[jebartle]

Would you shop there?...On Diane Sawyer tonight they said if we bought $64 of American made merchandise this Christmas, we could produce 200,000 jobs.....Let's do it Villagers!

[gomoho]

I would do it in a minute - tell me where.

[Jim 9922]

Originally Posted by jebartle

Would you shop there?...On Diane Sawyer tonight they said if we bought $64 of American made merchandise this Christmas, we could produce 200,000 jobs.....Let's do it Villagers!

Tell that to the Twinkies' union members!

[Mack184]

The problem is that there's an awful lot of stuff that people want that is just no longer "Made In America". Many times even products with American names are made in the pacific rim.

When I'm buying things I try to buy American made products, but it's getting harder and harder to do. Of course you could trade in your golf carts for John Deere tractors, but that's a bit extreme.

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by jebartle

Would you shop there?...On Diane Sawyer tonight they said if we bought $64 of American made merchandise this Christmas, we could produce 200,000 jobs.....Let's do it Villagers!

It sounds good, but I'm not sure I understand how it would work. Let's say that a "widget" is made in America. I go out and buy a widget. It's already been produced, so no new job has been created to produce it. If the seller of the widget decides he has to reorder it, the labor to produce it is already in place, so no new job has been created. If demand for the widget suddenly skyrockets, then perhaps the widget manufacturer has to hire more help to produce more widgets, but only until the sudden increase in demand has been met, then those extra workers will be laid off. If the increase in demand is permanent, the manufacturer might just think that he can increase his profit margin and his stock price by outsourcing the labor to China or Bangladesh. I think what Diane Sawyer was probably saying was that if we have a choice between purchasing a product made in the USA or purchasing an identical product made in Bangladesh, then we should spend the extra money and buy the product made in America, and do it every time we shop.

[nitehawk]

the labels on American made products that say "Made in America" are made in China

[Down Sized]

I would buy $64 worth of peanut butter!

[Down Sized]

Originally Posted by gomoho

I would do it in a minute - tell me where.

Remember; Walmart tried that and it DIDN'T work!

[eweissenbach]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

It sounds good, but I'm not sure I understand how it would work. Let's say that a "widget" is made in America. I go out and buy a widget. It's already been produced, so no new job has been created to produce it. If the seller of the widget decides he has to reorder it, the labor to produce it is already in place, so no new job has been created. If demand for the widget suddenly skyrockets, then perhaps the widget manufacturer has to hire more help to produce more widgets, but only until the sudden increase in demand has been met, then those extra workers will be laid off. If the increase in demand is permanent, the manufacturer might just think that he can increase his profit margin and his stock price by outsourcing the labor to China or Bangladesh. I think what Diane Sawyer was probably saying was that if we have a choice between purchasing a product made in the USA or purchasing an identical product made in Bangladesh, then we should spend the extra money and buy the product made in America, and do it every time we shop.

If every American spent $64 on American goods RATHER THAN foreign goods. 3 million x $64 = $192 million dollars in ADDITIONAL revenue for American companies which I presume is the money that would generate the additional jobs.

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

If every American spent $64 on American goods RATHER THAN foreign goods. 3 million x $64 = $192 million dollars in ADDITIONAL revenue for American companies which I presume is the money that would generate the additional jobs.

That may be correct, but I'm not convinced yet. If everone purchases $64 of goods at Wal-Mart, then Wal-Mart gets 192 million dollars in revenue whether or not the items I purchase are made here or somewhere else. If we all don't purchase those items at Wal-Mart, but purchase them in the "made in America" store, then Wal-Mart has lost that revenue and lays off workers. Isn't it a "zero-sum" equation?

[eweissenbach]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

That may be correct, but I'm not convinced yet. If everone purchases $64 of goods at Wal-Mart, then Wal-Mart gets 192 million dollars in revenue whether or not the items I purchase are made here or somewhere else. If we all don't purchase those items at Wal-Mart, but purchase them in the "made in America" store, then Wal-Mart has lost that revenue and lays off workers. Isn't it a "zero-sum" equation?

I cannot verify their assumptions, I can only use their numbers as presented. If you bought the items from Wal Mart, the money Wal Mart paid the producer of the products would go to American companies as opposed to Chinese or Bangladeshe companies. Thus those companies would realize greater revenue. Wal Mart's take is revenue neutral, as they presumably would make the same margin of profit off either item.

[ijusluvit]

Originally Posted by jebartle

Would you shop there?...On Diane Sawyer tonight they said if we bought $64 of American made merchandise this Christmas, we could produce 200,000 jobs.....Let's do it Villagers!

My dear friends,

There IS a Made in America store, and I'm proud to say it's just down the road from my up north home in suburban Buffalo.

Buy, Buy, Buy!!!

The Made in America Online Store

[BobnBev]

Math always gives me a headache

[mrfixit]

Originally Posted by Mack184

The problem is that there's an awful lot of stuff that people want that is just no longer "Made In America". Many times even products with American names are made in the pacific rim.

When I'm buying things I try to buy American made products, but it's getting harder and harder to do. Of course you could trade in your golf carts for John Deere tractors, but that's a bit extreme.

...Except for the fact that ALL John-Deere "farm tractors" UNDER 100 Horsepower ......are NOT made in the U.S.A.
.......UNLESS things have changed in the last 20 months.

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

I cannot verify their assumptions, I can only use their numbers as presented. If you bought the items from Wal Mart, the money Wal Mart paid the producer of the products would go to American companies as opposed to Chinese or Bangladeshe companies. Thus those companies would realize greater revenue. Wal Mart's take is revenue neutral, as they presumably would make the same margin of profit off either item.

Still not sure.....I picked Walmart as an example because of the high % of foreign manufactured goods they sell and to buy "made in USA" people would presumably have to shop elsewhere thereby taking revenue away from Walmart. But even if Walmart was selling the identical products side by side....one made in the USA and one made elsewhere, and selling them for the same price, then you are right, Walmart would be revenue neutral if walmarts cost to purchase the items was equal. However, if we assume that the foreign product made with cheap labor cost walmart less, than a)walmart probably wouldn't sell the more expensive cost item and b)if walmart had the same cost for both items then the one made with cheap labor would generate more profit for the manufacturer who could then further lower his price to drive his American competitor out of business. Actually, I believe the scenario I just described is what has happened in the world. I know I've made a bunch of assumptions, but it's interesting to talk about.