Out of bussiness in AMERICA!

[HOTROD]

I was cruising the forums the other day and had a thought why do we go to Wal-Mart a supposedly American store to but foriegn made items? Understandably some things we must buy because of neccessity or maybe our skill level.But suppose for instance things like furniture,some types of food,tools among other things etc,etc,etc. Not just picking on Wal-Mart just using them as a reference. Would'nt it be more fun and fufilling to take the wife in the backyard and till the land,feed the cows?Or maybe the kids in the shop with a project say a bedframe or piece af furniture! I seen some of the things we are capable of in other peoples threads,with a little ingenuity we could do alot and send our government a strong message.We are in the United States of America and our forefathers built this country !

[odleo]

Hotrod I agree with you. I for one only buy at Wal Rat if I have too. I would rather pay more and support our country than to buy that China junk. Buy either US Or Canada made products

[MAC702]

Everyone wants a job with good pay and benefits, and a retirement. But no one, it seems, is willing to pay for products made under such conditions.

[Roospike]

I do all that i can to buy AMERICAN MADE tools . What burns my a$$ is on all these forums (welding / shop) all these "fabricators" buying a lot of there supplies from places like Harbor Freight knowing what there all about and china junk to begin with.

The Shop Floor Talk forum turned into the Harbor Freight forum.

I guess i just can't see a skilled fabricator not knowing any better. If there buying that kind of quality in the first place it tells me a lot about there fabrication quality.

[ross]

I never buy anything from harbor freight.

period.

[harcosparky]

I never really paid any attention to Harbor Freight nor did I know where one was until I got involved in Welding as a hobby and joined these forums. I went to Harbor Freight once, didn't buy anything and probably never will.

AS to furniture, you have a good point. I am a pretty well accomplished cabinet maker who with age as gotten a bit lazy. Went shopping for bedroom furniture for my son Saturday and looked at what was being sold. On the way home I stopped at Lowes and purchased the raw materials to build him a nice bed with built-in under bed storage.

I know that for less than 1/2 of the $399.00 they were asking for a bed retail I will build him one worth twice, if not more of their asking price. I am not sure where the retail bed was made, but I am certain the quality was lacking.

Most of the furnishings in my house are BUILT IN AMERICA, by me.

One advantage of building it myself is I know it will fit. I build it to fit the application, and do not have to compromise.

Hopefully I will in the near future begin to include steel in some of my creations. I do have some ideas for steel frame welded bookcases.

[cruizer]

It would seem that every piece of equipment has a piece of China, Taiwan, and India inside of it. In order to keep costs down. every manufacturer including Miller & Lincoln have chosen to out source parts.

I'd figure that a Miller 210 would cost around the 3 grand mark if all the components were made in the States.

[leeschaumberg]

Cost of Anything

The reason for low cost non amarican goods is MONEY. American manufactures and american people buy low priced products any where they come from. To elininate this everything here (wages , retirement , etc. ) needs to go up 4 times. This won't happen so be like every body else and buy dirt cheap!

[trstek]

Hiring skilled people is a challenge. They come out of school, with the help of our media, with visions of, well I won't get into that.

One real problem is our education is not giving people the skills they need to be inovative and hands on. The one that just kills me is "we are all winners". In the world I spend my days in, there are winners and loosers. I must be in the wrong world. I think the kids are smart enough to see through most of it, but it sends a confusing message.

Another big one is the cost of capital. If the capital markets are not willing to invest in infrastructure that will allow this country to be a manufactoring leader. It will be very difficult to be one.

[bob_e95482]

The company I work for builds foundry equipment, & we ship a lot to China. A salesman from Parker hydraulics was saying wages have gone up dramatically in China. Manufacturers are looking at Vietnam for cheap labor. As their standards rise, things will come full circle; it will again be cost effective to manufacture here in the US.

[WyoRoy]

The company I work for builds foundry equipment, & we ship a lot to China. A salesman from Parker hydraulics was saying wages have gone up dramatically in China. Manufacturers are looking at Vietnam for cheap labor. As their standards rise, things will come full circle; it will again be cost effective to manufacture here in the US.

While the circle may indeed evolve, I imagine that it may take longer than you or I have left on this earth to realize. From the hearsay I can gather the Chinese are not providing much, if any, retirement for their workers. Same goes for health care. While wages may have risen dramatically, how much is that really? Fish heads and rice to $2.00 a day is quite a dramatic increase. Still, trying to limit buying only American manufactured items is close kin to closing the barnyard gate after the horses have already left.

[monte55]

Hotrod I agree with you. I for one only buy at Wal Rat if I have too. I would rather pay more and support our country than to buy that China junk. Buy either US Or Canada made products

Why do you ever have to shop Wal-Mart? Do you support America only when it's convenient for you? It bothers me that flag wavers only seem to participate when the flag is free.

[cruizer]

Ahh, most of your "American made" tools are Fabbed with Asia made tooling.

[DDA52]

I
The Shop Floor Talk forum turned into the Harbor Freight forum.

.

Ummmmmm.......I don't think so.

I've only been to HF twice in my life....no reason to hurry back at the moment unless I decide to get their big compressor which is made right here by an Italian company or something like that.


What I am finding is everyone is getting cheaper by the day. Absolutely no one wants to pay for what they get or want. They all want deals or discounts. I work hard for my product and will not be cutting prices just because some idiot that lives in a half million buck house decides he is entitled to a cheaper price. This is part of why Wally world continues to do well. Then there is the quality issue. No doubt, the Chicom products are low in that dept...but then many American products are as well, and at twice to three times the cost. It is a no win situation. It will take major attitude adjustments to corrct the problem......I don't see that ever happening.

[Sberry]

I was cruising the forums the other day and had a thought why do we go to Wal-Mart a supposedly American store to but foriegn made items? Understandably some things we must buy because of neccessity or maybe our skill level.But suppose for instance things like furniture,some types of food,tools among other things etc,etc,etc. Not just picking on Wal-Mart just using them as a reference. Would'nt it be more fun and fufilling to take the wife in the backyard and till the land,feed the cows?Or maybe the kids in the shop with a project say a bedframe or piece af furniture! I seen some of the things we are capable of in other peoples threads,with a little ingenuity we could do alot and send our government a strong message.We are in the United States of America and our forefathers built this country !

You could turn off the Chinese computer, drag the wife out to the backyard, give her a shovel show us how its done. Give a report.