Made in the USA

[1gobluedem]

I just cleaned out my closets, making good on that New Year's resolution to get rid of stuff. Aside from not believing how much stuff I hung on to, I can't believe how much of it was made in the USA. This is all from the late 80s/early 90s and I'd say a good 80% of it was made here. Just twenty-odd years ago we had a somewhat flourishing textile industry. Finding Made in the USA clothing today is downright impossible.

Sigh. Thank you, Reagan, for starting and * for hastening the demise of the American worker for the sake of the outsourcing, get-richer CEOs and stockholders. :sarcasm:

It makes me so damn mad. :mad:

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I remember the original Faded Glory Jeans. American made...Gorgeous.

Now they are Chinese made at WalMart...of course.
They were $20+ in the late 70s early 80s. Now they are $8 at WalMart. :puke: :mad:

[david13]

3. I still

buy only Wrangler, cheapest, and made in USA.
dc

[awoke_in_2003]

17. I just checked mine...

they say "Made in Mexico".

[OnyxCollie]

12. I always thought "Faded Glory" was an odd choice for a name.

Like "Withered Potential".

[BrklynLiberal]

23. They were the first jeans that felt pre-washed..so they were "faded"

The label used to have a flag on it..I guess that was the glory...Don't know what they are using now.
They are sold only at WalMart now..x(

[david13]

2. The Blame

doesn't really fall on Reagan or the Republicans or the Democrats or any one other group.
The blame falls on the world.
The consumer has the RIGHT to buy what they want, and many times they choose the cheapest. That means cheap labor will win out almost every time.
The Republicans blame Democrats, liberals, etc for all this.
There are certain inevitabilities in life that cannot be blamed on politics.
dc

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I choose to blame WalMart.

[1gobluedem]

5. Unfair trade practices are responsible for most of it

If we don't make it so easy for our markets to be flooded with cheap, third-world labor, goods people wouldn't buy them; the products we make at home would have the advantage. But we can't get away with paying people a dollar a week in this country. If we had stricter and higher import tariffs we might still have a textile industry in this country. That CAN be blamed on politics; lobbyists are responsible for getting the politicians and legislators to ease tariffs.

[originalpckelly]

7. The problem is that the market forces wanting to cause higher wages in China...

have been nullified, as it is a communist country. That's the problem with opening our nation to economies with unfree people working them. (Though we might consider our selves lacking in freedom, the Chinese certainly have it worse.)

Most people want nicer lives, it's just that the Chinese are so far down the ladder, that lives lesser than ours in safety/wealth are better than what they had previously.

If our nation wants real global trade, then the economies we trade with must have the same standards of living that we do, so that this downward pressure on wages ceases to exist. I'd rather have something come over from Germany than China, as Germany has fairly high living standards, and it's within the realm of possibility for our workers to compete with theirs.

[Hippo_Tron]

13. The problem with China's wages rising isn't communism, it's that they have so many people

About half of the people in China live in poverty comparable to any third world country. Inside Beijing, Shanghai and the other major cities it is actually fairly developed but outside of the cities there are rings of impoverished people hoping to get jobs. Wages are still rising but very slowly.

And our trade deficit does have a lot to do with cheap labor in China but it also has to do with our nation's lack of saving both publicly and privately. We wouldn't be buying cheap crap from China in the amounts that we do if we weren't also simultaneously borrowing money from them.

[treestar]

21. Exactly, maybe we should refuse to trade with them until they

adopt human rights practices that are acceptable.

[FreakinDJ]

10. I blame RATpublicans for Hating the American Worker

Busting Unions
Deminished the Value of Made in America
Creating Loop Holes for Corporate/Wall St to export entire industries

But yes - Every RATpublican Talking Head out there will blame the consumer

[HillbillyBob]

22. Bingo!!! I had noted about 10 years ago that i could not find shirts or unders made in USA

Remember the Union Label. Proudly Made in the USA?
Several years ago Cone Mills (levis) closed in Greensboro, NC.
Throwing several hundred out of work.
I have always worn levis and wranger as they fit me well.
I had bought a few pair and a couple years before. They older pairs were starting to wear out. The same day I went to look for some I heard on NPR that Levis Strauss was closing Cone mills (I think they employee either 400 or 600 hundred)
and would be moving the equipment to Mexico and Russia so anyway I thought well I'll look anyway.
Made in Russia , Made in Mexico read the labels.
I wrote to Levi's that I thought it was pretty unfaithful of them to lay off all of these workers that it would hurt the local economy.
Their reply went something like this Due to the current policies of import export it was cheaper and more fair the their SHAREHOLDERS THAT THEY MAKE PROFITS OVER THE EMPLOYEES.
I wrote back a very stiff polite but scathing letter.
You are mercenaries and deserve to go work in the 30c a day laborers in Mexico.
After that was answered the third leter started with Fuck you I will not buy anymore Levis there is something very UnAmerican about throwing the families to the wolves so your shareholders can make more profit over the fact that these people have been working for you for generations, literally 4 generations of families have worked to make your company one of the Great American Success stories, Now you are just like the rest of the Rpigs and are mercenary.
When Wrangler (VF corpse) in Greensboro did the same thing the next year I wrote a very similar letter.
I had bought a couple of the last pair.
I have to do something soon as all of my jeans are wearing out now.
I guess goin nekid would not be in my best interest considering how the law might look down on neked tattooed and pierced folks runnin around

[Indepatriot]

6. Pointer brand jeans are U.S. made and reasonably priced.

I'm wearin a 3-yr old pair right now.Buy 'em at their website.

[david13]

8. High tariffs

are not favored by most people UNLESS it is THEIR OWN industry that gets them. They can create a black market, as well.
If the consumer is to have a free choice, which they should have (we are in favor of choice, aren't we?) then they can buy where & what they want. That is not WalMarts blame. You don't have to shop there if you don't want to.
If we want free trade with the rest of the world, we have to grant the same to the rest of the world. This concept of isolationism is an old republican idea that was discarded long ago.
We live in a global economy not because we want to, but because we must, as today that's all there is.
dc

[1gobluedem]

9. Most other countries protect their markets by having much higher tariffs than the US

Look at autos: US import tariff is 2%, China's is 21%.

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. Fair Trade! Not "free" trade.

[Jack Sprat]

14. I think you are referring to protectionism

Which I endorse whole heartedly with the unfair markets that Repubs have eagerly created for us. As for isolationism, I endorse that too...or at least non-interventionist foreign policy where we mind to our own American knitting and staying clear of everyone else's.

[david13]

24. Non intervention

I would support also. But why can it only be paired with protectionism.
It is a different issue.
The Old Right were the traditional non interventionists and didn't want to get involved in WWI and WWII, but the the roles almost reversed, until now, when the dems rubber stamp every single thing bush came up with in the last 8 years for intervention.
The reps don't create the world market.
dc

[HillbillyBob]

26. The Rpug corpses version of 'Free Trade' is not

Fair Trade so you can stop right there with that current repuke spew line

[Thothmes]

18. As are Prison Blues.

[knitter4democracy]

15. Well, there are still some decent CEOs out there.

My brother's one. Technically, he's the president, but you get the idea. He could've moved the factory to Mexico, but instead, he moved it home to Michigan.
http://www.freep.com/article/20090125/BUSINESS06/901250396/1019/BUSINESS/Cobra+Motorcycles+sees+sales+surge+by+serving+young+racing+crowd

[Vinca]

16. Our jobs have been outsourced and they wonder why the economy

is in the toilet. No jobs, no money, no purchasing power. It's not rocket science.

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. Outsource all the high paying jobs, give tax breaks to the ultra wealthy and finance two wars.

Agree, it's not rocket science. x( I'm wondering how the morons in charge think they can continue to fund our obscene defense budget when millions of Americans are unemployed? Less tax base and all that jazz. Oh and I wasn't bashing President Obama, with the 'morons in charge' comment.

[HillbillyBob]

27. Yup our government spends more than ALL other governments

combined to the tune of 669billion annually.
How much do we spend for domestic programs?
Infrastructure, SSI , medicare?
I don't remember but it is no where near that
The 669 billion does not cover wht the state department spends on mercenaries.
The cost of 'Black Projects' we have no idea since our security supposedly depends on secrecy...Democracy should have few if any secrets from the citizens.
France actually has one thing right, {your government should be afraid of the citizens not the citizens be afraid of their government}
Like we have had a fear generating government for the last 8 years plus 28 before that. I hope ronnyraygun is rotting hin hell and having to put up with D James Kennedy and Jerry Fallwell.

[HillbillyBob]

28. Yup our government spends more than ALL other governments

combined to the tune of 669billion annually.
How much do we spend for domestic programs?
Infrastructure, SSI , medicare?
I don't remember but it is no where near that
The 669 billion does not cover wht the state department spends on mercenaries.
The cost of 'Black Projects' we have no idea since our security supposedly depends on secrecy...Democracy should have few if any secrets from the citizens.
France actually has one thing right, {your government should be afraid of the citizens not the citizens be afraid of their government}
Like we have had a fear generating government for the last 8 years plus 28 before that. I hope ronnyraygun is rotting in hell and having to put up with D James Kennedy and Jerry Fallwell.

[treestar]

20. Clothing manufacturers were notorious for hiring illegal aliens

n the 80s. Looks like they got their jobs outsourced.

[Redstone]

25. You blame Reagan? Good for you, for figuring it out correctly.

Redstone