[Marathon Man]

Originally Posted by CODYCAT

I thought everything was made in Red China today ? The only American influence are the people with their fingers in the cookie jar.

Can't remember the last time I heard "Red China".

[Dana1963]

Even LL Bean, American Outfitters products are manufactured by foreign nation labor. Try to find an made in America product @ Walmart. Hasbro, Mattel toys are sourced foreign some assembly by American workers.
Now we’re experiencing shortage of paper, styrofoam cups because of foreign sourcing at least I can get Vermont made Maple Syrup USA but can we be sure?

[Blackbird45]

Originally Posted by Blackbird45

This is correct that even if you purchase something that's labeled made in America, most of the components are made in any country that has a cheap labor force. This problem has been created by all of us, we want inexpensive products and companies that want to survive have to follow their competition. I believe the solution is to give tax incentives to the American consumer as they are doing with electric cars for all big-ticket items. Following is what I believe would work.

Step one, congress has to decide what constitutes an American corporation and an American produce. Let’s put the threshold at 80%. If 80% of all employees of a corporation are employed within the U.S. borders it will be consider an American corporation. If 80% of the labor and parts of an item are produced in the United States, it will consider an American product. Next you target the tax incentive to the consumer not the companies.

Examples:
If Ford meets the threshold and you invest in Ford you will not have to pay capital gains tax or tax on dividends. Incentivizing all companies to reach the 80% goal to attract your investment, this bringing work back to our shores.

Let’s stay with Ford. You are planning to purchase a car and are looking at a Ford and similar car by Hyundia. The Ford car you're looking at does not meet the 80%, but the Hyundia does, the emblem’s origin does not matter. The target is to put Americans to work. The consumer will receive a tax break equivalent to what is offered today for electric cars giving Hyundia the upper hand.

These tax incentives will be offset by the increase of employment.

Again if you give the American consumer an incentive to buy American made products they will do so. I am not suggesting shutting our borders to foreign products, what I'm suggesting is to give American an equal financial playing field. This country was once a manufacturing giant. That now has shifted to a purchase and investment giant and we should use that tool in our favor.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by jbartle1

Hope so. A friend in NC, who owned a company there, insisted on his wife buying "made in America" gifts at Christmas, and she had a heck of a time finding gifts with those requirements.

We’ll if you look at about anything, it’s made I in China, Taiwan, Korea or Viet Nam. We’re almost totally dependent on foreign goods. The people of the U.S. will buy only what’s available. Good luck finding everything you want that’s made in America!

[Foxtrot]

Yes, I love buying made in North and South America.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by jbartle1

Hope so. A friend in NC, who owned a company there, insisted on his wife buying "made in America" gifts at Christmas, and she had a heck of a time finding gifts with those requirements.

Made in America even the term is confusing. I own a 2011 Chevy Malibu, aside, I've been very happy with it. What is more American than Chevy? I wanted to buy an American made car and the Malibu is marked made in USA. Reality 40% is not made in the USA. The transmission for example is made in Mexico. Aside my previous car was a Chevy Lumina on the door was a sticker made in Canada.

There are Japanese name plated cars that claim made in the US. Of course every company must make money. Some parts on these cars are made over seas. Japanese labor is not that cheap, they too have stuff made in places like China, Vietnam, etc.
Parts for the American made Japanese labeled cars are made over seas. The profit which must be made to stay in business can be on the parts not on the completed car.
Where you make the profit that depends on economics-taxes.

Business is the same everywhere.

In high school, talk about ancient history, I used to work for a place selling lab supplies.
For some countries we would remove motors because they had a high duty on motors and we would ship and bill them separately.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by OhioBuckeye

We’ll if you look at about anything, it’s made I in China, Taiwan, Korea or Viet Nam. We’re almost totally dependent on foreign goods. The people of the U.S. will buy only what’s available. Good luck finding everything you want that’s made in America!

We have allowed this. American manufacturing is way down. The cause is more than labor costs. Our schools no longer teach basic skills needed for manufacturing. Pollution controls not practiced in other countries also adds to cost.

Where we are. If you manufacture a product, you control the technology, you have the tools, the machinery that makes it, and you have a trained labor force. All of which makes it more difficult, call that expensive, for others to simply copy your product.

Several years ago I worked for an American manufacturer. We had a product that the Chinese copied and of course they were cheaper. It was interesting that they copied a hole that was supposed to be used with a product that was never made. It was useless.
We would too often have consumers send us the copies for service. Common issues were lack of quality control-proper alignment. Also, parts that were made out of stainless steel were made on the copies out of regular steel it looked the same but it would quickly rust.

There is cheap and there is good. They are rarely the same.

[gail swanson]

Time to change!

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Blackbird45

Again if you give the American consumer an incentive to buy American made products they will do so. I am not suggesting shutting our borders to foreign products, what I'm suggesting is to give American an equal financial playing field. This country was once a manufacturing giant. That now has shifted to a purchase and investment giant and we should use that tool in our favor.

The history is interesting sadly few Americans know history or are taught it in school.

The income tax. Perhaps, the most hated tax, did not always exist. It was a temporary tax to pay for wars. What paid for government before the income tax was tariffs on imported goods making domestic products less expensive than imported goods. Government was also far smaller than it is today. FDR made the income tax permanent, he also greatly expanded government. Nothing is all good or all bad. Things are how they are.

It is as simple as we know that if you leave milk out in the heat it will quickly spoil. Or that a bare spot in your lawn will quickly fill with weeds.

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by Blackbird45

Again if you give the American consumer an incentive to buy American made products they will do so. I am not suggesting shutting our borders to foreign products, what I'm suggesting is to give American an equal financial playing field. This country was once a manufacturing giant. That now has shifted to a purchase and investment giant and we should use that tool in our favor.

We were a manufacturing giant. I am not an expert but highly beleive that we were a giant due to the effects of Worll War II, when most of Europe and a huge population was decimated. Now we are in competition with foreign(cheap) labor especially in clothing and small items.

[jbartle1]

Zhe ended up buying g weather-tech STUFF, All American made.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Djean1981

Is your computer and smartphone made in America?

Apple made a statement a year and a half ago that they were moving some manufacturing to the United States. Perhaps, a publicity stunt. The financial authors pointed out that their manufacturing is highly automated so labor compared to value is minimal.

At one time the special glass in a smart phone was an Owens (American Company) product. They have resorted to a foreign substitute. Business it tough. Imagine if you purchase the machinery, higher the labor to supply special glass to a customer like Apple and they stop using your product. A trap many small and medium sized companies fall into.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by kkingston57

We were a manufacturing giant. I am not an expert but highly beleive that we were a giant due to the effects of Worll War II, when most of Europe and a huge population was decimated. Now we are in competition with foreign(cheap) labor especially in clothing and small items.

It is actually everywhere. At one time GM produced 80% of the cars in the world.

The destruction of Japan and Europe forced them to buy new. As a kid, one summer I worked at a place that manufactured small metal parts. I made over a million stainless steel faucets. No I am not a skilled machinist, the machine was set up and I ran it.
The machines we were running were, worn out. I recall one had a plate showing it was WWI surplus and the one I was running was marked WWII surplus.

The difference, for 20 years I worked for a manufacture with more modern machines
The machines cost like a million plus each. The machinist never got dirty, he watched a monitor. Heavy metal sheets went in at one end and finished parts came out the end

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Marathon Man

Can't remember the last time I heard "Red China".

We tend to influence thought with word control. China is still a Communist dictatorship.

Am I the only one to notice that Global Warming is now Climate Change? The reality is that climate always changes. Thirty years ago our climate was cooling.

Words do subtly and unnoticed influence thought.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by jbartle1

Hope so. A friend in NC, who owned a company there, insisted on his wife buying "made in America" gifts at Christmas, and she had a heck of a time finding gifts with those requirements.

Yep. We buy gift cards to give as gifts, mainly to restaurants.