[mountaineer]

Those "burger flippers" require manufactured products in order to do their jobs, from spatulas to ketchup, ice cream cones to paper bags. Their jobs are only one tiny part of the total economic and employment picture that is the so-called "service" industry. Every McDonald's is furnished with carpet, chairs, tables, flooring, lighting, etc., largely manufactured in the USA, installed by American skilled workers, regularly cleaned and maintained using US-manufactured products, e.g., vacuum cleaners, mops, soaps, etc. I find it curious that the poor ol' burger flipper's job is so maligned and its importance to the "big picture" so discounted.

[gg188]

Those are good points.

However at least in reference to American-made furniture, articles posted in recent months on FR indicate that only high-tariffs are keeping Chinese furniture from taking over the U.S. market. In one article:

Imports make up almost 75 percent of the domestic market for wood and metal furniture, with 41 percent of those imports coming from China, according to a December 2002 research report by UBS Warburg.