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I'm not being argumentative, just asking (I like to know things, so I don't make stupid statements in the future.) I've never even known anybody before who could even afford $1,000 shoes, much less actually buy them.
I buy $40 Herman walking shoes. (China). You buy $1,000 shoes. Does it cost 25 times as much to make your shoes? Is there 25-times as much quality and workmanship in the shoe? Or are you getting a better-than-average shoe worth about a hundred bucks, and paying 900 for the prestige of the label, and maybe the patriotic satisfaction of an American shoe?
Comfy and durable shoes, I can understand, but how much better is a Louis Vuitton handbag, than a knockoff at 1/20 of the price? Nothing falls through the bottom of the knockoff, either.
well, as for cost, alden's being made in the US definately would cost more than 25 times than those made in china IMO (atleast labor wise). also in my opinion, the workmanship and quality are 25 times better too. That was my point though. The US shouldn't compete on price, it should compete on quality first. At 400 dollars, if you compare alden's to your typical 'fancy' 400 dollar european brands....ferragamo, etc...alden's are much better value, are constructed much better, and use better materials. my aldens also last over 5 years easily if kept in good care.
how has alden succeeded? because they knew their market, and didn't compromise in quality/cut corners. I am not saying all industries are the same as the shoe industry, but what it means is the US should not compete in 'disposable goods' and focus their manufacturing expertise on durables where quality/workmanship/'x-factors' are the key variables.
It won't be easy, but i think america can take back some of its manufacturig base with this mindset.
It all depends on the quality. If the quality is better than the chinese-made, then I'll pay more, up to 20 dollars if necessary. If not, then I'll pay the same price.
If you ever wore a pair of really good shoes, you might be surprised what you would pay for them!
I don't even pay $1,000 when I need a car. (The last two I bought were about $700). I own exactly one pair of shoes, and I walk at least a mile or two every day, ten miles on some days, and I'm perfectly happy with them. Shoes are the only thing I buy at retail, because it's important that they fit, and resale shoes that fit are too hard to find. I pay $40. (Actually, I also have a pair of old tennies in my car, in case I have to walk in deep water or bad mud.)
I doubt if there is a store within a hundred miles of here where I could even try on a pair of $200 shoes. In fact, I just phoned three stores (and edited)---one store told me their highest mens shoe is $189, another told me it is unlikely that there is shoe in town for over $200, and I live more than 100 miles from a bigger city.
Good point about American cars being made in Mexico and Japanese cars being made in America. No wonder why Japanese cars seem to work better. Most Toyota's are built here.
Both of our Toyotas(Camry and Corolla) were made in the USA. Not only are they great quality and get great mileage but they gave Americans work and that contributed to the American economy. I buy American made whenever I can. If it is an American company that is better but I would rather but an American made good by a foreign company than a good by an American company made outside of the US.
J, the first option in my poll was "I'd buy the Chinese-made product because it's cheaper". If I were only including options I liked, that wouldn't have been one of 'em.
Slaves didn't do "all" of our cheap labor. They worked on plantations. If they worked in any capacity other than on plantations, I never learned about that in history class. That being said, I'm sure it's a possibility... but I highly doubt that there were ever actual factories staffed entirely by slaves and overseers. And, of course it didn't cut into the wealth and buying power of the plantation owners... we never had to worry about the devaluation of our gold-backed currency due to competition from other countries! Have you ever wondered why it is that the inflation rate in this country was extremely low (averaging around one percent per year) until we went off of the last precious metal standard (silver) in 1965?
The problem is not whether or not this is cutting into our wealth and buying power. The problem is that the American economy is an illusion. We buy everything that's made in China... much of our money is going over there... how many dollars do those Chinese really want before they say "hey, this worthless paper is useless in our country- take your dollars and stuff 'em"? Do you really want Chinese yuan notes? NO... because they're of no use in America... and are you really going to travel to China? That's probably not happening unless you're native Chinese and going back to visit family. Oh... and as far as how much interest China earns by holding our Treasury notes, our dollars, and our debt and whatever... we're talking that it's on the order of maybe 2-4%... not counting whatever it takes to convert those dollars back to their own yuan. Our Federal interest rate is 2% and last I heard, the yield on Treasury notes was around 3.6%... news flash for ya: that doesn't even beat China's inflation rate. They're better off spending their money now than they are stashing it into US debt notes which will be worth less in one year than their money is worth now.
J, amusingly enough, America does this all over the place. Where I used to live, there were plenty of otherwise able-bodied people being paid that much and more per week to sit on their butts and do nothing. It's called welfare (ahem- socialism).
The thing is... America collectively realized, at least in a "majority" sense, back in the mid-1800s, that slavery was wrong. However, for almost 100 years after the abolition of slavery, just about everything Americans bought was made in America. Apparently, we made it work. These days, few if any American people would agree that slavery, or cheap labor in squalid conditions, is "right". Yet, we support it every day by buying crap from China. This is called HYPOCRISY.
One never knows what's the best value for the money. This goes back to the question about quality. Do you really know the quality of a product, or how long it will last, until you open the box and use it for a while? My wife and I recently looked at treadmills. They all looked nearly identical with the only difference being the bells and whistles... and what the brochures said. Both of us weigh well over 200 pounds... any treadmill we buy is going to take one heck of a beating under our use. How can we tell just by looking at them at the sporting goods store which one is of best quality... or which is the best value for the money? I mean, MAYBE we could read Consumer Reports... they'd probably have done a report on treadmills at one point in time... but they probably don't waste time doing reports on little things like toilet paper holders and shirts.
So, not only is it nearly impossible to determine what is the "best value for the money" quantitatively, but it's also nearly impossible to determine "best value for the money" qualitatively because everyone's opinion differs. Maybe you want to buy a toilet paper holder that only lasts one year because you're renting your house, you broke the toilet paper holder, and you'll be out in less than a year. In that case, you'd buy the cheapie and it'd be the best value for the money. However, maybe you're building your dream house and you expect to live out the rest of your days there. Then, you'll buy the really nice one that isn't likely to, pardon the pun, crap out on you within a year or so. In that case, the expensive one which looks much more durable will be the best value for the money. It's a subjective thing.
Ultimately, the best approximation I can give is to say that our assumption about the compared hypothetical Chinese and American products in this poll is that they appear to be functionally identical and at least, before you open the box and test 'em out, they appear to be of the same quality and workmanship. (In the end, YOU NEVER KNOW.)
Your whole argument is moronic. Our inflation rates are actually more steady now than before we went off the Gold standard. I hear this argument all the time and it is just untrue. Reality is that inflation and deflation plagued our country all through the 1900-1965. Inflation was up in the seventies but has leveled out considerably since that time. O yea buy the way during your precious Gold standard there were 3 global financial crises in 30 years not seen since.
I don't even want to respond to your thoughts on China, but I will. If for some reason China said "take you worthless money back" their whole economy would go away over night. The yuan is valued by the dollar. Using your argument the dollar is the gold standard. Gold is rated at the same rate that dollars are by speculation and indexes. Just because you tell me that Gold is worth $20 an ounce doesn't mean anything it is what someone is willing to purchase it for or the purchasing power of that Gold. China's economy is still largely based on exportation of goods. This is a world economy and goods and money is rated appropriately by the world. That is why when food goes up in this country people in Somalia feel that same food increase. Go to a business class or just use Google and spend less time blogging and more time informing yourself. Either way stop being and idiot.
Here's a story. In 1980, my father in law bought a 9" color TV at J.C. Penney's department store for $750.00. The TV was U.S. made. The TV was 3% of his annual salary of $25,000 as a union printer. So if a union printer today makes $50k a year, that same TV would cost $1,500. For a 9" in color TV. This was also at a time when many people did not charge things. They used cash. They saved and maybe had 1-2 TV's in an entire house. I am all for paying more for U.S. made products. We need to manufacture things again. Todays containers come into the port of LA, stocked with merchandise from China and only about 25% of them are shipped back to China full. 75% of them are sent back on ships empty...literally. If the majority of us were willing to live more frugally, we could afford to spend more on U.S. made products and the nation would be prosperous again.
I voted "I don't care what it costs- if I can buy American".
The problem is, so few items I see don't have the word China stamped on them somewhere. I sometimes wonder if that stamp - on everything from plastic toys to metal spoons to spark plugs - means something more than I currently comprehend. I think it might have something to do with aliens.
Like another poster commented, the majority of what I purchase is second-hand (thrift stores, classifieds ads, etc), so I'm kind of out of the consumerism loop. Not really supporting big business and corporate demons. The few items I do buy new are carefully researched and I do pay more for high quality products.
I would bet that 80% of the "stuff" people buy is not actually needed. They buy it because it's shockingly cheap. A while later, all this stuff ends up in the thrift stores, where I buy it for 50 cents and use it until it's dead.
This does indeed seem to be quite controversial, hence why I'm posting a poll to gather some stats. I'm planning to do battle with some big corporations to whatever extent they'll listen to "little me", and it'd be nice to be able to back my statements with the sentiments of other people.
Here's the situation: Say you wanted to buy something and you could choose between two products which appeared to be functionally identical on the surface... one made in the USA and one made in China or some other comparable third-world country. The Chinese-made product costs $10. How much would you be willing to pay to get the American-made product?
I remember going into a Macy's here in Durham, NC a little under 2 years ago right before Christmas '06. I was shopping in the men's clothing department and noticed a nice leather Polo brand sport jacket displayed on a mannequin.Very nice, soft but rugged leather with a nice style. It was on sale for $299; down from $399. Still a little high I thought. Then, with some hesitation, I looked at the tag and saw the "Made in China" label.
The question is this: Does anyone here really think that the price of that leather sport jacket would be that much more if it was made in the U.S.??? The sad fact is that even the so-called "high-end" fashions are being made in India, China, and Pakistan. If you think about it, at first the prices seemed lower. But over time (adjusted for inflation and value), and with wages being less, you aren't saving anything! I, for one, would rather pay a dollar or two more for my clothes and keep some jobs in the U.S.!!!
The little bit of money consumers "save" annually by purchasing all this Third World garbage pales in comparison to the billions in lost wages and revenue this country has experienced due to the millions of lost manufacturing jobs!
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Your an Idiot
The sad fact is that even the so-called "high-end" fashions are being made in India, China, and Pakistan. If you think about it, at first the prices seemed lower. But over time (adjusted for inflation and value), and with wages being less, you aren't saving anything! I, for one, would rather pay a dollar or two more for my clothes and keep some jobs in the U.S.!!! 
