

With imported parts

 

Assembled by illegal aliens

[Rye Miles #13621]

Colt

 

S&W

 

USFA

 

Kahr

 

North American Arms

 

Marlin

 

Remington

 

Mossberg

[Throckmorton,23149]

There is one thing however, that I absolutely refuse to buy foreign made.

An American flag.

 

RIGHT ON.!! I would never ever fly the stars and stripes if they were not made HERE !!

 

I also do NOT like the 'made in china' SASS badge that I have. As 'cowboys of the old west',it irks the bejeebers out of me !

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

My next thought was what a difference forty years will make.

 

My Dad was a WWII Navy vet who served in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor until the surrender.

Until the day he died in '96 he always checked labels and refused to buy anything made in Japan.

He would have rather walked 10 miles on his arthritic legs than drive a Toyota 10 feet.

[The Shoer 27979]

Yup. There is one thing however, that I absolutely refuse to buy foreign made.

An American flag.

I made that mistake 1 time Bob, bought a U.S. flag thought they were all made in the U.S. at the time.

[DocWard]

Too bad the money still goes back to Japan..

 

GG ~

 

Which money would that be? Toyota is headquartered in Japan, but it is a publicly traded company, with stocks traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. This means that if you so choose, you can own a chunk of Toyota and keep those profits here.

 

In addition, as Badlands Beady pointed out, they give good jobs with good pay. That money directly effects local economies.