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From a recent McKinsey Quarterly article featuring an interview with Jim Owens, the CEO of construction equipment company Caterpillar:
Quote:
We've got to improve our trade balance by increasing our exports--not by becoming protectionists, but by staying open to the world market and aggressively working on [the] global competitiveness of our economy.
It's hard for most US citizens to come to grips with the reality that we're 5 percent of the world's population. I think we're going to be dealing in a world in the future that's--in terms of its economic centers of gravity--is going to be very multipolar. The emerging-market theater now has more than 50 percent of GDP globally. They're growing much faster. So, the game has changed. The need to think about global competitiveness is ever greater.
I think business leaders, you know, sort of in the post-Enron world and all of the issues around maybe excessive compensation, business leaders have kind of stepped to the background. What I worry about is: we don't want to address the difficult issues, and we've become politically polarized to where we can't have an adult conversation about some of the things that we need to do better as a country in terms of economic policy.
Another retail Holiday season is coming to a close and I survived. What I wanted to tell you is this.... More and more people are asking, "Where is this product made?". If it's made in China or the far east, they won't buy. They are looking for products made in the US or Europe. If they can't find it, they don't buy.
Many of the folks asking this question are Asian or of Asian descent. Many of the people asking don't even speak much English. But they are asking.
I also had the opportunity to speak with an individual who represents All Clad. That's a high end producer of pots and pans, kitchenware. For decades they manufactured in Canonsburg PA. Then they started making the pot lids in China. There has been a huge negative backlash over this issue and sales went down. They have moved the lid manufacturing back to the USA and will no longer manufacture in China.
We CAN make a difference. We CAN effect some positive change.
There are a lot of people who will not spend the extra bucks for All Clad. Its a great product, I just bought several new pcs. as I installed a stove that only cooks on All Clad and others that are compatable ( induction stove, love it )..... The extra quality is worth the extra price, where ever its made. Unfortunatally not all see it that way, they only look at the cheapest price, cars imported from China may be another one to look at ...regarding quality.
As the world starts to even out, and trade balances get more stable, we WILL see better results all the way around. For now , we still need trade /tariff rules and restrictions, for that balance to work. Just looking at Catapiller, which is a world trade company, always has been , is looking at a really big picture that the balance of international products trade is just starting to understand...it will take a while to catch up to what Cat is and has been doing.
I try to buy made in the US when I can, but more often than not I don't really see an improvement in quality compared to foreign makers. People really need to get some perspective. Yes, the 99 cent flashlight you buy from Walmart that's made in China probably won't last, but does that apply to a $40 flashlight as well? As with anything, you get what you pay for. Plenty of excellent products (Apple, for one) come out of China nowadays, and to pretend that everything from foreign makes is trash is the opposite of what frugal living (and smart thinking) is.
I try to buy made in the US when I can, but more often than not I don't really see an improvement in quality compared to foreign makers. People really need to get some perspective. Yes, the 99 cent flashlight you buy from Walmart that's made in China probably won't last, but does that apply to a $40 flashlight as well? As with anything, you get what you pay for. Plenty of excellent products (Apple, for one) come out of China nowadays, and to pretend that everything from foreign makes is trash is the opposite of what frugal living (and smart thinking) is.
And a lot of times, you do not need the expensive tool if you are only going to use it once or twice.
For something that one only uses a few times, then buying from China makes sense.
But a lot of times, when I go shopping, I look for quality. My Eddie Bauer waterproof jacket is awesome. It's even survived being totally drowned in a lake and going through the washing machine a few times and it still totally repels water. No quality issues whatsoever. And its made in China.
From now on, though, I do not wish to support a totalitarian regime that is only getting more hostile to the US. So, where possible, I will only support US-made products.
(And, from now on, I will only fly Boeing airplanes ... )
Yellowsnow, I can't agree MORE. Sadly, many of today's youth who have grown up without pride in the USA and just keep supporting the "global" economy for their self indulgence. I too would rather buy a used Made in USA product at the thrift store but unfortunately they are becoming a dumping ground for inferior imported products. Since we don't live in a democracy, be an informed voter!
While we can't, and shouldn't, ignore the importance of the paradigm shift to a global economy, I personally believe it is critical that Americans do buy made in the USA with every opportunity. Full disclosure here, I do own a foreign-made auto which I bought used. However, it is important to me to support my community and country by keeping as much of my hard earned $$ here as I possibly can. China is a communist regime. Even this very week while visiting the US, Chinese President Jintao admitted that there was "lots of work to be done in the area of Human Rights". And that is a gross understatement. US money has fueled China's increasing economic dominance. China owns the lion's share of US debt. There is no possible scenario where this ends well for US citizens overall. Spread the word far and wide....wake up and stop giving our country over to China one US dollar at a time. Buy US made products where possible. When it isn't possible, at least don't support China's economy.
First off there is no such thing as "Free Trade" that is b.s. Free Trade is clearly COSTLY for us and jobs here. Globalization" is another world sold to people to basically accept an unfair playing field.
We have higher taxes. They don't. We have labor laws. They don't. We have minimum wage laws. They don't. They have PROTECTIONIST systems. We don't.
How on Earth could ANYONE compete with that?
As I've gotten older I've also looked at labels and asked questions about where stuff is made. I now research it as well. I'm tired of buying cheap crap that lasts 3 days. I rather pay MORE for something that LASTS.
America was sold out in the 1980s and its a sad fact people overlook. That is where the huge shift began with the trade imbalance, buying companies and selling them for profit killing jobs and letting foreign investment come in with minimum tax consequences. We were SOLD OUT and that trend continues.
Menards is having a weekly " made in the USA" sale. I have found they not only have cheaper prices than HD and Lowes, but in some cases better products. They Buy a lot from Canada also , and that is fine with me.... Still like all the rest , they buy from China , but atlest they are making an open effort , for whatever thats worth.
And Menard's has a higher proportion of foreign made tools than the national chains. But their lumber all comes from the US and Canada.
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