Talk of The Villages Florida - What to Buy American ?

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What to Buy American ?

Here's 100 ways to shop for American Products.

Here Are 100+ Brands That Are Made in the USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael G. (Post 2335047)

Here's 100 ways to shop for American Products.

Looking for durable luggage and found that, despite the high prices, neither Samsonite nor American Tourister are now made in the USA.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arctic Fox (Post 2335074)

Looking for durable luggage and found that, despite the high prices, neither Samsonite nor American Tourister are now made in the USA.

I think Travelpro is American made.

Buying American can be a very slippery slope nowadays. Not as simple as it once was. For instance, how is "American made" defined? Some things are made in America by foreign companies. Take Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep products. They are owned by the Stellantis NV conglomerate, a Netherlands company. You might say that is okay as long as many of the jobs are here in the United States. Then you have Toyota who makes many of its vehicles in the United States. Same thing. But what about profits staying here? You might then argue we should buy a Ford instead. Then some will say do you know how many vehicles sold by Ford (and GM) that are made in Mexico or Canada? The profits stay here but the jobs are elsewhere. Is that better? I don't know. Then you have so many products made here in America by foreign and domestic companies that are actually just assembled here of mostly imported parts. Conversely, there are many products made or assembled elsewhere with American parts in factories owned by American companies. How does that factor in? Some jobs exist here to make the parts and of course the profits are shared by investors and pension funds in the United States even though the products are foreign made. It's a convoluted, complex mess trying to figure out how to best support this nation with our spending habits.

What to Buy American ?

debt never made the list then.

If you want things made in America, start with your local growers/farmers. Although - most of their equipment is made outside America, and a lot of their feed is grown outside America.

We live in a global economy. Your computer might have been assembled in the states, but it was made from parts manufactured in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China, Germany, Spain, and so on. The soap you use to wash your dishes might be made in America, but the ink they used to print the label was probably not.

There are very few things that were made in America, that would satisfy people who insist on buying only things Made in America - unless they're just trying to show some false sense of patriotism that they expect everyone else to take at face value.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arctic Fox (Post 2335074)

Looking for durable luggage and found that, despite the high prices, neither Samsonite nor American Tourister are now made in the USA.

LOL. I grew up in Nashua, N.H. Batesville caskets were manufactured in Nashua. Batesville was then owned by Samonsite. We saw trucks laden with the caskets leaving the Batesville factory on West Hollis Street (now condominiums) with Samonsite advertising on the tractor trailers.

I always appreciated the supreme irony there..aren't caskets really suitcases for humans? (Obviously not a productive idea to advertise caskets on the truck)

In the 1908's they sold large bags of "leftover" hardwood wood scraps for $5 per bag for local residents to use as kindling for firewood. I remember my curiosity when I purchased these kindling bags for years. I could not quite place my finger on where I had seem that trim before.

They were gorgeous 6" to 12" strips of gorgeous hardwood--for the fireplace. Until I realized the wood scraps were the beautiful trim from the top of caskets.

They were great for kindling! They used every bit of their wood though!

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjrjck (Post 2335088)

Buying American can be a very slippery slope nowadays. Not as simple as it once was. For instance, how is "American made" defined? Some things are made in America by foreign companies. Take Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep products. They are owned by the Stellantis NV conglomerate, a Netherlands company. You might say that is okay as long as many of the jobs are here in the United States. Then you have Toyota who makes many of its vehicles in the United States. Same thing. But what about profits staying here? You might then argue we should buy a Ford instead. Then some will say do you know how many vehicles sold by Ford (and GM) that are made in Mexico or Canada? The profits stay here but the jobs are elsewhere. Is that better? I don't know. Then you have so many products made here in America by foreign and domestic companies that are actually just assembled here of mostly imported parts I. Conversely, there are many products made or assembled elsewhere with American parts in factories owned by American companies. How does that factor in? Some jobs exist here to make the parts and of course the profits are shared by investors and pension funds in the United States even though the products are foreign made. It's a convoluted, complex mess trying to figure out how to best support this nation with our spending habits.

UAW are going to be demise of ford and GM. Even wonder why foreign automakers can make cars USA not have UAW workers? Seems unlawful don’t it? Slap in face to unions? Ford will probably in future move most USA assembly to Mexico and GM move to China

Relative to the United States, along with most other developed countries, direct labor in Mexico is approximately 70% less expensive. This cost-effective, competitive labor is the driving force behind the success of Mexico manufacturing

The United Auto Workers union has informed workers at the Avon Lake Ford plant that it plans to move a major project slated for 2023 from Northeast Ohio to its plant in Mexico.Mar

Why are auto manufacturers moving to Mexico?
Industrial Talent and Free Trade Incentives

Meanwhile, Mexico continues to invest in technical education and training and graduates over 110,000 engineers every year. Furthermore, incentives through the USMCA regarding automotive content makes it favorable for U.S. manufacturers to operate in Mexico.Mar 15, 2023

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjrjck (Post 2335088)

I think the main thing is providing jobs for American workers. Those American workers pay taxes and buy things. Their salaries help many others keep working. The big exception is things like computer chips where companies can control the supply or use the chips to spy on us for nefarious purposes, as with China. We also need to be concerned about having to buy crucial minerals and such from countries like China. Buying American, however, is often more expensive. Also, buying overseas products like fruit and flowers does keep people working in those countries. That’s for the good of humanity. They might even buy an American product on occasion.

Wonder how many “Made in USA” brands that are actually made here are thru companies controlled by labor unions. Probably not many. Labor unions killed our competitiveness.

I agree that the uaw will crush the American car companies. Dollar for dollar, American cars can’t compete with the foreign car companies for durability, longevity, etc.. Look at jeep, the worst reliability of any car company forever. Most foreign car companies have manufacturing plants in the states and they produce reliable cars, so what can’t ford, Chevy, and Chrysler do the same?
Most of the items you buy come from around the world. Try to buy an American tv, stereo system, kitchen appliance, computers, and the list goes on and on

Buying American Made

Really good response that addresses the complexity of the issue that many of us never consider.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael G. (Post 2335047)

Here's 100 ways to shop for American Products.

Here Are 100+ Brands That Are Made in the USA

A lot of the companies listed in the link sell products that are mostly fabric, like clothing. According to the FTC, if the fabric is imported, the product should be labeled "Made in USA of Imported Fabric", not "Made in USA". Some companies do not comply with this FTC requirement, even though the vast majority of fabric is imported from China and other countries.

I looked at a new Lincoln. On the window sticker it clearly stated, Origin of final assembly, China and Mexico'. That was a deal breaker!

Better start supporting people who manufacture in the US now before the world's reserve currency is no longer the US dollar. It will be a shock when other countries say "No" to trading tangible goods for printed money. A long list of countries is joining BRICS.