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I've been noticing a lot of Frozen and canned fish products in the supermarkets coming from China and southeast Asia.
I've seen that too, not a lot, but some. What's odd is the importation of farmed Chinese fish was banned in some places because of carcinogens found in the fish.
Before the question can be answered, a definition of "American made" has to be reached. What qualifies as American made?
Is a product made by a foreign company on US soil by American workers an American made product?
Is a product made by an American company on foreign soil American made?
Do the raw materials used to make the product have to come from America, or can they be imported? How about parts? If the screws, transistors, etc. are made elsewhere but final assembly of the item occurs on US soil, is the result an American made product? What if the raw materials or parts come from the U.S., but final assembly occurs somewhere else?
I think if a very strict definition is used, very little qualifies as American made. These days no nation is an (economic) island.
I am not sure what qualifies as an American company. What percentage of the stock needs to be owned by American corporations or citizens? If a company uses lots of temporary foreign workers should that company count as American?
Before the question can be answered, a definition of "American made" has to be reached. What qualifies as American made?
Is a product made by a foreign company on US soil by American workers an American made product?
Is a product made by an American company on foreign soil American made?
Do the raw materials used to make the product have to come from America, or can they be imported? How about parts? If the screws, transistors, etc. are made elsewhere but final assembly of the item occurs on US soil, is the result an American made product? What if the raw materials or parts come from the U.S., but final assembly occurs somewhere else?
I think if a very strict definition is used, very little qualifies as American made. These days no nation is an (economic) island.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrkliny
I am not sure what qualifies as an American company. What percentage of the stock needs to be owned by American corporations or citizens? If a company uses lots of temporary foreign workers should that company count as American?
I think it is fair to conclude that "American made" is ill-defined.
Industrialist spent the past 50 yrs insuring there is no "Made in America". All the component and parts manufacturing is done in foreign locations. We may find some things assembled, but look across the nation at the many mill and foundry towns that are nothing but shells of old abandoned building, among the many other types of industrial manufacturers who simply left nothing but blight. and the people talking about 'what use to be there", seemingly unaware it will not return to its glory days.
Our system of Educations spent decades training people to push for "outsourcing", "mergers and acquisition" which result to reduce even more production capabilities. We are now not much more than a nationwide discount product Mecca for foreign manufactures to sell their goods. The sad reality is, we don't even know it.
When greed exceed the respect for what is an American worker, then industry left under the premise. We were transitioned to a 'disposable good nations', which supports imports providing another disposable good within a short time. Nothing is repairable, it’s simply trash it and buy another disposable product.
We no longer earn the quality of income to buy quality goods, so we have adopted the " buy a disposable product with a lifespan of 6 mos. to 1 year, and prepare to replace it with another after that time frame.
From the clothes we wear to the items in our home, arrived on ships from Asia, and we rush to the store to see what next have they brought for us.
You cannot pass a Walmart with a empty parking lot, nor can you go in any working poor community without seeing a variety of dollar stores filled with imported goods.
When the nation GIVES $30 billion a month to China in trade imbalance funds, how can we expect to sustain anything of industry. China is our #3 trading partner, we also give away money in trade imbalance with Canada and Mexico, our #1 and #2 Trading partners, the list continues. Each partner on the list we basically suffer a trade imbalance.
What if - that money circulated in American industry, we'd be a greater nation than we were Post World War II, but the Baby Boomer generation and their offspring's assured that we would not remain being an industrial power, they loved the word " outsource", Mergers and Acquisition, and a short term profit, they had and have no idea what the value of sustainable industry is or what is it about, therefore they don't care about sustainability for long term prosperity. So,now we rely on selling securities rather than having a cash positive trade relationship with our partner nation. They now live better than we do, and will continue to progress to live even better than us as time moves forth.
We are now a paper shuffling, dollar store clerk nation, with some jobs in areas of promoting the sale of import goods.
We whine, but within the course of the week, many will forget the whining and head straight to the dollar store and Wal-Mart’s and other stores that specialize in selling imported goods.
Now with our money, the other nations are strong and powerful, and their aim is to unpeg themselves to the dollar so the value of their money will be more and ours will become even lesser, and we have no choice but to help them, because we can't find anything except foreign made goods or goods with foreign made components within it.
Yes, there is such thing as a global economy, but America gave away TOO MUCH, so it has little choice other than to become a mere assembly point for some select items but we are not a manufacturing nation anymore.
We squander the golden opportunity, and other countries are not going to willingly give it back to us. We don't have wise enough Industrial leaders to take it back by learning how to rebuild manufacturing. The mills that once turned raw materials into usable stock, are no longer part of our base industry, so we have to not only import raw materials, but we have to import usable stock made from raw material.
We've stooped so low, we import Cinder Blocks, and many of the raw materials that go into a heat and eat food products. Chicken of the Sea Brand and other such products are now owned by Thai Union Group
Remember we even sold big name Breweries, yet we are such a beer drinking society, yet greed and avarice brought us to sell of the maker of something millions consume on a daily basis.
People should know, many of the heads of corporations who graduated from the Ivey league schools during the 40's 50's, did not focus primarily on academia, they were interested in sports, social clubs and private organizations and developing their networks based on the status and prestige of such things. When they began to head industry, their aim was about 'status and prestige", not running and sustaining good business nor having any concern for the communities and citizens. Whatever it takes for gaining status and prestige, was of importance, so selling a business and cashing out, was common sense under their ideology.
I don't know if the coming generations can turn it around, because everything now has been globalized and the industry is now centered in Asia. Asia also has the available low wage labor to keep it there for decades to come.
Please read about the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank), its the brain child of China, to develop infrastructure and industry across the Asian continents - for raw materials, facility, labor and productions. They now understand we are only 300 million people. In places like China, they have "multiple" Provinces with more than 200 million people each, and this does not even consider to count the massive millions of people in the various Asian nations, nor the Billion of People in India. Now... why in clear logic would they think they can rely on a nation of 300 million to be allowed to continue to wield power, when they not only have the populations, they now have the money we once had and they use it 'constructively" - They plan to invest Trillions via the AIIB, and they have 57 nations supporting them. The only hold outs are America and Japan. Now, how can 2 nations go up against 57 on an industrial level. It's neither practical nor feasible.
But our primary concerns are, what time does the favorite sitcom come on, and which reality show is our favorite and our young are committed to gibberish via social media. We forgot these other nations have “duty minded people", who have a strong sense of responsibility. They demonstrate that in how they come to America and within a short time they open up shop, while we are out looking for a low pay job. What this tells us is the foreigners are "enterprising people".
We rank where? 27th or lower on the Global Education Scale, and here we are, unaware to the point we have students attacking teachers and parents knocking out teachers on school premise.
Foreign students and people who immigrate many with the ability of two languages, have a broader vocabulary than the average American who only speaks one language. What we have that attract them is a system which has the freedoms to engage and build, they look at us as lazy and callous and wasteful, and they come and capitalize on it, because they know we pose no challenge, because we were not groomed to be and become enterprising people, we were groomed to seek a job, where they were groomed to build something of their own they could expand and grow with which provides them the resources to educate their kids and expand their holdings.
We forgot to learn from the world about us. These people from other nations were driven to learn from the world about them. Very different trajectory mentality. We can't fault them, we must fault ourselves.
We are busy now, BEING STRAPPED to a 5 to 7 yr contract to purchase a vehicle, when many who arrive here, have figured it out, they create business and go by the car cash where they can make a better deal and save massively on cutting out financing expense. We watch reality tv, and they spend time devising means to create and run a business. We focus on racial divides, and they figure out how to market and relate with all racial groups.
India and China did not suffer so greatly during the 2007-2008 collapse, because many of their people were independent entrepreneurial, who provided a business or service people wanted and needed. We in turn rely on big box stores and big industry to prove us with everything, and credit cards, layaway and other term based arrangements to get things.
We have no idea, and sadly, we have no sincere concern as to what is happening in the world economics around us.
You won't find Asian kids protesting wearing a uniform to school, because they understand it identifies them as a student and they take pride in being associated with learning. We have a concept of freedom to mean do as you please any way you please . They understand freedom as an opportunity to be responsible and choose carefully what they do and how they do it. They care less about, the callous concept we have of freedom and more about the fact that to have freedom is to be responsible is their concern.
We should have learned about their sense of resolve, in how they kicked butt and forced us to get out of Vietnam more than 40 yrs ago. Their resolve is based on a sense of determination, and they dedicate themselves to these premise objectives.
Big differences in nations and their cultural mentality about life and the will to be successful, which outline how America chose the pathway of its own demise. OurAmerican Business and Industrial leaders were taught to sell anything for short term gain; these nations are interested in selling nothing for short term gains, but building sustainable industry for long term prosperity.
Last edited by Chance and Change; 04-19-2015 at 08:10 AM..
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