A washing machine made in the U.S.A. by american workers at $20.00 an hour .

[pwb]

Costs the American people around $600.00.
The same washer made in Mexico at $3.00 an hour costs the American people the same $600.00.
Please tell me how this is helping American consumers.
All it really does is increase profits.
All of this shit we buy from companies that move out of America should cost much less after they move, but it doesn't. IMO.

[Arctic Dave]

1. Welcome to greedynomics 101.

[SharonAnn]

29. You figured it out. It's not about lowering costs, it's about raising profits.

[txlibdem]

68. What you describe is INNOVATION

Haven't you seen the commercials for the bank that "customizes" a bank account "just for you" because "your banking needs are unique." Uh-huh. My banking needs are unique, I don't want low or no fees like 300 million other Americans. My needs are unique. I don't want to have convenience to withdraw my money at the ATM, so unlike the 300 million. I don't want my funds to be federally protected, etc.

Every time a company starts talking about the INNOVATION they're planning I start grabbing my ankles.

[krkaufman]

102. And quite a bit about creating economic uncertainty and insecurity ...

... among the American workforce, depressing local wages and diminishing the populace's ability to exercise political will.

[Brickbat]

2. Yup, yup and yup.

Moving a company offshore to "be more competitive" means only one thing: profits.

[Synicus Maximus]

38. The purpose of a company is to make a profit

[sce56]

56. Yep and that works great untill you have no more customers due to the lack of jobs!

Like the self serve check out machines when the jobs are all automated how will you earn a living?

[loudsue]

89. But they sell the same machine in foreign markets for LESS. Just like drugs

from American pharmaceutical companies selling for 1/10th of the price or less overseas.

The American consumer is having their money SUCKED out of this country by our own corporations that grew and prospered and learned how to grow in this country.

[EstimatedProphet]

127. Globalism gives them a great workaround for that

If companies can be based here yet sell everything in other countries where there's still a middle class, then there's no longer any downside to cutting the entire workforce down to nothing in the US.

[herbm]

139. Reach around, you mean.

[WinkyDink]

60. Thus endeth the lie that the rich are needed to produce JOBS.

[fasttense]

69. It was not always that way.

It use to be when corporations filed to be established, they had to prove they had a socially beneficial reason for forming the corporation. Only with the Robber Barons of the 1920s did this socially beneficial responsibility get put aside. We could bring it back. Profits as a motive for business is detrimental to society.

I once heard a successful processed food CEO say that they were not in the business of making a profit they were in the business of making sauces. When you put profits ahead of the function of your business that function suffers too.

That' why DeCoster sold tainted eggs. He was not in the business of selling fresh wholesome eggs to customers. He was in the business of making money. When profits are your only motive, you will do anything to get them, even sell poisoned food.

[Daemonaquila]

110. Nice wish, but legally not true.

You're right that it wasn't always that way, but the legal history of corporate personhood makes rolling back the rules essentially impossible without amending the constitution. Short of that, corporations would be able to successfully challenge such requirements on constitutional grounds.

[Vincardog]

123. The lie of corporate personhood is what needs to be rolled back.

[dotymed]

75. Therein lies the problem.

IMO, there should be LAWS that FORCE companies to put people before profits. Sure, that is why companies exist, for profit. When these profits are realized by destroying people and our economy, they should be viewed as theft not legal profits.
Western Europe has "protectionist" laws (as do most civilized countries...same with H.C....) so that their citizens (mostly represented by Unions) are not thrown under the bus for the sake of profit. We need similar laws, or American Feudalism will continue to spread.
Obviously, in a country, for and by the people, this would be a "no brainer."
In a country "for and by the corporations", "protectionist" laws are seen as oppressive.
I believe, as do the majority of Americans, that "people before profits", should be mandatory.

[Ikonoklast]

119. No longer. It's to make a select few stupendously wealthy,

even at stockholders expense.

But, you keep defending your corporate owners here, Skippy, bless your heart.


They will never let you in their club.

[Vincardog]

122. That definition has to change.

[AllyCat]

141. at the expense of all else apparently.

Environment? Toast
Jobs? Toast
Economy? Toast
Benefits and wages? Toast

Unregulated capitalism is a cancer.

We used to have companies that wanted to DO something they could be proud of in addition to making a profit. Now, they are just proud of their bank accounts and how much money they can stash in overseas accounts without paying tax.

Which adds one more thing: Infrastructure? Toasty toast.

You sound like every conservative I've heard who mutter those exact words. Think a little deeper. It is not so simple as all that "profit first" stuff.

[Winterblues]

3. What washing machine is made in America?

I thought they pretty much all were built outside the USA now...

[klook]

5. Yes, and where can I buy one? (n/t)

[Jamastiene]

6. None that I know of.

I cannot think of anything that is made in the US any more.

[Divine Discontent]

58. Marion, Ohio Whirlpool plant make top load washers! Wow, they need America's business!

[Esse Quam Videri]

82. Bosch appliances are made in New Bern, NC

Here is a link to the info on the plant and what they manufacture:

http://www.bsh-group.us/index.php?page=108108

We have a Bosch dishwasher and it is great. Having been manufactured in NC was a big part of my decision to purchase it.

[SnowCritter]

85. My mother has a Bosch washer, dryer and

dishwasher. They all work great. The washer and dryer are incredibly quiet. I've already determined that when the time comes to replace ours, Bosch will be high on the list of consideration.

[Botany]

88. My dishwasher (kitchen aid) broke after 20 years and I'm getting a Bosch

.... to replace it. Made in America w/ german & american parts, low noise, low energy use,
lower water use, and looks to be high quality.

Want to restart the American Economy? Buy American.

[Jamastiene]

121. Thank you.

My washer is on its last legs. This is so perfect. I hope I can manage to get one of those. I'll go check the link now. Thank you.

[jojog]

103. GE Makes Washers in Louisville

They also just announced that the new Front Load machine will be built in Louisville.

[LTX]

115. You can't think of anything manufactured in the US

because you're thinking only about assembled consumer products -- i.e., the stuff on the shelves at Walmart that is assembled in Mexico, China, etc. U.S. manufacturing tends to be focused on base materials (the cracked oil compounds, rubber, plastics, chemicals, wood, pulp, paper, fiberboard, aluminum, etc. that goes into those assembled products); agriculture (the base corn, wheat, soy, oilseed, sugars, poultry, beef, pork, dairy etc. used in food manufacturing); aircraft; locomotives; industrial machinery, turbines, generators, and engines; mining, extraction, processing, and construction machinery; textiles; pharmaceuticals; medical equipment; computer chips; measuring and control instruments; etc.

People tend to think of "manufacturing" as the equivalent of the assembly process, and view manufactured goods as only the DVD players, electric shavers, and dishwashers on sale at the local mega-mart. They overlook the key element of manufacturing -- the raw materials, machines, machined parts, control instruments, etc. that underlie those assembled end products.

[Brickbat]

9. Some very high end ones are.

But it illustrates the point that midline level products have fled our shores. Now you can either buy a piece of crap that you replace every three years, or pay a lot of money for a truly excellent piece of work. There's no variety of middle-range goods.

[pwb]

10. Probably none, But they use to be made here.

[Ozymanithrax]

16. Staber Washing Machines are made in America..

http://www.staber.com/

But they sell from $1,200.00 and up.

[ReverendDeuce]

44. Researched them... tons of issues and complaints...

I don't know how true it is, but for a rather expensive, niche product, it seems as if they should not have such problems building a simple washer.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/staber_industries.html

On the other hand, eight years ago I bought an inexpensive pair of Hotpoint appliances: a washer and a dryer. About $700 for the pair. The washer has a cavernous washing space, non-metal basin, and about two dozen different switches and knobs and options. The dryer is the same deal. Automatic drying, four knobs of adjustments, etc. Huge opening and massive interior space. These were the high-end of the Hotpoint line in 2002. These were made in Mexico.

To this day, they keep running like tops. No maintenance needed. No replaced anything. Every six months or so I take the panels off and check for leaks, etc.

I have no doubt they'll last another eight years. Maybe more.

[JDPriestly]

53. I bought my Maytag washer -- used -- 25 years ago. It runs beautifully.

I washed the clothes for four people in there for many, many years. No problem. Let's see how your Hotpoints are doing after another 18 years or so.

[Ozymanithrax]

46. I wans't advertising for Staber...just noting that they were made here...

and they are damned expensive.

[Agony]

52. I own one. Ingenious design. Zero problems. Uses very little water per load.

Had it long enough that it is part of the family now.

[BlueCheese]

18. Actually, quite a few are.

I recently looked into this when looking for a washer.

Bosch makes all of the washers they sell in the US in North Carolina.

Whirlpool makes their top-loading washers in Ohio. Their front-loading ones are made in Germany. They also make some Kenmore washers, but not all.

Some Samsungs that I saw were made in South Korea. It's not the US, but like Germany, it's a high-wage country, so the competition with US workers is a little fairer.

[underpants]

32. Thanks for the info

:patriot:

[Little Star]

37. Here are some more...

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/appliances.html#LaundryAppliances


Plus lots of other things still made in the USA:
http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/index.html

[theHandpuppet]

86. Thanks for the recommendations

My partner and I are shopping for a new washer and dryer this weekend and there's a local business here that carries both Bosch and Whirlpool.

[ingac70]

66. ....

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/appliances.html

[elleng]

76. Amana

Friend has 2, upstairs and downstairs, washer/dryer stacked, work nicely.

[tridim]

117. Mine is, but it's an older commercial machine.

Which means it will probably never break, good news for me, bad news for the shareholders.

[littlewolf]

4. K & R

[Blue Owl]

7. Once a cheap-labor Repuke gets a taste of those greedy profits...

it's all downhill from there.

[femrap]

8. Thank you!!!!!!

I've been saying this for years. The profit margins just get bigger and bigger. The consumer gets nothing. And the workers in Mexico are exploited....see how they have to live? It's despicable.

[pansypoo53219]

111. on one of my blogs. we ccalled them low wage republikans

they have forgotten enry ford for their greed. if you kill the middle class, nobody can buy your crap. oh wait, 'the man' has given you a high debt credit card. your lack of money is solved!

[Taverner]

11. You thought that was to protect CONSUMERS???

The word I think you mean is either the shareholders, or the owners

[murielm99]

12. Maytag moved to Mexico around 2004, ruining the

economy in Galesburg IL. I bought one of those crappy Mexican-made Maytags shortly after. It lasted less than a year.

I have lived in this house long enough that I have had to replace most of the appliances at least once. It pisses me off that things can't be repaired. The stores are not required to keep parts after seven years. Replacement parts are more expensive than replacing the whole appliance. How wasteful. How un-green. How stupid. I am not against upgrading, but many things should be usable for more than seven years.

[virgogal]

17. Everything is crap today. I bought a Maytag when I was

married in 1960.

I had 6 kids,we used regular diapers and the machine lasted until 1978.

18 years and thousands of loads of laundry.

[Demit]

25. Bought a Maytag washer & dryer 30 years ago. Still going strong.

LOL, didn't have 6 kids though. God bless you!

[virgogal]

27. Maytag was an astonishing product. A 30 year old machine. Wow !

[SoCalDem]

47. In 1971 I bought a refurbished laundromat Speed Queen

with a stainless steel drum.. That thing lasted for 25 years with minimal repairs.. I paid $25 for it..

I have a new frontloading fancy-pants machine that I LOATHE.. I paid close to $1800 for the pair. I call the washer "the twister" because every time I unload it I have to untie the knots from all the pant legs twisted together in a gigantic perma-wrinkled mess...

[dotymed]

80. Of course

in the new washing machines, you must use HD detergent....about twice the price.

[quakerboy]

112. I think that is a mischaricterization

I had to get a new set, and i didnt know anything about the hd stuff, so when i read the manual on arrival, and did some research, I started to get a bit pissed, thinking they had pulled one over on me.

Then I looked around, and read up on it more. The Arm and hammer HD that I bought was the same price as all the other Arm and Hammer options. And on looking it up, you are supposed to to use way less detergent. So far one little bottle has lasted longer than my old industrial sized ones.

Course I've seen some versions where they are clearly trying to screw anyone not paying attention.

[laundry_queen]

131. The HD stuff I used was the same price

as the regular stuff I use now for a top loader. And you had to use less, so it worked better for me. Plus clothes got cleaner and there was much less wear on the fabric. I personally think a front loader pays for itself.

[laundry_queen]

130. isn't that the truth?

about the twisty mess the clothes end up in. It has actually ruined some of my clothes by twisting things completely out of shape.

[SharonAnn]

31. My mother raised 8 kids, had one Maytag for at least 30 years, maybe longer.

She wouldn't ever buy anything else. And for us 10 kids? We also bought Maytags. Until recently.

See, we're from Iowa, not far from Newton (Maytag's HQ and original manufacturing plant). When they started off-shoring, they becam the same as everyone else.

I bought a set in 1994 and hope I can keep them forever.

[virgogal]

40. God,she has me beaten. Good luck with your machines.

[Mimosa]

19. I remember when there were small appliance repair shops in towns

My grandparents used to get even toasters repaired!

[RoccoR5955]

113. And when I was a kid, my dream was

being one of those appliance repair shops. I can fix just about anything that can be fixed. But these days, much of the low end crap that is made in China, is made to be replaced. They simply cannot be repaired.

[Hekate]

33. Bought my Maytag washer when I bought my house, 27 years ago.

It's had some repairs, and it has a few issues with our incredibly hard water. But just about the time I was thinking about buying a new one with more bells and whistles, Maytag left the US. So I'm keeping it. My guess is that if hubby ever consents to get a water softener (ha!) my old Maytag's problems with its hot water intake would be gone.

In the interim, we are on our 3rd dishwasher.

Hekate

[davidinalameda]

114. you and my mom both

she had her Maytag for decades

she finally bought a new one about 16 years ago and it's still going strong

[Tesha]

34. What exactly went wrong with your Maytag that it needed to be junked? (NT)

[murielm99]

54. The main seal broke.

Every time I used it there was water all over the laundry room. The people I purchased it from told me that it could not be fixed. They are a local shop and I have gone to them for years. They are honest. They told me that particular Maytag has caused no end of trouble for their customers. They hate what is happening, too.

My first Maytag lasted for twenty-seven years. I was so disappointed in this one. The appliance store gave me a very good price on the replacement I purchased. I have had it about five years not. There has not been any trouble.

[Tesha]

61. Well, main seals can be fixed, but they're right, sometimes it's not worth it.

Quite a while ago, we bought a Maytag "Neptune" washer/dryer
pair. (This was Maytag's first venture into the world of front-
loading washers.) The washer of that pair has not been, umm,
"entirely reliable".

The motor drive was a very complex bit of electronics and
*A BAD SOLDER JOINT* (an inexcusable manufacturing
defect) on the circuit board led to the motor drive
blowing up a pair of transistors. Maytag apparently
was having a lot of trouble with this system because
the replacement motor+drive electronics used an entirely
different, much simpler concept. Our machine was (just)
out of warranty but Maytag still ate half the cost of the
part and Mr. Tesha did the labor to replace the drive.

A few years later, the machine started getting very loud
when it did its high-speed spin; you couldn't stand to be
in the same room with it. Then, after that, it started sounding
like a box of rocks and finally, you couldn't turn the drum
easily. It turns out that (you'll recognize this) the main
seal had failed and the main bearings had rusted away.
Maytag wanted to sell us a $400+ "drum replacement
kit" which would have included the plastic outer drum,
its embedded bearings (friction-fit into an aluminum
fixture embedded in the plastic drum), and the seal.
But it turns out that with a huge amount of fiddly work,
you can replace just the bearings in your existing drum.
The parts for that job (two bearings and a seal) cost
about $75-$100.

The Neptune's running quietly again, but who knows
for how long?

Along the way, the model (but not *OUR* sample, at
least not so far) has also had lots of problems with the
electronics in the timers failing and "wax motors" failing.

I think our next machine won't be a Maytag either. :(

It's a shame.

Tesha

[ejpoeta]

62. where's the money in that! i have noticed how cheaply things are made as well.

they are not made to last anymore. they are made to last just long enough to be out of warranty. they don't make money if you can use it forever, i suppose. they make money when you have to replace it. because i don't just go out and buy things because i want them to match my decor. We generally use it til it dies. my husband bought me a set of used front loading washer and dryer a few years ago, which are working great. but our washer was starting to fall apart that we had only had for like 4 years! that was disheartening to see happen. i don't know how they think it makes them money to make crappy stuff.... i tend to avoid buying from brands that don't last very long.

[PVnRT]

70. GE did the same thing to Bloomington, IN not long ago

It didn't have quite the same effect, thanks to the university, but it still hit the area hard.

[jojog]

105. GE is still in Bloomington

GE makes Side by Side refrigerators in Bloomington

[dotymed]

77. Planned Obsolescence.

One of the first things they teach you in business classes. It IS ridiculous. Everything is considered disposable instead of repairable. I used to have my tee vee repaired when it acted up. Now, the guy has turned his "shop" into a fireworks retailing establishment. He said that it became more expensive to repair appliances than to replace them. That is by design.
One more way our "captains of industry" are hanging us from the yardarms....(or whatever it is)

[freebrew]

128. It's been happening for a long time.

My father was an upholsterer. Started for his dad at age 16, when he could join the union.
Now, actually starting 30 or 40 years ago or so, furniture costs more to recover than to replace.

Non-union shops started making sofas and chairs using cheaper cloth, staples instead of tacks and cheaper labor.

Coil springs, once the staple of good furniture, have been replaced by zigzag springs that don't last.

It must be the American way, because almost every industry, save the auto industry, is doing it.

I used to work for a capital equipment manufacturer. The company made the best, longest lasting machines on earth.
No profit in that. Started making things out of thinner metal, cheaper materials, etc. Now, I'm out of work because the customer base wanted quality, not expensive.

Then bought out by ITW. Bastards!

[laundry_queen]

129. Yes!

My parents just had their oven AND microwave, bought together, crap out within 2 months of each other - they were 6 years old. And, to repair them would have cost nearly what a new one would cost. Let's just say they didn't go with the same brand (it was Frigidaire).

When my ex and I had first bought our house, we got all brand new top-of-the-line LG appliances. I had a friend who worked for LG so I trusted what she said. What a mistake! Every single one of those appliances had a problem at some point, and 2 of them were repaired, the dishwasher had to be repaired twice and never really got the dishes clean, the fridge had a problem with the ice maker but since we didn't use it it wasn't a big deal so we left it. The dryer got slower and slower at drying clothes. The washer made a huge squealing noise, which I was told would cost way too much money to repair and that it was better to just use it until it died and replace it. All that was within 4 years.

I'm renting right now, but when I buy a place and buy my own appliances, I'm going to do a lot more research on where they are made and their durability ratings, also ease of repair will fit into it. I've had it with planned obsolescence.

[hack89]

13. Why are you so certain the American made washer made a profit? nt

[pwb]

15. That is funny.

[hack89]

41. Do you have an actual answer?

you made a major assumption with absolutely no facts to back it up. You may be right but it certainly not obvious that you are.

[jeff47]

79. Seriously?

Take a moment to think 'bout it....exactly how long would the company making non-profitable products stay in business?

[hack89]

116. Without lowering their labor costs by relocating their production facilities?

not very long at all.

[jeff47]

143. So clearly you didn't bother thinking about it.

If they weren't turning a profit, they wouldn't be making 'em in the US. They're making 'em in the US and turning a profit.

[Ozymanithrax]

14. Congratulations. You have discovered oneof the main reasons for off shoring jobs... n/t

[BlueCheese]

20. I agree we should buy American when possible.

But what would the price of the washers be if some of them weren't made elsewhere? Without knowing that, it's hard to know the effects of trade.

[Toucano]

21. It's not your OPINION! It's a documentable fact:

In 1989 Whirlpool had annual revenue of 6 billion dollars.

In 2007 their annual revenue was 19 billion dollars.

Mergers and acquisitions account for some of that, but do you know anyone whose income increased more than 3 fold in the last 20 years?

Thanks to closing all their U.S. plants, that money has accumulated at the top. No trickle down ever happened.

[Withywindle]

50. And no trickle-down ever will.

Long, long ago, corporations lost any idea of local or national loyalty, and also deliberately forgot one fact that used to be screamingly obvious:

CONSUMERS AND WORKERS ARE THE SAME PEOPLE.

If workers are paid well, then they will buy products. If they aren't, they won't.

I was watching an episode of "American Pickers" on the History Channel one night when I couldn't sleep, and I had to turn it off. I like the show - it's about two guys who drive around the country finding valuable antiques in various hoarders' junk piles and talking about the history behind them. I love that kind of stuff.

But there was just too much talk about random doodads from lots and lots of American regional companies that used to manufacture lots of cool things that employed lots of local workers and sold their cool stuff back to a lot of the same people and their neighbors. Regional names of manufacturers of everything from bicycles to musical instruments to sewing machines to farm equipment to fashionable clothes to firearms to toys. Things that were valuable because they had tags from long-gone local anchor stores. Things that my parents' and grandparents' generations remember, and I barely do and only as dim childhood associations. I'm 41--I don't think most people younger than me remember a time when most things we used every day were made within the US.

The nearest real town (meaning, a 4-digit population number) to the tiny village I grew up in (population in the low 3 digits) used to have a lot of furniture factories and textile plants. Most of them died in the 70s and 80s, when I was a kid. Now there's a Wal-Mart, and most people there can't afford to shop anywhere else. How much of that money gets circulated back into the community? Very little.

[dotymed]

81. I am 50 (almost)

and I remember my Father buying tools, appliances...durable goods. He would always see where they were built. If it wasn't American (sometimes German), it was junk. America made quality affordable products. We had Unions and competed nicely before the "free trade" "agreements(?)" FORCED manufacturers to cheap labor markets to be able to compete. Shortly thereafter, it was no longer about competing, it was about more profits.

[KansDem]

97. "Trickle down" was one of the greatest hoaxes perpetuated on the American people.

Whatever gave us the idea that a small group of CEOs working in private for the benefit of investors would have the best interests of the American people at heart?

"Capitalism" is dead...

[AnArmyVeteran]

142. Trickle down works sometimes.

In the mid 90s a homeless guy standing on a bridge pissed on a big yacht floating underneath. His stream of piss trickled down onto Donald Trump. So I guess this is an example of trickle down in reverse.

The economic trickle down has never worked. Money goes to the top and stays there. Millionaires and billionaires don't toss and turn in their beds at night worrying about starting new US businesses or hiring new American workers. They do the opposite and close down US businesses, fire American workers and ship their work oversees to use slave and child labor and to avoid all of the environmental and worker safety laws we have in the United States. They victimize Americans and the poor people who make their products in toxic or deadly environments.

[supernova]

22. Still Made in the USA

List of products still made in the US:

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/

[Autumn Colors]

23. Speed Queen -- ALL MADE IN WISCONSIN

Dealer locator on website.

http://www.speedqueen.com/home/

[B Calm]

26. Thanks!

[rubberducky]

24. Check out the price of cars!

[DailyGrind51]

28. Both my 20-year-old American made Zenith TVs still work, albeit with digital converters!

[JuniperLea]

30. Greedy CEO's are entitled to the price spread...

Why do you hate Amurika?

[BrklynLiberal]

35. Increasing profits is THE REASON why corps use overseas, underpaid workers.

[BrklynLiberal]

36. Increasing profits is THE REASON why corps use overseas, underpaid workers.

[Canuckistanian]

45. You can say that again n/t

[treestar]

39. Any link?

I'd like to be sure this is so, in order to argue with right wingers about it.

If true, it goes against their arguments.

[Davis_X_Machina]

42. Could just as easily indicate...

...that cost-wise labor isn't one of the larger inputs.

[old mark]

43. Sorry, but I was a social worker, and never made $20 per hour. nt

[bread_and_roses]

73. Then you should have been paid more - $20 hr < $42,000 yr

- not manufacturing workers paid less. $42,000 yr. is not a fortune. It's not even 200% of our ridiculously low poverty level for a family of four. Private Not-for-profits are notorious cheap-wage employers, and usually anti-union as well.

[old mark]

101. I worked for the commonwealth of PA, Democrat Ed Rendell, Governor. I was an AFSCME

steward. When I retired, I made well under $25,000 per year. You assume too much when you think I am saying they make too much. I'm sayung that everyone should make a decent wage. I worked for a county drug program that was trying to hire master's degree'd countellors, to work evenings and weekends, for $21000...and when they found no takers, complained,"What do these people WANT?"

I went to college to be a social worker and would have done far better as a welder.

It is our society's fault, not those fortunate workers who actually make a good living.

mark

[ChoppinBroccoli]

48. I've Got A Story For You...........From The FIFTIES!!!

My grandfather was an engineer and worked for Westinghouse all of his life. Sometime back in the '50s, his bosses came to him with a project. They wanted to find out what would happen if they started manufacturing their dryers WITHOUT two specific little screws in the door. Well, my grandpa researched it and tested and came to the conclusion that if they removed those two little screws from the doors of all their dryers, the dryers (which were designed to last a minimum of 20 years) would still work, but they'd break down after only 5 or 10 years. The higher-ups ordered that the screws be removed. WHY??? (Oh, come on. You know the answer already.)

The answer: because by removing those two little screws, Westinghouse would save one-half of one CENT on every dryer they produced.

And this was LONG before the Republican Party made corporate greed not only legal, not only acceptable, but the National Pastime.

[Moostache]

126. No...you miss the larger reason for removing the screws.

Its called planned obsolescence and it is as much the reason things break now as is cheap labor and poor workmanship.

Corporations long ago figured out that it makes no sense to provide a customer with something that lasts for 20 years if you can get them to buy pieces of junk that last for 50 or even 25% of that time.

[moondust]

133. Great story! But that was a couple generations of management ago.

What new and "better" tricks have subsequent generations of management added on to that in order to please Wall Street and pocket grotesque sums of money? Where does it end? Junkworld?

[Land Shark]

49. Some Bosch DISH-washing machines are made in America (N, Carolina)

I don't have the latest data on washing machines for clothes, though. The Bosch diswashers are German engineered but made extremely well and we're very pleased. Quieter than a coffee-maker when it runs (measured in decibels).

[pipi_k]

100. What about GE dishwashers?

I looked them up and can't find any info on where they WERE made 15 years ago when I bought the one I'm still using.


I've often thought about getting a new one that's quieter and has a stainless interior and doesn't require rinsing the dishes first (which uses extra water) but this one is still working after all this time, so I figure oh what the hell...might as well keep it.

[jojog]

106. GE makes Diswashers in Louisville

[davidwparker]

134. My brother has one of those. I went with a Fischer-Paykel

2 drawer in 2005. Love it.

[Greyhound]

51. Oops. You weren't supposed to notice, or noticing, you weren't supposed to believe it. n/t

[IHR]

55. Tappan microwave oven

that I bought new in 1984. For about $200-300. Still works and is in the kitchen. Never had a problem with it. Even the original light bulb works.

[liberation]

57. Capitalism is not about what is good for the people, Capitalism is about profits. Period.

You remove regulations to capital, and it will do exactly what it is supposed to do: seek maximization of profits, first and foremost, and even last.

It is both an irrational system (it expects infinite growth which puts it at odds with the finite nature of our reality) as well as clearly sociopathic.

In the end however, this is the system the American people decided to base their entire existence around.

[RandomThoughts]

59. Yea, not the best idea.

I think modest wages for work done, in all sectors makes more sense to correct the flaws of capitalism, especially the flaws when demand fell below production a century or so ago.

On a side, note, I am still due beer and travel money, and many good experiences, and they will pay.

[TexasObserver]

63. Tax breaks should only apply to goods made in the USA.

If there's to be a tax credit for the purchase of goods, the breaks should only apply to those manufactured in the USA.

[JCMach1]

64. Banks have rigged the system, cause now the US can't get a loan

because 100% profit just isn't enough...

no finance= no expansion

[Enthusiast]

65. 100% agreement...nt

[urgk]

67. The answer - CEOs are paid 275X what their workers are paid.

"According to the Economic Policy Institute report, in 1965, U.S. CEOs in major companies earned 24 times more than a typical worker; by 2007, they made 275 times more."

Atlas never shrugged. He gorged.

[blindpig]

74. CEO's are the tail of the dog.

People like to get outraged about CEO compensation, and it is truly outrageous. But we must ask how and why they receive such. It is the board of directors, supposedly representing the stockholders but in truth looking out for the major holders, mostly themselves. This compensation is granted for results(ok, doesn't always work out that way), ie, increasing the return on investment. Bitch about them all we want, they are but a result of capitalism. It is the system.

[Bonhomme Richard]

96. Sadly and quite often that CEO is a Board Director..................

of the company that his Board director sits on. They scratch each others backs. He isn't going to deny any increase in compensation because the guy can stop his own increase.

[greenbird]

71. and doesn't last as long as it used to.

My dryer just died. Only three years old. Remember when washers and dryers lasted 15-20 years?

[Maat]

136. Hubby and I just donated our washer and dryer to a place that fixes them up.

Maytags - they lasted over twenty years.

I just bought new Maytags; I'm guessing they probably won't last twenty.

[TBF]

72. That, my friend, is capitalism -

profit is the motive.

[Vinca]

78. I get the L. L. Bean catalog because I used to buy stuff from them.

For years now, the description of 99.9% of the merchandise has included the word "imported," yet the prices don't go down. I don't know how they expect Americans to buy their merchandise when they buy outsourced goods for resale.

[4_TN_TITANS]

83. Get this.... Our washer and dryer

are commercial Maytags from the 1970's, totally made in America - and still running like sewing machines. Our toaster oven that died a few years ago was a Hamilton Beach, also from the 70's and totally made in America. We've gone thru 3 P.O.S. Chinese toaster ovens since.

Americans can make the absolute best products in the world, hard to believe our workforce has been discarded for 'cheap'.

[ElboRuum]

84. The point...

is to control their costs, not ours.

[4_TN_TITANS]

92. Hammer meet nail. n/t

[Javaman]

87. It's about the corps making more money while at the same time, lowering our standard of living...

In a few years, (after the repukes take over the congress and the presidency) some of those same corps will come back to the US. BUT they will do so under the condition that 1) there will be no unions 2) they can pay US workers basically what they pay their foreign slaves 3) all benefits will be cut across the board 4)the US workers will have to work longer hours.

While we get all pissed off about how US jobs are being outsourced, as we rightly should, what scares me is the day these jobs come back to the US...if they ever do.

[snappyturtle]

90. I look at this a little differently.

Your statement: "All of this shit we buy from companies that move out of America should cost much less after they move, but it doesn't."

I think products made by companies outside the U.S. should cost much more so much more that it would become unprofitable for them to be made. Products made by U.S. companies outside the U.S. should be heavily taxed.IMHO

[david_vincent]

91. I'd like to point out something on the subject of washers & dryers

And that is, that there's no need for the two of them. A single appliance can do both jobs, and decades ago, they actually made and sold washer/dryers, meaning the one machine both washed the clothes and dried them. I know, because when I was a kid, my family owned one, although I've forgotten now the brand. It was a front-loader and it worked fine for years. When it finally broke, parts were no longer available.

There is NO NEED for people to have to buy both a washer and a dryer. The only reason behind it is to separate you, the consumer, from twice as much of your money.

[eilen]

98. I don't even think there is a market for dryers in Europe

except maybe for hospitals and hotels. People just hang their clothes. Air is free.

[mwooldri]

109. Rain is free too.

Yes, a lot of people "back home" do hang out their laundry to dry, but when the forecasters say that there's going to be rain every day for the next two weeks... the washing has to be dried somehow.

[mwooldri]

108. Washer/dryer combinations - still being made and sold.

If you're willing to go to Europe, that is.

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/hotpoint-wdl520g-washer-dryer-graphite-00854250-pdt.html

Currys in the UK sell the above Hotpoint combination washer/dryer. Happens to be their cheapest.

The pros of having a combined machine: Saving space. "Set it and forget it" - put stuff in the machine and go to work and come back to dried clothes.

The cons of having a combined machine: can't wash and dry at the same time, and the combined machine costs more than two separate machines. (at least according to Curry's website).

In our household, I can assure you that the washing machine and dryer are in use each and every day. We would struggle with a combined machine.

Yes, there is planned obsolesence. Our washing machine has had two parts go wrong on it in the last 3 years we have had it. Fortunately we did purchase a 4 year extended warranty so both problems were fixed with no out of pocket costs at the time of service (like healthcare should be but that's another debate) but I can foresee us schlepping to the Sally Army or Habitat for Humanity and seeing what used washers they have for sale there in a few years.

Mark.

[uncommon]

93. It's 100% about profits.

[reggie the dog]

94. 130 recs

we know how we are getting fucked yet both parties in the usa love free trade...

[DesertFlower]

95. i have 3 words. greed, greed, greed.

[krkaufman]

99. Because, as all Economics 101 students can tell you, the price is determined ...

... by whatever the market will bear. The price of an item isn't directly related to its cost to produce, so much as what the consumer is willing to pay.

[uponit7771]

104. X-ACT-LEE

[RaleighNCDUer]

107. Wassamatta? You don't see the advantage to having bi-lingual appliances? nt

[90-percent]

118. American workers vs. offshore workers

I read something a long time ago that stuck with me; Direct labor does not make up very much of the overall cost of a product! It's a factor, of course, but there's many more factors that are bigger - cost of factory floor space, cost to keep the factory open, cost of factory machinery, etc. So much of the cost of producing/manufacturing anything is fixed. machine tools aren't cheaper overseas! building factories ain't much cheaper, etc.

American corporations have not passed on much of the cost benefit of cheaper direct labor. Goods are still in the same price ranger, it's just that they get to make a bigger profit margin. But, the profit margin shrinks anyway because American corporations are killing their own customers with downsizing and thus their overall sales shrink anyway.

I am utterly convinced that all the Harvard MBA's running our American Corporations are taught some form of self defeating economics that is a scorched earth policy on the American economy and well being of the people. What thew fuck is so brilliant about that? It seems down right stupid and selfish and destructive to your country (unpatriotic)to me!

They are playing musical chairs with our entire world economy. Why are so many of these MBA's paid such princely sums to destroy the American way of life?

-90% Jimmy

[Freddie Stubbs]

120. You are wrong. The mexican made washer only costs $500

[Cicada]

124. We buy washing machine for less, sell wheat to Mexican worker

The Mexican manufacturer will undercut the $600 price, saving me money. Our collective savings will be spent to employ the laid-off American worker to make something else. Plus the newly employed Mexican worker will buy pasta made with South Dakota wheat - creating a new US job. That's the theory and it usually seems to work.

[toppertwot]

125. I wrote my Republican Senators

Cornyn & Hutchison of Texas that NAFTA should be canceled, and they indicated to me that NAFTA was creating so many jobs in Texas that we could not do without NAFTA. But, they did not explain how this works and just where all those NAFTA jobs were located. Somehow, I just did not put any stock in what they said.

[davidwparker]

132. It is not. And it is why I have very much limited my

purchases of material things and being satisfied with what I have.

I support locally owned business for services and go to locally owned (non-chain) restaurants.

Moved from thinking globally and back to locally. The 70's seemed like a much simpler time.

[1776Forever]

135. Well the workers in Ohio that work at Whirlpool don't average $20 an hour but it still cost the same

Just wanted to let you know that. I agree totally with your premise! I know the people who work in Ohio work their butts off to keep the company here and have been told if they don't they are moving to Mexico.

[Ticonderoga]

137. Case in point, Levi's Straus Jeans

The move out of the country, degrade the quality of materials used, and charge twice what they used to cost before the company left the states.

[revolution breeze]

138. Which is why I made a lifestyle change

If it is not grown or produced within 200 miles of my home, I don't need it. My appliances either all came with the house or I bought refurbished (that way ALL the profit stayed in my community). I don't need a new front loading steam washer, my 15 year old GE works well and was produced at the plant where my father-in-law worked for 40 years. Heck, he may even have been on the line that day!

[AllyCat]

140. That's right. I've complained to companies that used to make things here in the US

I go to buy them and they are now made in India or China and the price is the same if not MORE! Gramicci clothing comes to mind. When I called the company, they said the price would be even higher if they made it in the US because "costs are just so high here". Bull crap! They saw a way to make more money and took. None of the prices come down.

They get rich. We get poor. That was the plan all along and continues to be.