Searching for what's still made in the USA

CNN ^

[ToxicMich]

Josh Miller never gave much thought to where his car, bed or toothpaste came from until an aluminum plant in his hometown of Ravenswood, West Virginia, shut down about four years ago.

The closure left 650 people without a job, including Miller's father-in-law, in a town of roughly 3,800, triggering a familiar pattern. The unemployment rate in Jackson County more than doubled, businesses shuttered and Ravenswood's quaint downtown became a ghost town.

[bannie]

I found a nice set of pans at Tuesday Mornings last week. It takes me so long to enjoy that store because I check the “Made In” of everything. I, then, talk about it—LOUDLY and A L O T.

[discostu]

You have to define what “your typical store” is. The big box retailers push low cost goods, the American labor force is not conducive to low cost goods unless they require almost no man hours to make (very mass produced, highly automated). So if that’s your typical store then yes you don’t find quality American made goods there, you also don’t find quality Japanese, Chinese or German made good there either. That’s just not what they sell, they are low cost retailers, and low cost comes at a sacrifice of quality.

Now if you’re not shopping in those places, but going to just SLIGHTLY more upscale places (like even Dillards) where cost stops being a primary driver and now you’re getting higher quality goods, and you’ll find your percentage of goods made in America goes up, because now the companies have a better margin to afford higher priced American workers.

So again it’s all about what you’re looking for, and where you’re looking.

[bannie]

I can’t understand why anyone would buy “Made in China” (or many other countries) items which come in contact with food. I figure that Germany, Great Britain, and the USA are the best at following safety standards.

[bannie]

Good point. I inherited much, and I’m hanging onto it. ;)

[jboot]

US-made pans are still around, thank God. I have a great set of Lodgeware, all made in the USA. Good stuff!

It tells you how inexpensive it is to make metal castings and extrusions, though. ;-)

[expat_panama]

What good are higher prices if you don't have a job?

OK, sure it sounds like a dumbass stupid thing to ask but the point is that we start with the reality that lower costs are good and higher costs are bad.  My bet is that you got no argument there, and what you're really pushing is you want the rest of us to pay higher import taxes and you're disappointed that we don't want to.

fwiw, the problem is that you've been doing a poor job of convincing us while the rest of us have seen how tax cut's help America and tax'n'spending hurts America. 

[1rudeboy]

Right now, every company in the U.S. (that can see the writing on the wall) is trying to reduce its number of employees to fewer than 50, and/or cut their hours below 30 per week.

We need a new tax, that's the ticket. /s

[jboot]

I'm sure that you are right. Unfortunately I don't have any upmarket retailers nearby. I generally note that the downmarket stores (Wal-Mart, Sears, etc.) sell the same imported products with different brand names. But the midmarket stores (Macy's, Crate and Barrel, etc.) ALSO sell the same imported products with different brand names. The only difference is the midmarket stores sell higher grade imports. I do not see appreciably more US products (or Japanese or Euro imports) in the midmarket stores.

So I do a lot of buying on the internet.

[Bonneville]

“If I had the money I would start a chain of stores called “Made in the USA” and it would sell only items made here”...

Brick and mortar store in here in Western NY:
http://www.madeinamericastore.com/
I’ll still pay more for USA made...I wish a national chain store would stock a good selection of USA made clothing. Online seems like it.

[expat_panama]

we don’t make stuff anymore.

Not sure who this 'we' is you're talking about but America's been picking up speed:

US industrial output picks up in June

Wednesday, July 17, 2013 » 05:02am

US industrial production picked up in June after flat-lining in May.  It's been helped by improved manufacturing output and a jump in mining.  The Federal Reserve says production of manufacturers, mines and utilities rose 0.3 per cent in June.

That's in line with analyst expectations.

Manufacturing output rose 0.3 per cent, following a 0.2 per cent increase in May.  The factory gains are due to a 0.5 per cent rise in the production of durable goods. 

The quarterly data highlights the sector's struggles in a lacklustre economy.

[driftdiver]

Yes just keep repeating that mantra.

[central_va]

and what you're really pushing is you want the rest of us to pay higher import taxes and you're disappointed that we don't want to.

Whether you want to or not the tariff should be imposed on you. If you are to stupid to see what is happening then FedGov™ should step in. This is one area where the Feds ARE SUPPOSED to interdict. That and border control.

But don't worry, the spigot is wide open and your slave made products are pouring in daily. Until we have a shooting war in Asia then all of this "Free Trade" BS will stop; that can't happen soon enough.

[central_va]

By your logic EVERY manufactured item should be made by the lowest cost troll. NOTHING should be made here in the USA right? Just makes economic sense right?

[central_va]

When will we finally offshore every manufacturing facility to the third world because it only makes sense that the absolute lowest cost labor should be employed. < /sarcasm >

[1rudeboy]

It'll happen soon enough: we have the Affordable Care Act, the IRS targeting conservative firms, and the EPA colluding with the enviros to hammer businesses, the DOT shutting bus firms down, among others.

Yet a protectionist will insist that the government can "protect" us.

[central_va]

It'll happen soon enough:

Then we will be Asia's bitch, your Mandarin dream come true.

[1rudeboy]

Typical: when a protectionist is told some fact, he starts yammering about the Chinese.

[central_va]

The closure left 650 people without a job, including Miller's father-in-law, in a town of roughly 3,800, triggering a familiar pattern.

You have no thoughts on this? This doesn't disturb you in the least? If not, you are a cold fish bastard.

[1rudeboy]

I only become a “cold fish bastard” when some toothless moron from Virginia tells me that 100 million people need to pay more for aluminum to save 650 jobs.

[central_va]

I only become a “cold fish bastard” when some toothless moron from Virginia tells me that 100 million people need to pay more for aluminum to save 650 jobs.

Can't answer the question? But it think it does bother you. So the 10 or 20 Republican upper level management types, at what was probably a profitable aluminum plant, closed it down and created 3800 dyed in the wool Democrats. You are a real piece of work(not really the word I wanted to use).