LawnGuyLandSparky

Dodge trucks will send your spine to an early grave. I think the Tundra is made in the USA that's good enough for me. I'm happy with my Fords and Harleys.

Peter D

*gasp*

Made with non-union labor in a southern state? And you don't have a rant against that?

drsparky

Follow the money. Nike is an American company, they don't manufacture here but most of the profit stays here. There manufacturing takes place in the third world and does little to improve its economy. The 13 year old shoe maker that sews hundreds of sneakers an hour for Nike uses to make a few sandals a day for the local market. So he is not improving his life style and no jobs were created.
Same thing with Toyota, the manufacture here to save on shipping, labor and real estate costs. The high priced items, engineering and machine tools come from Japan. All the profit (wealth) goes back to and stays in Japan. The jobs that were created come from job transference, not higher employment.
Simple economics 101 states you are better-off in the long run by purchasing locally as possible.

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"Whatever is felt is within suffering."

LawnGuyLandSparky

I have no beef with ANYONE who works for a living in the United States of America. We're all into this for the same thing - just trying to feed our families and live a middle class American lifestyle.

Article 90.1

I've started my own stimulus package; I only buy American beer and wine! This is meant as a bit of a joke, but it is also to be taken seriously. And the more local the food/beverage you buy, the more you are impacting your personal economy.

Speedy Petey

I 100% agree. Buying American is important for sure. Buying LOCAL is critical.

Peter D

Who are you, and what did you do with LawnGuyLandSparky?

LawnGuyLandSparky

Someone hacked my account!

knowshorts

Untrue. There are no shareholders in the US? Have you ever been to Hawaii? I would imagine there is more Japanese tourism money being spent in the states then American tourism money being spent in Japan.

brian john

There are plenty of stocks and mutual funds traded on the US stock exchanges from Asian countries. This truly is a global economy.

But buying local can have an impact. I try to shop with SMALL local merchants whenever I can. Local camera shop, local pharmacist. And there are few of these left. I want them to hire local contractors.

Just a note Ritz Camera and and Circuit City (both in bankruptcy) owe Nikon Corporation of Japan 40,000,000.00 dollars, that's gotta hurt.

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I void warranty's

knowshorts

I am gonna be doing my part. I WILL be going to Ritz today to purchase a new Nikon. Why Ritz and not online or Walmart? I want to talk to someone who knows about cameras. I have also done work at various Ritz stores, and I am returning the favor.

brian john

Ritz is now owned by a reseller not the company Ritz (I believe this is nation wide).

http://www.costar.com/News/Article.a...2E0C4CCE6C6959

I buy from Ace Photo a local company that like most successful camera stores today also has an online presence.

What Nikon are you buying?

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I void warranty's

LawnGuyLandSparky

Why is this thread "sticky?"

Sparkyprentice

Last American made vehicle I owned (not really, Uncle Sam did, but I treated it like my own) was a HMMWV. Originally made in the U.S., but reassembled many times over with duct-tape, wishes and quick prayers in Iraq. That make it a 'hybrid'?

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OODA Loop - Observe, Over-react, Destroy, Apologize.

Lighting Retro

I try to buy good products at the right price that last. When they are American, that makes me proud of my country. When they aren't? I probably buy them anyways.

If we care that much, we'll make better stuff. The reality there is a solid business decision in doing some things overseas when you have a global economy. The internet has made the world a very small place. We get emails daily from China hocking their goods to us.

Now I don't feel comfortable going that route for electrical supplies direct, but if my local distributor is selling connectors that are most likely made in China, and the guy is throwing a warranty on the parts he's selling, I've got to go with the product that gives us a chance to compete for and win bids. I rarely look to see where things come from honestly, especially if they are insignificant costs.

Now if you want me to buy induction or LED, you bet your life that stuff better be made and backed here. No chance I want to chase an overseas group on "new" technology.

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Lighting Retrofit - Lighting Retrofit Company - Lighting Retrofit Services - Generator Installation

Power Tech

I must note here that our car companies were the first ones to whore out to foreign countries making cheep parts. Buy American?? globalamerica.net. Land of all nations.

steelersman

It's "cheap", not "cheep".

Power Tech

Thank you! It's lead not leed. Who invented spelling anyway? Do they have math bees?

LJSMITH1

First off, China or India are not considered 'third world' countries anymore. They are "second world" and rapidly becoming fully developed. While the average production worker standard of living does not even compare to the equivalent here in the US, it is all relative. These folks are able to make enough money to put food on the table, own a TV and Cellphone, a scooter, and have *A* standard of living. Only 40 years ago, Most of China and India could only dream of such things - as there were many poor people living on farmland or inner cities. Its a matter of time when the standard of living is equivalent with the fully developed world. BTW, Japan is considered fully developed and have equivalent standards of living as we do.

Nike's investment in its offshore manufacturing has absolutely, most certainly, improved the standard of living of all those who work in those factories. While the cost of labor is less than in the US, the same level of quality & efficiency is expected. Aside from fully automating this process, there is no other way to keep a pair of sneakers under $100 in the USA. The 'wealth' of these companies are in fact being shared by anyone working for them in any country. Profits are of course, corporate, and taxes are paid on them. This is additional income for the country the company is based in. However, Toyota has a significant presence in the USA, and while not *all* corporate profits are US-based, some are and they are taxed accordingly.

Have you ever heard of underage workers in the USA? Try the garment industry in NYC, or your local 13 year old kid cutting lawns or painting houses. I was working fixing boats during the summers when I was 14&15. What makes assembling flip flops any different? They are not being held there as a slave. They might not get benefits outside of a paycheck, but neither did I when I was working at 14.

It truly is a global economy now and the USA needs to recapture its edge to remain competitive. Innovation, efficiency, and quality are all the current measures of success. If it means more automation to make stuff - so be it. Instead of manual production workers, they could be machine operators, maintenance, or programming. Nothing a little education couldn't solve.

Local shops are being overshadowed by American-based Internet stores or big box stores. What about E-Bay? I can easily buy things used (from Americans) that I would otherwise buy new. All these things make it extremely difficult to be in business locally - unless you have a specific product to sell. Many people like to know if they have an issue, they can run down to the Merchant and they will be taken care of.

We have allowed our economy to become primarily service based, while allowing taxes, excess environmental regulations, and continual downward price pressures to put US-based manufacturing out of business - or move offshore labor-intensive operations to remain competitive with the lower downward prices.

The bottom line, this time is like no time in the past and certainly will not be the same in the future. Change should be embraced, not avoided.

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Larry

Frasbee

That's what I was sayin' when I voted for Ron Paul.

If what he was proposing wasn't change, then I don't know what is.

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