Buying USA Challenge

[me&thegals]

Very excellent points, Farmfresh! I like the idea about posting American-made products.

As for war, that's actually one argument FOR globalization. You tend not to go to war with countries from whom you buy necessary goods. I do get your point, though.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Excellent idea, Farmfresh!

I also want to point out that I'm not against buying imported items when it's not available in our country, and I'm not just talking food related stuff. BUT if we can find a USA Made alternative to the China or Indonesia made, etc., then I would rather buy the USA made or grown product even if I need to pay a little higher.

 

[Farmfresh]

Very excellent points, Farmfresh! I like the idea about posting American-made products.

As for war, that's actually one argument FOR globalization. You tend not to go to war with countries from whom you buy necessary goods. I do get your point, though.

I understand that statement, but to what extreme must you go to NOT go to war if you are dependent on other countries for what you need? I for one want to live FREE.

In the same way I want to be Self Sufficient from my own government and others as much as I possibly can - I want my country to be SELF SUFFICIENT and strong. That way WE are in control of what we do and who we play with. We are not controlled by our basic needs.

If we are no longer a producing country, a country of industry, we lose MUCH more than jobs ... we lose our freedom.

 

[sufficientforme]

Never mind...

 

[Beekissed]

Farm, I agree!

 

[Big Daddy]

Excellent idea, Farmfresh!

I also want to point out that I'm not against buying imported items when it's not available in our country, and I'm not just talking food related stuff. BUT if we can find a USA Made alternative to the China or Indonesia made, etc., then I would rather buy the USA made or grown product even if I need to pay a little higher.

Very good point. It is difficult to find American made. Someone posted a website listing American manufacturing companies. It was about 500 businesses if that many. Most were some kind of specialty item.

My sister works for a company that she has been with since they started around 1985. They produce an item for babies that is very popular now. They switched from manufacturing here to manufacturing in China around 10 years ago. She is in charge of dealing with their Chinese manufacturing facility. I have talked to her a lot about it. It all comes down to competition. If they use American labor, then a competing company will use Chinese and be able to undercut them.

You would think that our government would do something to protect the American worker. Well the corporations using the Chinese labor are American owned so a tariff doesn't really apply. The biggest factor is our trade agreements with China. They loan us so many billions of dollars based on our continuing trade in so many billions of dollars. So we pay them interest on the money we borrow plus we give them profits made on the products we buy from them to resell in our country. I wonder how much they buy from us. I hear KFC is popular over there. Like Nifty says the world is tuning flat. Unfortunately we are on the wrong end.

 

[Lady Henevere]

Okay, you've inspired me to look at labels of products I don't usually think much about. (I know where my produce comes from, for example; I have no idea where my socks were made.) The sugar in my coffee this morning was grown in Paraguay. (At least it was fair trade.) I don't know where the coffee itself was from, but it's not hard to get American coffee since Hawaii produces a lot. It's not exactly local, but as far as I know coffee isn't grown much in the contiguous U.S. (I should really consider giving up coffee altogether, but all too often it serves as a useful substitute for sleep. I've gotta work on that...) Anyway, thanks for the wake-up call and I will post if I find good, U.S.-made products.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Okay, you've inspired me to look at labels of products I don't usually think much about. (I know where my produce comes from, for example; I have no idea where my socks were made.) The sugar in my coffee this morning was grown in Paraguay. (At least it was fair trade.) I don't know where the coffee itself was from, but it's not hard to get American coffee since Hawaii produces a lot. It's not exactly local, but as far as I know coffee isn't grown much in the contiguous U.S. (I should really consider giving up coffee altogether, but all too often it serves as a useful substitute for sleep. I've gotta work on that...) Anyway, thanks for the wake-up call and I will post if I find good, U.S.-made products.

I wasn't aware that Hawaii produced coffee! I just learned something new!

I don't think we would give up coffee

 

[dacjohns]

Coffee grown in Hawai'i. Didn't know that.


Bought a Thermarest foam pad, made in Washington. Some of their products are manufactured overseas though.

 

[prism]

Very good point. It is difficult to find American made. Someone posted a website listing American manufacturing companies. It was about 500 businesses if that many. Most were some kind of specialty item.

Was it this one?
http://www.americansworking.com/

I just looked at a couple categories so far but it is interesting to see all the Hawaiian coffee.