Buy American, or???

[...]

another option that isnt being utilized nearly enough these days is to simply "do it yourself"....hell, a lot of the time you can even undercut Chinese slave labor prices if you simply build it yourself...and then you have the pride of actually creating something.

and honestly, for most things, its really not that hard...especially with the advent of being able to learning damn near anything online...especially simple stuff like Blankets and bedding, basic furniture, simple leather goods like belts and wallets, ect....watch a youtube video, spend a couple hours with basic hand tools, and have something you can be proud of.

rather than wasting 4 hrs on TickTok and spending $150 on a cheap particle board end table....why not take that $150 and buy some nice cuts of wood and spend those 4 hrs building a table for yourself?

 

[AngryKoala]

another option that isnt being utilized nearly enough these days is to simply "do it yourself"....hell, a lot of the time you can even undercut Chinese slave labor prices if you simply build it yourself...and then you have the pride of actually creating something.

and honestly, for most things, its really not that hard...especially with the advent of being able to learning damn near anything online...especially simple stuff like Blankets and bedding, basic furniture, simple leather goods like belts and wallets, ect....watch a youtube video, spend a couple hours with basic hand tools, and have something you can be proud of.

rather than wasting 4 hrs on TickTok and spending $150 on a cheap particle board end table....why not take that $150 and buy some nice cuts of wood and spend those 4 hrs building a table for yourself?

The problem for some is time to do those things.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

The issue is when the minimum wage worker (who wants higher wages, more / better American jobs, etc.) gets paid they run to wally world and drop their pay on a bunch of cheap imported crap rather than pay more for quality US made goods. The dollars put into minimum wage increases are mostly exported by way the the average American worker. With the higher wages the fast food worker may get paid more in the interest of "living wages" but the higher wages lead to higher costs and the $2 garbage sandwhich from the fast food joint is now $3 or $4 so the $15 an hour or whatever is no longer a "living wage". So the cycle continues and kills entry level opportunities for young people looking to learn a trade, etc. This stuff gets us nowhere unless Americans make more choices to buy American even if it means buying less "stuff". We love "stuff" here in the US!!

Been in a wally world exactly once in the last 20+ years and I eat very, very little fast food - it is all junk.

Minimum wage is meant to be paid to transient workers in jobs never intended to be careers.

In my youth these jobs were for the 15.5 (age at which you got working papers until maybe college grad age, 22.

Kids filled all those jobs learning about work ethic, discipline, responsibility.

Add retirees to that group that looked to supplement their accounts.

Now all those jobs are filled with adults that think bagging groceries should be a career.

My 13 year old went out shoveling yesterday. He made about $140 for maybe 4 hrs work.

He would ask for $20 people would pay $30.

One lady only let him finish the walkway and paid him $40 for a $20 job because it was still cold and blowing out and she felt bad for him.......maybe he is just a sucky shoveler.

I think people are just shocked to see a kid doing some manual labor.

I told him to back to those houses today and just do a quick clean up.

If he does I bet they pay him triple next storm.

If you are getting minimum wage its because you are worth less or worthless.

Herb, their parents for the most part gave them everything they wanted and never taught them the value of work. Minimum wage was a starter job not a career.

PM, I'm not sure I agree with the "worthless" part, but I've always held to minimum input gets minimum wage so it may be accurate (harsh but true). The rest is spot on. I admire your sons work ethic. I bought my first snow shovel with money from my paper route around 13.

 

[pmclaine]

Holy shit, $140 shoveling would have taken me a few days at least back when I was that young.

He makes $8 an hour walking a dog...this one....$40/week.

Sweetest dog.

After his haul yesterday he is jacked. Wants to buy all sorts of Christmas presents.

 

[diverdon]

Hi,

I understand that concept but it is not that simplistic.

IF it were there would not be 100K a year jobs available on USA.Gov.

Also there is a big disconnect between what "Right money for Americans to actually do the job" and "What job is worth".

There is no way that a fast food worker is worth $20 per hour...they cannot even achieve 80% accuracy on orders.

There is no way that some of the current generations workforce are worth the pay they THINK they need to get in order to actually get them to work.

The shop cleaner wants same money as machine operator.
The machine operator wants same money as floor manager.
The floor manager wants same money as operations manager.

Cycle continues because everyone is the same due to participation trophies and sports/academic associations are not allowed to "cut" someone off the team.

We have "cycled" out an entire generation of factory workforce and opened Pandora's box to an entitled workforce.

Sadly I think there is only 1 way to reverse the situation and I do not want it but it may be the only way......WWIII

Sincerely,
Theis

Good points, yet except for six years in the Navy and four years in college I've worked in manufacturing. My observation is that when looking at true cost keeping your opp in America is cheapest option.

Ask Motorola who had a huge head start in everything cellular but thought life would be better if they could only improve margins. Now that all their IP belongs to China and has spauned a dozen companies more valuable than Moterola ask them if they would like their old margin back.

 

[Davesnothere]

All this crap is a Commie plot

 

[Eli17L]

I buy USA then North America then anywhere but china ...

 

[Steve_In_29]

No! It means buy a AR15 or just knit yourself a vagina hat.

Do those Belgian FN M16s our military uses count?

 

[Steve_In_29]

The issue is when the minimum wage worker (who wants higher wages, more / better American jobs, etc.) gets paid they run to wally world and drop their pay on a bunch of cheap imported crap rather than pay more for quality US made goods. The dollars put into minimum wage increases are mostly exported by way the the average American worker. With the higher wages the fast food worker may get paid more in the interest of "living wages" but the higher wages lead to higher costs and the $2 garbage sandwhich from the fast food joint is now $3 or $4 so the $15 an hour or whatever is no longer a "living wage". So the cycle continues and kills entry level opportunities for young people looking to learn a trade, etc. This stuff gets us nowhere unless Americans make more choices to buy American even if it means buying less "stuff". We love "stuff" here in the US!!

Been in a wally world exactly once in the last 20+ years and I eat very, very little fast food - it is all junk.

I'm old enough to remember when Wally World sold almost exclusivly Made in America products. Sam Walton is spinning in his grave at what his kids have turned it into.

Agree with what you posted though.

 

[Steve_In_29]

Prop 65 has to be the biggest scam of all time brought to you by the Communist china to poison Americans and their insatiable appetite for cheap goods.

Its ok to sell you something that gives you cancer and can make you sick as long as I put this warning label on it.

They put that label on EVERYTHING. I bought lumber that had it.

 

[diverdon]

Do those Belgian FN M16s our military uses count?

If your .mil you use what's issued. The rest of us have a choice. But at least Belgium in not full Commie. You do you.

 

[Steve_In_29]

If your .mil you use what's issued. The rest of us have a choice. But at least Belgium in not full Commie. You do you.

Point being even our military CAN'T be bothered to buy American.

 

[diverdon]

Point being even our military CAN'T be bothered to buy American.

It's a good point to make with your Senator. It's not really relevant to the value of us buying American. Damm does my current ideology mean I need to sell my pre ban HK's? Hmm na I'll just keep them in the back of the safe.

 

[...]

Point being even our military CAN'T be bothered to buy American.

The American revolution was fought with Belgian gunpowder.....why break that tradition now?

ide say buying a few rifles is the least we can do.


also, as much as i support buying American, ide say its more important to NOT buy Chinese.

 

[Steve_In_29]

The American revolution was fought with Belgian gunpowder.....why break that tradition now?

ide say buying a few rifles is the least we can do.


also, as much as i support buying American, ide say its more important to NOT buy Chinese.

I've bought more than a few recently. LOL

 

[Amanda4461]

Hi,

What is needed for manufacturing on large scale to come back to the USA is a few different things BUT one of the largest fixes needed is an American "Factory" workforce.

That workforce is gone via different reasonings. Hard to bring back large scale manufacturing to the USA without a workforce.

The modern era "factory" workforce consists of:
1. I am not working for that payment.
2. I am not standing in same spot all day doing that.
3. You mean I have to pick that 10lbs up that many times a day.

Just look at how many good paying jobs are on USA Gov Jobs.....cannot even fill them; much less a factory manufacturing job.

The Slogan needed is:
Buy American, By American

Sincerely,
Theis

As I drive through any of the many fast food businesses in any area you would choose, I keep finding the same species that prevents me from having any hope whatsoever of a resurgent Made in America. That species appears to have multiplied in great number since Vietnam, perhaps even since Korea. It is ultra liberal in attitude, typically is of mixed or stupid breed (what we used to call “Inbred 39 Times”), has fake jewelry hanging from many appendages, doesn’t wear underwear, and when confronted, typically responds with “I DINDU NUFFIN”. Ask one of these losers if they know how any mechanical device works, who invented the lightbulb, when WWII happened, who won WWI, or who detonated the first Atomic bomb in war. Crickets, or a mash of bullshit is all you will hear. Ask them who their favorite Kardashian is, they’ll have an answer. Stupid and Lazy won’t win a war, and what’s coming from our Chinese counterparts will be a nasty war. The Millennials will bow down and appease. They already drive Kia and Hyundai to their job at Taco Hell. Made in the USA doesn’t get their attention any more than driving through a group of rioters in my Yukon would get my attention. GLOOM, DESPAIR & AGONY ON ME, WHOA!

 

[Mister Ridge]

It's a good point to make with your Senator. It's not really relevant to the value of us buying American. Damm does my current ideology mean I need to sell my pre ban HK's? Hmm na I'll just keep them in the back of the safe.

My philosophy has been that foreign made products are acceptable to me when they're produced in their original nation and in the traditional way. I'm fine with cowboy boots hand-made in Mexico by a 7th generation boot maker continuing the family business. I'm not impressed by boots made by a 12 year old Mexican in a factory setup by an American company because they can't or won't pay the cost to have them made here.

 

[USMC mustang]

Do those Belgian FN M16s our military uses count?

The FN produced small arms that our military buys are made in Columbia, South Carolina.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

Good points, yet except for six years in the Navy and four years in college I've worked in manufacturing. My observation is that when looking at true cost keeping your opp in America is cheapest option.

Ask Motorola who had a huge head start in everything cellular but thought life would be better if they could only improve margins. Now that all their IP belongs to China and has spauned a dozen companies more valuable than Moterola ask them if they would like their old margin back.

Ask Motorola, the cell phone company owned by Lenovo. The same Chinese company that bought IBM.

Motorola used to be one of the largest suppliers of communications gear to the military, police and consumer market. Now their name is put on Chinese cell phones. Motorola didn't spawn companies but sold their military contracts to L3 and Harris.

The biggest problem we face in the military is off shoring of computer technology. They don't need to hack the network when the hard drives are programed to do data dumps to Chinese servers. Don't even mention thumb drives and .mil networks.

Clinton got rid of Buy American clauses in military purchasing and signed NAFTA. Most of our production went overseas after this. Lower quality, lower prices, less jobs.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

Point being even our military CAN'T be bothered to buy American.

See my above comment. Even Buy American products are Chinese funneled through US distributors, pens to computers.

 

[Steve_In_29]

The FN produced small arms that our military buys are made in Columbia, South Carolina.

They are still just a subsidiary of a foreign company. If the Chinese set up a factory in America would that make any difference?

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Minimum wage is meant to be paid to transient workers in jobs never intended to be careers.

In my youth these jobs were for the 15.5 (age at which you got working papers until maybe college grad age, 22.

Kids filled all those jobs learning about work ethic, discipline, responsibility.

Add retirees to that group that looked to supplement their accounts.

Now all those jobs are filled with adults that think bagging groceries should be a career.

My 13 year old went out shoveling yesterday. He made about $140 for maybe 4 hrs work.

He would ask for $20 people would pay $30.

One lady only let him finish the walkway and paid him $40 for a $20 job because it was still cold and blowing out and she felt bad for him.......maybe he is just a sucky shoveler.

I think people are just shocked to see a kid doing some manual labor.

I told him to back to those houses today and just do a quick clean up.

If he does I bet they pay him triple next storm.

If you are getting minimum wage its because you are worth less or worthless.

We love to see kids learning to be entrepreneurs....

You know how hard it is to get kids to do farm work for more than 3 days? Bonus's are not just for retention. They are to reward motivation and set an example that work pays.

Sirhr

 

[roostercogburn98]

We love to see kids learning to be entrepreneurs....

You know how hard it is to get kids to do farm work for more than 3 days? Bonus's are not just for retention. They are to reward motivation and set an example that work pays.

Sirhr

My youngest can’t quit talking about the day she turns 15 so she can get a job at the local tack shop. Meanwhile, she is at the barn doing work at least 3 days a week. Yes, she gets to see her horse while there, but she cleans stalls and helps feed almost 50 other horses in the yearling yard. I smashed the shit of well you always have money to do what you want, so why can’t I mentality fast. Work for it and, and anything you want can be yours, if you truly want it and not just think you do.

 

[USMC mustang]

They are still just a subsidiary of a foreign company. If the Chinese set up a factory in America would that make any difference?

Yes, it would make a difference. Belgium is an ally and a NATO member. FN produces high quality products. China is an adversary who produces low quality products.

 

[...]

They are still just a subsidiary of a foreign company. If the Chinese set up a factory in America would that make any difference?

well considering the money isnt going to the CCP....and belgum isnt running around committing Human rights abuses and building their economy on stolen IP and slave labor......yes, there is a difference.

 

[E. Bryant]

Yes, it would make a difference. Belgium is an ally and a NATO member. FN produces high quality products. China is an adversary who produces low quality products.

Yep. For the same reason, I have little issue buying, say, Japanese cars that are built in the US (as compared and contrasted to my Camaro, which is based upon an Australian architecture and assembled in Canada using an engine and transmission that were manufactured in Mexico).

 

[brianf]

from a consumer point of view

I’m all for buying american and do when there is a available option more often than not.

but just buying american for buying american sake is form of welfare on the manufacturing industry.

buy for quality and price point.

if the american product is more expensive and of lower quality why should we subsidize their business practices with our money.

pick up your game or get a new job.

stick to what you’re good at, that’s how money is made.

that’s also how market share is gained and held onto.


From a government point of view

bring back jobs which may or may not be in the manufacturing sector by using foreign policy and the immense US economy to bend them to our wishes.

sadly though Biden does not believe in that course of action

 

[lightman]

Don't buy made in China.
If that's not possible, at least buy "Assembled in USA"
If that's not possible, at least buy "Proudly Packaged in USA"
View attachment 7504965

I'm with you Brother! But its easier said than done. We have trained our work force to lay around and reproduce while drinking and doing drugs. Everyone that I know that has a business is hurting for labor. It kind of sucks that I worked for the same company for 35 years, getting up to be at work on time (actually early) and answering the phone and going out in the middle of the night more times than I can count and seeing the people that don't work living nearly as good as I do. It SUCKS!

I got the bid on a pretty nice wiring job about 10 years ago. The Architect required using US made material. I couldn't find any!!! I had a whole book of submittals to get approved to use. Most of it was made in Mexico. Conduit, fittings, wire, fixtures ect ect.

I try hard to buy American. If I can't I try hard to buy stuff from Countries that have a similar lifestyle as the US. Think Canada, Germany, ect.

Sorry for the rant! I'm ok now!

 

[Jscb1b]

Yes, that's exactly what we mean.

PM me for shipping information so we can properly dispose of your contraband. The same offer also applies to a number of other shitty imported firearms, a wide variety of foreign tobacco and alcohol products, and a select number of German and Japanese vehicles.

You forgot optics.

 

[Jscb1b]

Craftsman wrenches are made in china now. They don't stamp it on the wrench, they print it on the tag.

 

[Steve_In_29]

Yes, it would make a difference. Belgium is an ally and a NATO member. FN produces high quality products. China is an adversary who produces low quality products.

China can make crap or high quality. The outfit that contracts with them specifies what level of quality they are looking for. I have a couple Savage/Stevens 350 shotguns (Ithaca 37 clone) that are made in China and while the finish is rough (parkerized) the overall build quality seems pretty good.

That being said, getting an FN is NOT buying American, which is what this thread is about. Furthermore the US Military should NOT be buying ANY weapons that aren't from actual American companies. Nothing from FN, Beretta, Sig, HK, etc and the fact they set up a factory in the US to fulfill the contract matters not..