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[erniezap]

Very good video!  Hopefully a wake up call for the US!
http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_04vzdsr5/uiconf_id/5590821

[Buy early]

Cool story!

[Talon]

Great story, I put it on facebook and sent an email to several friends that are builders or subs.

[JCZ]

Thanks Ernie.....I just sent it to the Presidents of two of the largest apartment home builders in the nation.

Where does your state stand?   http://abcnews.go.com/WN/page/map-find-made-america-goods-13917383 

[JCZ]

I sent the links above to several people in my address book that are not members of this forum.  Here's a reply that I just got back from Jeff Gerbing:

Message body
All our product is coming back from china , I've opened up a sewing factory in Stoneville nc have 44 people so far working there and will continue to grow more and more , we are making America great again and put and using America fabric and employees
Jeff GERBING
CEO GERBING's

[dlaws01]

I stand behind Jeff Gerbing and what he is doing.  I had much rather pay more $$$ for an item that is made in the USA than to get it cheaper because it was made in china or mexico or any other country for that matter.  The sooner American's realize that "buy American made" , the sooner our economy will start to recover.  I like to think that keeping people here employed by using American made products is at least part of the solution to the problem.  That's why I ride an American made motorcycle instead of a Honda. Why I drive a chevy instead of a toyota.  I've seen what importing our manufacturing over seas has done to the auto industry and the aviation industry not to mention the textile industry. I know it may not be much, but if everybody bought "made in USA" it would make a big difference. JMHO

[RedDevil]

I stand behind Jeff Gerbing and what he is doing.  I had much rather pay more $$$ for an item that is made in the USA than to get it cheaper because it was made in china or mexico or any other country for that matter.  The sooner American's realize that "buy American made" , the sooner our economy will start to recover.  I like to think that keeping people here employed by using American made products is at least part of the solution to the problem.  That's why I ride an American made motorcycle instead of a Honda. Why I drive a chevy instead of a toyota.  I've seen what importing our manufacturing over seas has done to the auto industry and the aviation industry not to mention the textile industry. I know it may not be much, but if everybody bought "made in USA" it would make a big difference. JMHO

Don't get caught up in the flag waving.  Unfortunately, Buy American will not fly as long as American made products are 2-3 times more expensive, because they say made in the USA, than buying from overseas.  American companies are not going to return to US manufacturing when the labor rates and costs to import these foreign made products is much cheaper than making them here.  I'm all for American made material, but automatically saying that because it's made in the US justifies charging 2-3 times the price doesn't fly.  In order for American companies to stay in business, they have to be able to compete.  

Any by the way, that Toyota that you're talking about; chances are it's more American made than your Canadian or Mexican made Chevy.  Just sayin'....

[JCZ]

Not necessarily 2-3 time more.  In the video clip above, that home cost him 1% more than if he'd have used foreign made products.  And.....they use the nails the go in the nail guns as an example......"not near as many jams with the American made nails"!   It's been a lot of years since I've held a nail gun and they've come a long ways since then but I can remember when we'd get a bad jam.....the needle nose pliers and ten minutes of your time.  I can remember having to take the nose of the gun apart to get the damn thing out.  Time is money....so how much were they really saving by buying the made in China nails?

Something to be said for American made.  Jeff Gerbing shared with me in our talk in San Mateo that the reason he brought his mfg. back to the US was due to lack of quality control on the stuff made over there in Asia.  Bring it home and the quality goes up.

[dlaws01]

RedDevil, I'm not saying to blindly buy any product just because it says "made in USA" but to use good common sense and discretion. You are right about one thing though, American manufacturer's will never be able to compete with forced labor or sweat shops where 9 year old kids get paid 35 cents for working a 12 hour shift.  Anyway, I haven't seen the 2 to 3 times as much cost you are referring too.  Like I said before, it's not a cure all but buying products that are American made is at least helping keep Americans employed and when people are employed, they spend money which help keep the whole process moving forward. 

[kurtlange]

you can start w/ something as simple as toothpaste. 1 major brand [crest] is made here, the other isn't.

 

[Zinister]

When I look at products, I always go for made in America!!! But, that may be a Toyota if it's made here by Americans. I haven't had to do this as my last truck an Escalade was made in Texas.

I will not pay management that uses foreign labor to boost their profit margin. And I am white collar......Product Engineer.

[BBNITRO]

great idea hope it catchs on

[JoMo]

Lets hope this catches on lets put a stop to out sourcing 

                                          Jo Mo NYC 

[RedDevil]

Lets hope this catches on lets put a stop to out sourcing 

                                          Jo Mo NYC 

I agree with everything you all have said, but when the bottom line is profit and keeping prices attractive so that the consumer will buy, then outsourcing will never stop while labor rates are rediculously low in third world countries.  The only way we can bring manufacturing back to the US is for the government to put high enough tarrifs on imported goods, like those same governments that our business outsource do to the products they import from the US, that their prices are as high as American made products are.  But again, that's not going to happen because big business lobbiers have pollys in thier pockets.  Whomever came up with the words "fair trade" certainly didn't expect the US to be the only country to believe there was such a thing.  We get screwed all around because if we threaten to raise the import tarrifs on foreign goods then their governments cry foul and say the big ole bully USA is picking on their growing economy, but yet to get an American made car in their country costs twice as much then it does in the US.  It's a vicious circle, and when the scales are not balanced, you're going to see cheaper foreign goods and outsourcing.

[kraut]

you got quite a short memory, gentlemen.

Never forget it was the United States who used even armed forces to open up Japan for "free trade" 

It was free trade that made America big, now don't complain 

Protectionism only preserves obsolete structures and newer, more efficient industries will have less scope to expand so overall output and economic welfare will suffer as Greenspan already stated in 2000.