American Made Stuff

[Cox89XJ]

It is hard to find tires made in America. You think when you buy BF Goodrich or Goodyear they are American, better check closer.

 

[RichP]

It is hard to find tires made in America. You think when you buy BF Goodrich or Goodyear they are American, better check closer.

I think Dunlops are made in NY state back when I used to buy QualifierGT's for my van.

 

[XJ Eric]

ever check out www.madeinuse.org ? may be a place to start.

 

[COYOTE BLANCO]

Oops, that should have been http://madeinusa.org/ .

Here is a toaster oven Made in USA. http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Planet-Nonstick-Toaster-Liner/dp/B0002EPHVG

Or this one http://www.shopping.com/xPF-Oster-6230

 

[bajacalal]

Oops, that should have been http://madeinusa.org/

.

Umm, that website has a link on it to Harbor Freight tools...

 

[RichP]

.

Umm, that website has a link on it to Harbor Freight tools...

It's Usa stuff, just not Usa in the United states...
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=JP&addtohistory=&city=Usa

 

[sjkimmel99]

You all might find this book interesting. It's about the invention of the shipping container in the 50's and how that drove the cost of global trade down far enough to make the distribution of manufacturing to lower cost locations economical.

http://www.amazon.com/Box-Shipping-Container-Smaller-Economy/dp/0691123241/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-5963931-3199242?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180371509&sr=8-1

Hopefully you are all telling your kids not to aspire to a lifetime of commodity jobs and that they need to move up the value chain or find something to do that can't be done cheaper somewhere else.

 

[Darky]

So lets go back to 1907. Do you think that the US would be where it is today if the work standards of 100 years ago had never improved beyond 12-year-old-kids slaving 16 hours a day in dust filled factories? Do you think you'd be able to afford the computers and hi-fi's and big screens and Jeeps if somebody hadn't fought to improve the work standard in this country? We talk about those who have died to make this country great. A lot of plain ol' American workers put their lives and families on the line to improve the standard of living in these United States.

So, did unions get greedy? Well, so did management. Unions and management are both run by human beings and everybody got greedy. But, lets look at something: How much can a US worker buy with the money he/she earns? How much can a chinese worker buy with the money he/she earns? Not the few in China who are skimming the money flow, but the worker in the factory making the rubber sole that is shipped here for assembly. How much can that Chinese tennis shoe sole maker buy, and how much can the US tennis shoe assembler (sp?) buy? According to a study conducted every 3 years by a Swiss bank, it takes the average American worker 13 minutes to earn a Big Mac (according to the Swiss, the Big Mac is one of the few commodities available in all target cities world wide :looney: ) while it takes a laborer in Beijing 44 minutes! In Shanghai it takes 33 minutes. It's over an hour to 1.5hrs in Central and South America, Africa and other 3rd world nations.

The question is: What gave the US the standard of living that we are floating on today, and how are we going to maintain it? Going back to 1907 pre-union labor practices is not real attractive to me.

The unions I think have largely outgrown they're usefulness. Yes in 1907, they were needed, but now that city bus drivers are making over $20/hr in Tucson AZ and still striking for more, grocery store workers are stirking for more when they're already making decent money, especially with the employee discount figured in, retirement/medical costs tack on an average of $1500 to every American car sold but only $350 to each Japanese car (made in America or not), their usefulness is done. Detroit needs to make better cars but the UAW also needs to back down some and allow Detroit to make those better cars.

 

[Darky]

My handle's pretty stiff, too :wink_wink: Sorry. Couldn't resist.

I am surprised no one has called me out on the irony of complaining about consumer complacency while whining about sneaker prices

My dad is a cheapskate, and I'm trying to wean myself off of that habit, but I just can't bring myself to spend more than $50 for a pair of shoes that I know I am going to tear up in less than a year. I paid $150 for my work boots but they're almost two years old now. If they last three years, that would be $50/year. So, logically, if I pay more for a pair of sneakers to get a good fit, I should also reap the benefit of longer life, thus gaining the fit I want at an average $$/year that I can stand. I just can't make that leap that more $$ will get me a sneaker that will actually last longer than what less $$ can buy. So, I end up, year by year, wearing sneakers that don't fit because I'm afraid that sneakers that do fit will end up costing more per year. Can anyone convince me that a sneaker that fits, and costs more, will, in fact last longer?

I used to work at Big 5 and can say that your situation was a common one while I worked there. I'd have guys who wore a size 14 leaving in 13s just because the 13 was $20 cheaper. They could make it fit, but it was uncomfortable and wore out super fast due to the extra strain of not fitting properly. The cheap companies just don't feel like making shoes larger than a 12 or 13 on account of the size of the market. Not enough people with feet that big to justify in their eyes the extra expense of adding another size. Ever notice how its next to impossible to find a half size large thana 10.5?

 

[Matthew Currie]

Late to this thread, and not wanting to get into the politics, but I was in a convenience store the other day, getting some cheap delicious made-in-New York State frozen yogurt (I pity those outside the Taconic/Adirondack range corridor who do not have access to Stewart's shops), when I noticed a display of Wiffle ball sets. I was surprised to see that these cheap plastic toys are still actually made in the U.S.A.

 

[XJ Dreamin']

The unions I think have largely outgrown they're usefulness. Yes in 1907, they were needed, but now that city bus drivers are making over $20/hr in Tucson AZ and still striking for more, grocery store workers are stirking for more when they're already making decent money, especially with the employee discount figured in, retirement/medical costs tack on an average of $1500 to every American car sold but only $350 to each Japanese car (made in America or not), their usefulness is done. Detroit needs to make better cars but the UAW also needs to back down some and allow Detroit to make those better cars.

I qualified my position somewhere, maybe even in a different thread, that yes, the unions are greedy. But, so is management. The only real difference having the unions is that there are two players (union and management: both greedy) instead of just the one (i.e. management). Everything comes down to money and the distribution there of. Have the actions of unions driven up prices? Given that management will always pass on price increases rather than trim dividends, then yes, the unions have driven prices higher. The bottom line, however, is that I still have more buying power than my dad did at my age.

The dollar amount on the price tag of an object on the store shelf is influenced by more variables than just workers' salaries. 5-90 has put considerable thought into adjusting some of those variables. However, when you look at how long you have to work in order to afford that object, the worker has acquired more buying power over the last two generations than our grandparents would have ever guessed. I realize the pendullum may now be approaching the limit of its swing. I fear that it may be all too free to swing back, and with a little nudge from some artfully crafted propaganda, it could swing all the way back to 1907.