Interesting idea.

We live within driving distance of Gilroy, the "garlic capital" of the US. Guess where almost all of the garlic cloves in local stores come from. China. How bizarre is that?

Ruthie, thank you for posting this. Yes, it has made me think.

I don't care whether the facts as presented are real or not, the point is valid.

And at least part of it is true - ABC is sponsoring a Made In America special series, and they did re-do 3 rooms with American products. It's too bad this series hasn't garnered more attention, but your post has certainly made me more aware!

Here is a link that might be useful: ABC: Made in America

Here's more from Snopes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Made in the USA

It's possible (likely,) that Dole mandarins are processed in China as well. These days it's very difficult to discover just where a food is truly from.

Thanks for posting this Ruthie. DS doesn't like to shop Wally World because so many of their products are made in China. Then he was in Lowe's and saw an item there that was also made in China.

sushi it wasn't necessary for you to tell us whether the email has any snopes report behind it......the fact of the matter is, as I pointed out, or was trying to point out.....we all need to be aware of where our food (and any thing else is coming from) is coming from.

I was surprised to find a stamp on the back of a package of frozen vegetables, saying some of the contents were from Mexico. Of more concern to me was to see that a package of ground beef listed four countries of origin: USA, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand.

I think I will buy a hunk of roundsteak and ask the butcher to grind it for me -- or grind it myself.

Menard's, a building supply chain in our area, posts where in the USA its advertised products are made. (Not to say parts of those products don't come from other countries.)

I only posted the Snopes link to add more info.

Menards here also advertises made in USA and shows where the factory is. Again, not sure if all the parts are made here.
I just wish that sheets and towels were made here.

I've often wondered if a product...especially a grocery store product...has to SAY on the label where it is made? I've looked at items that were made in China...usually AFTER a recall or something else in the news...and the only reference is DISTRIBUTED by: and then a name of the company and their home (USA) address. Doesn't mean at all where the product was made! Check your pantry, ladies. I'll bet you'll see plenty of name brand items that DO NOT SAY where they came from.

(unsteadily climbing onto my soapbox.) Ahem. Not to lecture but to bring up a few other points to ponder.

This hasn't made me think, except about how frustrated I become, since I've been harping about this for decades and watch the sheeple of the US and yes, Canada too, walk in lockstep like lemmings into the sea of ignorance.

To just say "Buy American", (or "Buy Canadian" or generically, buy "North American") has been poo-poo'ed for so long and it's sad. We see the warnings but won't heed them.

Remember the "People's Car"? People started buying them and many people said "buy American" and they said no. But maybe they would have said yes had we fat lazy Americans built something a little more comparable to the car from the man with whom we fought a war just a couple decades prior. Then the Japanese built cars we wanted, they sold them and built them better than our "beloved" unions would (optimal word is would, not could) build. But after decades of car sales, jobs and money going overseas, we finally showed them we could build an exploding Pinto.

We didn't learn when the electronic world was being moved overseas. Buy American? We fat lazy American's can't even plop ourselves down in front of an American TV anymore. Why? We wouldn't buy them, so they're not made anymore.

And today, will we learn? Nope. It's difficult to buy a locally-built computer anymore but we're sitting with our ipods, cellphones (built, uh, where??) and everything and then worry if a pineapple is canned in China.

Do people even realize that within weeks, the US will be using Russia for our space program. To me, that's a sad, sad state of affairs. Maybe the bear *did* eat the eagle in the end.

More laughs, or tears, depending on how you look at it. The All-American vacation. What do we do? Support America? See America? Nope. Europe, Asia, Central America... We put our bloated butts on a plane, then wedge them onto a cruise ship to send even more money out of the country. Really, can't we even spend some recreation dollars in the US? Oh, I get it, we'll *exercise* our fat butts on board that cruise ship! Yeah right, then pig out in the dinner hall. Gotta love watching people talk about all of their "exercising" when they still are balloons. We love to talk the talk instead of walk the walk... which ironically *would* give us some exercise! And isn't it a kicker that we don't even say "goodbye, have a nice trip" when we send our dollars overseas, but we'll say "bon voyage", smile and ignorantly wave while our dollars cry "keep us in America!".

I really think we need a reality check. Instead of keeping up with the Jones', having all the current toy fads and such, maybe concentrate on doing a better job, building a better product and make people want to buy what we can make. How about us supporting us?

"Jobs" is a curious catch phrase. We love it when we get a paycheck, but when someone else gets the check, then it's where the issuers' address that becomes the issue.

For years I've seen the downhill slide of the small business in America, for which I shed tears. I know what it's like trying to run a business and contend with the All-American cheap. We go to the small business and want service, advice and help from them but then spend our money at the Malwarts, Scam Clubs and other places rather than pay a couple dollars for service and supporting the local community.

Now I'm all for saving a buck when possible, don't get me wrong. But I know the difference between perceived savings and value.

Isn't it ironic that American's can't do tech support on the phone (we outsource that) but one thing we *can* do is call and bug people to switch credit cards, put aluminum siding on a brick house, more cable tv options and which long distance carrier to use. What does *that* say?

OK, end of rant. Soapbox (made in America, not an imported microfibre detergent box) is put away. We now resume our regularly scheduled program already in progress.

Thank you cynic....your soap-box lecture is one I fervently endorse, as does my family and many many other people in our country. It is a good reminder; one we should be reminded of often.

However....I have such 'ambivalent thoughts about the folks that do support the 'WallyWorlds'... many of them are simply stretching their limited income, sometimes with great difficulty. The 'ambivalence' is that so VERY many of our priorities are based on a society that has been corrupted into believing the TV shows (is that Madison Avenue?). THE AMERICAN DREAM of having everything; being entitled to everything is a sales-pitch that too many really believe. Who told young women that they could produce un-told numbers of children and our society would support them. Housing, food, medical, education, even provide disposal diapers (because it is a health issue) so they can spend their welfare checks and food stamps in those Wally-world places.

The "tiger we have on our back" is not just supporting small business etc.etc...... How long will it take (and how depleted will our resources become) before we can change the ideas that a "Beverly Hills" lifestyle is not even desirable, let alone attainable.

The American Dream needs reshaping...desperately.

End of my soap box, but yours, cynic, was very well written, while mine needs work! Nanny

Oh, Cynic. Tell us what you REALLY think. :)

I think I understand where you're coming from, but you do fail to place blame on shoulders that deserve it: Giant Business. And when an American car company decides it's going to cut corners and use inferior parts, (hopefully, in the past!) can you really blame the workers and their unions for that??

Wow, this thread took a left turn somewhere!

Ditto...cynic.
What was the question in that e-mail?.... Are we Americans as dumb as we appear.....? kinda seems that way.

Business is not to blame and no one should look to the government to address this - please.

It is the American consumer who chooses to purchase items made outside of the U.S. because they are cheaper partly because U.S. labor is more expensive - salaries plus lots of health benefits, retirement, etc. People want more stuff for themselves and they can buy more if they buy the lower cost items - which are made outside of the U.S.

The fact seems to be - most people don't want to make a greater contribution out of their own pocket to support U.S. companies and U.S. jobs.

Whether it's companies or individuals - most look to get as much as they can for themselves. Very few are driven primarily by charitable motives.

In my opinion, businesses ARE to blame! They are the ones who moved their manufacturing plants overseas in order to save money. As a result, the small companies that are left manufacturing items in the US cannot compete with the cheap prices of items made overseas. If large companies kept their manufacturing facilities in the US, prices for US made goods would decrease, and job opportunities in the US would increase. Personally, I always check the origin of whatever I am planning to purchase and try very hard to find something made in the US. We are currently doing a kitchen remodel and our cabinets, floor tiles, faucet, sink, range hood, backsplash, and appliances are all made in the US. The countertop is made in Spain, but at least it's made from 75% recycled materials, so it's not all bad. :o)

Way to go, Petra! I totally agree with you. It's VERY difficult to find products made here and pretty tough to buy U.S.-made if they're not available. The dollar wins most every time.

It's very important to separate BIG business from small when discussing this subject.

Hmm, I tried to find this thread yesterday and it appeared to be gone. I'm kinda surprised it hasn't been pulled.

I do believe it is difficult for a company to compete not only because of wages but because of regulations they must comply with. If the companies who produce cheaper items offshore had to comply with the same environmental controls and other social issues as if they were made here in the U.S., the prices would be similar. It is difficult to FIND certain items Made in the US anymore. Are there ANY televisons made in the US anymore?

I'm as extremely guilty as anyone, since I haven't bought a car made in the USA in probably 25 years...nor do I intend to.

I think that having the Japanese being able to sell their cars to North Americans, it made the Big 3 sit up and take notice and build better cars. They are really well built, some of them are better than the Japanese cars for quality.

But, they are still over-priced, due to the unions. If we didn't pay union workers $30+ dollars an hour, the cars would be a lot cheaper and more people would be driving them IMO.

I love the Dodge and Chrysler line-up and also love the Hyundais. I've been driving a Hyundai Sonata for 10 years and it hasn't caused me any problems at all. The new ones are priced lower than the US counterparts, still.

Having said all that, buying "made in North America" products is like finding a needle in a haystack. Packaging and labelling is extremely confusing and it's a very gray area what is really inside the box...we don't really know for certain where it came from.

As far as not shopping in WallyWorld, it doesn't matter where you shop; the items are still being made in China. Whether it's Black and Decker or another manufacturer. So you might as well go where the price is cheapest.

If US manufacturers kept all their operations in the U.S. they'd be unable to compete with non-US manufacturers who can produce goods at a lower cost. It's a global economy - goods produced outside the U.S. would still be sold here and consumers would still be scooping them up because most people want as much as possible for as low a cost as possible. It's consumers who cause us to be in the situation we are today. Businesses exist to make a profit for their shareholders - not to do goodwill gestures that result in lower profits. It's just the way things work. If the majority of people were willing to pay significantly higher prices to allow equivalent profits on US made goods then we'd have more made in the USA stuff for sale.

I've read that things are changing though as third world countries advance and labor costs increase. Likewise our economy is in the tank and with 9% unemployment our labor costs could go down in some cases. I did actually find a clothing item made in the USA not too long ago - I was shocked.

I can't believe that some of these comments haven't become self-evident. Yes, the US cannot compete with the cheap prices of items made overseas. Hellloooo!!!

Our labor costs have taken us out of the global arena. That's why US companies have gone overseas. And we are the ones to blame. We want cheap. We want to stretch our dollars, and so we shop price. And the lowest prices come from overseas because they make it cheaper than we do.

We only have ourselves to blame here. We want low prices, and the US labor structure can't compete with China and India. US "Giant business" take their manufacturing overseas to bring us the Walmart and Target pricing the American consumer demands. They didn't take their manufacturing processes offshore out of spite. They took them to a place that could provide a sustainable cost they could market in the U.S. and still maintain the profit they and their investors expect. (And, by the way, many pension funds and 401k's depend on that sustainable growth).

If the US government would be willing to raise import taxes on imported goods and give tax breaks to US companies which continue to manufacture in the US, the prices for US made goods might be more competitive. The economy certainly won't improve if companies continue to outsource everything possible so they don't have to pay fair wages in the US, to US workers.

Fair wages in the US aren't comparable to wages in the global marketplace. Our sense of entitlement is disproportionate to the realities of the external environment.

Giving tax breaks is a great idea, except those taxes pay for infrastructure and social programs we still can't afford even with those taxes.

Sooner or later we need to wake up and realize that other countries are overtaking us in more competitive labor wages, technological advancement, investment in their infrastructure and a better educated population. Our productivity is falling, our competiveness is failing, our population is becoming less educated, and still we feel entitled to have it all.

And by the way, some of you should check out where your pension funds and 401k's are invested. Those big businesses you disparage for their struggle to remain profitable - you may be unknowing stockholders. If they fail, so do you.

Oh, and raising taxes on imported goods - great idea. We restrict or attempt to impeded imports, and what do you think the backlash is? They restrict ours. What overseas markets we do have will dry up. That diminishes demand and people lose their jobs.

Import quotas, higher import taxes, boycotts - anything that artifically attempts to slow down imports - these do nothing to assist domestic production. If anything, the retailiation makes production levels drop. More jobs lost.

Tally is 100% correct. Americans just will not pay the price that things cost to be manufactured here. People can't really cry "Buy American" all the time and then go shopping at Walmart. It's a consumer driven market. Businesses wouldn't go overseas if they could make it and sell it here for the same cost/profit. Most people care about prices MORE than they care about things being made in the US, and as long as that's the case, things will continue to be the same.

The US and China's economies are so intertwined and dependent on each other now (them making, us buying), that if either of our economies were to collapse, the other one would probably go right down with it, IMO.

Considering that the Chinese government imposes very high tariffs on most US products, I really don't think it would hurt the US if China restricted US imports in retaliation for increased import taxes for Chinese goods.
As for pension funds, I personally don't know anyone who still has one, so I can't comment on fund investment distribution.
I do agree this country is teetering on the edge because of many different factors, and it looks like things will get much worse before they get better.

Do you think that if we had fewer social programs to support we could lower our taxes a little and people could afford to spend their money on themselves instead of all the dead beats we now support both in and out of this country?

Whoa, Nelly. I guess most of you posting here are conservatives who don't know or care about obscene profits, which are always the bottom line for the Big Boys. Is our cost of living the same as that in China or India? The idea is to use a red herring, and that would be union workers. Check out all the facts, not just opinions and always, always consider the source of those facts.