Wouldn't it be good to see "Made in America" again.

[Renwiick]

[mahina]

1. We're out there...

http://www.therealmothergoose.com/
http://www.appalachianspring.com/rtc.cfm
http://noheagallery.com/
http://www.delmano.com/


I know what you mean~

[John Q. Citizen]

2. Homegrown's all right with me!

[madokie]

3. Yes it will be

I remember when walmart had we sell made in usa when possible proudly displayed on all their signs. Something to that effect anyway. I feel that by the start of President Obamas secound term there will be much more products being sold here that are made here.

[4lbs]

4. Actually, there was an article on MSNBC a week ago about "Made in America" and

how US manufacturing has changed over the last 50 or so years.

The US still manufactures and produces a lot, surprisingly, but most of isn't making things that we see in our grocery or retail stores. A lot of it is large machinery that gets exported to other countries.

"'Made in the U.S.A.' isn't dead, it's different"
February 16, 2009

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29226344/


<snip>
But manufacturing in the United States isn't dead or even dying. It's moving upscale, following the biggest profits, and becoming more efficient, just like Henry Ford did when he created the assembly line to make the Model T.

The U.S. by far remains the world's leading manufacturer by value of goods produced. It hit a record $1.6 trillion in 2007 — nearly double the $811 billion in 1987. For every $1 of value produced in China's factories, America generates $2.50.

So what's made in the USA these days?

The U.S. sold more than $200 billion worth of aircraft, missiles and space-related equipment in 2007. And $80 billion worth of autos and auto parts. Deere & Co., best known for its bright green and yellow tractors, sold $16.5 billion worth of farming equipment last year, much of it to the rest of the world. Then there's energy products like gas turbines for power plants made by General Electric, computer chips from Intel and fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. Household names like GE, General Motors, IBM, Boeing, Hewlett-Packard are among the largest manufacturers by revenue.

Several trends have emerged over the decades:

America makes things that other countries can't. Today, "Made in USA" is more likely to be stamped on heavy equipment or the circuits that go inside other products than the TVs, toys, clothes and other items found on store shelves.

U.S. companies have shifted toward high-end manufacturing as the production of low-value goods moves overseas. This has resulted in lower prices for shoppers and higher profits for companies.

When demand slumps, all types of manufacturing jobs are lost. Some higher-end jobs — but not all — return with good times. Workers who make goods more cheaply produced overseas suffer.

....

About 12.7 million Americans, or 8 percent of the labor force, still held manufacturing jobs as of last month. Fifty years ago, 14.6 million people, or 28 percent of all workers, toiled in factories. The numbers — though painful to those who lost jobs — show how companies are making more with less.

....

Thirty years ago, U.S. producers made 80 percent of what the country consumed, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, an industry trade group. Now it's around 65 percent.

American factories still provide much of the processed food that Americans buy, everything from frozen fish sticks to cans of beer. And U.S. companies make a considerable share of the personal hygiene products like soap and shampoo, cleaning supplies, and prescription drugs that are sold in pharmacies. But many other consumer goods now come from overseas.

<snip>

[AdHocSolver]

6. When most of the everyday goods people buy is imported, America and US citizens lose.

Why? The money spent on everyday purchases goes overseas. To pay for it, America goes into debt. The biggest loss of revenue for government is from the loss of income and corporate taxes. Foreign workers don't pay taxes in the U.S. and current tax laws allow companies who import what they sell to avoid taxes by setting up offshore companies to do business.

Selling heavy equipment overseas involves setting up factories in foreign countries to manufacture cheap goods to import to the US. Arming the world by selling war materiel merely promotes warfare and violence around the world. More and more airplanes, including military aircraft, are made with components made in other countries.

We are becoming a debtor nation because most of what we buy comes from other countries. With US companies offshoring jobs at a heavy pace, there is very little that cannot be made overseas and imported to the US.

Unless the majority of goods consumed in the US is manufactured in the US with US labor, the US economy will NEVER recover and we will become a "banana republic" within a few years. The corporations don't care, as when this economy tanks, when there is so much unemployment that sales in the US disappear, they will just move their operations overseas.

The stimulus spending will ultimately fail unless those manufacturing jobs are returned to America. The need is to stop the outflow of spending to foreign countries. The WTO, NAFTA, the IMF, the World Bank and all of those corporate cartel promoted trade agreements and current tax laws must be eliminated or rewritten to take control of trade out of the hands of the multinational monopolies.

The economy has suffered from all the mergers and acquisitions that stifle competition. We need some serious trust busting activity, not buyouts.

[misanthrope]

5. You mean the Sopranos finale?...

"Doh-hon't stop.........................................................

[file83]

7. As long as it's not on a box containing War.

America seems to know how to export that product quit consistently.

[Triana]

8. Still "Made in America"

(too bad our economy is swirling down one) . . .

[KG]

9. unfortunately, both parties have fallen all over themselves to support policies that emptied america

of its manufaturing capacity.

the stimulus will fail unless a way is found to reindustrialize this country.

[exboyfil]

10. It's all about the U.S. savings rate and trade deficits

I remember a comment a few years ago (I wish I could find the quote). It said we should not worry about the loss of manufacturing jobs because we were moving to a service and information economy, and one of the most important services was FINANCIAL SERVICES.

We surely got serviced.

Is there any chance we can get really aggressive as a nation about buying American (to the point of blocking incoming shipments, terrorizing foreign call centers, etc)?

Probably not.