Wednesday Morning Thoughts:
American Made.
This is a phrase we love to hear! This is what most of us look for when making a purchase. However, it is getting harder to do with each passing year. We are being forced, as consumers to look at other options. If there is anyone who still sits and wonders why this is, it is a very simple answer. Our Government!
As a small manufacturing business owner, I have seen this taking shape for years. America has priced itself out of competition. Some of this has been done as a result of greedy corporations and their upper management. However, most is the result of an overreaching tyrannical government, environmentalist & global elitist. We have been forced to participate in a "global" economy but not playing by the same set of rules. Our industries have been regulated, taxed & saddled with standards that make it extremely difficult to compete, because our foreign counterparts do not have to deal with this. Or at least to the degree that we do. Our government lets foreign countries ship products into the states nearly free of charge, while our products shipping abroad are tariffed and taxed to oblivion. We have unions that once were an absolute necessity, that are now just a revenue generating arm of the democratic party. I believe employers should take care of the employees, and we do! However, when you have American companies paying employees almost $30 hr. to ride a forklift or push a broom, set quotas that can be reached in 4 hours and then they set around for 4 hours reading magazines, all while getting full paid health benefits, retirement plans, and the equivalent of 2 months off a year between vacation, sick leave & PTO, the products that company produces are not going to be cheap!
Then of course you have the small business in America. We are being taxed, regulated, surcharged, and insurance laden to death!
NOT TO MENTION THE OUTRAGEOUS INFLATION NUMBERS WE ARE FACING NOW!
On top of all of this was our federal and state governments mandating small businesses close during the "pandemic" all the while the large box stores (most with foreign ties) were allowed to operate business as usual. Then the government decided to give people staying at home a bonus! Additional unemployment benefits. They have created a large portion of society that has gotten lazy and entitled, dependent on the "free" money and benefits. Businesses all over the country looking for workers and people all over the country too lazy to work.
All of these factors and more has put the phrase "American Made" on the verge of extinction.
I completely understand people paying half the price for items that are made elsewhere in the world. Quite a bit of these products are actually American companies forced to have their products made outside of our borders and shipped back into the states because they just can't afford to, or can't find the workers to make the products here.
In addition to seeing this everyday in our business, it has been a "refresher" course as I have been looking for new products to market for 1776RM.
There is more to it than I have discussed above, but that is the main reason. Could go into details for hours but it is time to go to work.
Love you all!
So true Elf! We have witnessed much of what you describe. In our industry, many customers can only afford Chinese-made equipment at a fraction of the cost of American-made (and significantly fewer choices than in the past). Of course, there is a huge quality difference!