While I was listening to the radio on my way home from work last night, I heard a discussion about U.S. Flags being made in China. Actually I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Never in my younger years would I have ever dreamed of our Flag being made in any country other than the United States.
I work as an assistant manager for one of the Nation's largest retailers, so of course this news concerned me quite a bit. I already knew that my company imported the majority of its products from China. In fact appx 90% of the goods on our shelves are made in China. If you're looking for U.S. made goods in one of our stores, your work is cut out for you. About all you're going to find as far as U.S. made products are household chemicals, some health and beauty aids, paper goods such as paper towells and bath tissue and automotive chemicals. Heck, even my nametag is made in Chi
na.
So I reported to work today on a mission. I went straight to our 4th of July display to investegate. Surely my company wouldn't import U.S. Flags from China. However as you can see in this picture, I was sadly mistaken. We only had four 4th of July products left and only one of the products was made in the U.S. and the only U.S. Flag that we had left sadly wasn't one of them. Once I discovered this, one of my associates took this picture with his cellphone and then he e-mailed it to me. I used a Sharpie to black out the name of my company so that my employment with the company wouldn't be jeapordized.
Then as my associate took this photo, he used phrases such as " This is disgusting " and " I can't believe what I'm looking at " and " This is sickening...I think I'm going to throw up " and tons of profanity which I won't include here.
I just couldn't believe what I'd seen. U.S. Flags are being made in China and my company is actually selling these Chinese made U.S. Flags? How Un-Patriotic is that? So when I got home, I fired up a Google search where I found the following information.
According to FMMA ( Flag Manufacturers Association of America) , the dollar value of imported U.S. Flags was $5,000,000 during 2006 and the vast majority of this amount was for U.S. Flags made in China.
Now come on people, can't U.S. companies afford to make U.S. Flags right here in our own country? Can't U.S. retailers afford to buy their U.S. Flags from U.S. manufacturers?
Of course they can. This is just another example of extreme capitalism and American companies that are willing to sell out to China on the drop of a dime just to increase their already buldging bottom lines. In turn, more and more of our factories are closing their operations and moving overseas putting more and more Americans out of work.
Of couse the upper middle class and upper class Americans who own stock in these companies are leaping with joy. " This is my retirement " they say while the American Middle Class is rapidly shrinking. Do you think that they actually care that they are putting the Middle Class out of work? Of course not. The allmighty dollar is all that they are concerned about. As long as they've got it, the impact that their greed is having on the Middle Class doesn't matter to them.
The 4th of July..Independance Day..U.S. Flags made in China? Wake up America!
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Comments: 65
We try to buy as much as we can that is US made. Heck even the toothpaste we were using was made in Mexico. We switched. We are very avid on buying American.
The American flag thing just seemed like a disgace to us. They should be made here and only here in my opinion.
Lynn..You're correct. Where else should the U.S. Flag be manufatured but the good ole United States ?
If the only American Flags for sale were made in America, the ultimate result would be fewer flags on display.
Wake up America!
http://www.eagleflag.com/
Rex, there has never been a foreign car in our drive and probably never will be. We both drive Dodges, before that Chevy and Ford, and way before that AMC.
We're proud Americans and the products we buy may cost a little more but it's saving jobs here in our country. I don't care if people lose their jobs in China, Japan, Indonesia, or Mexico. I want the jobs here safe and sound. We stopped buying a brand of sugar that moved their plants to Canada and Mexico. We'll do without first. Check your candy bags, too. What use to be made right here is now made in Canada and Mexico.
What I attribute a lot of this too, is not the gon\vernment opening the door, even though I do not like it, but because the Labor unions in this contry have insured such a cost climb in every business they are in, that it is cheaper to go over seas to get the same quality for much less in labor.
Yes Labor has the effect on prices on every item, and when unions cause such a climb in wages that it drives the cost of that item up to pay for the labor, then eventually it is going to come back to haunt us, as it is now. Yes the workers need to make a good living, and they have to be protected in the work place, but then there has to be a level of balance in everything or the imbalance will cost more than it helps, as we have now.
Here's a site you can go to and look up companies and products from the US.
"Ni Hoa Mun" ? or " Hola..Como estas " ????
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YIKES
For those who want a flag that's "Made in the USA", I recommend Annin & Co. If you can't find a local retailer that carries them, you can buy them online at sites like flagstoreusa.com and others. They've been making American flags for over 150 years. They also make state flags, and national flags of all the countries in the United Nations.
Yep, they even make Chinese flags right here in America!
Sorry, got carried away. My point was supposed to be, when a Chinese person makes 135 SU dollars a month, they cannot afford US made products. There is a huge trade imbalance, and we are on the dirty end of the stick.
We will pay in the long run, as if we have a major war, which is very possible, with China, they will eat our lunch. We have no infrstructure left within our own country, having been sold out by big business and the government, over the last twenty or so years.
But then I believe Globalism is the purpose.
Mark...exactly. China basicly owns us via the economy.
Heather...I'm not so sure that the U.S. becoming a service country selling Chinese made goods is a good thing. Most of the jobs in the service industry are very low paying jobs. Then on top of that, more and more companies are hiring illegal immigrants to fill those jobs.
I read a Popular Science magazine back in 1968 that forecast the very subject you mention, however, we have been a service-oriented economy since the early 1980's. Where have you been?
america=greedy
products fabricated in china and sent to U.S= a happy country
although, i disagree with our countries actions, i can totally see why they do such things. our country couldn't care less about patriotism. this is about greed, about money-hungry companies how want to make a pretty penny and are willing to let others be exploited simply for their own wealth. it's the sad truth
I did not buy a new one this year because I could not find one Made in USA. Outsourcing our work is bad enough, but when OUR flag is made in China or one of a few other countries, then that is a good slap in the face to EVERY man who has fought for and/or laid down his life for this country.
I don't even like the 4th of July anymore because it has become almost as commercial as Christmas. The whole meaning of it, especially coming after all the Cinco De Meyo celebrations, seems to have been lost in our governments rush to give illegals "rights" that they aren't entitled to, and just another occasion for them to desecrate our flag and disrespect our flag and the very country they want to invade!!
But even if we send $6 to China for every $1 they spend buying our products and services, if they stop sending those dollars, it could cost American jobs. Not necessarily in retail products, but things like airplanes, power plant equipment, medical devices, machine tools, aircraft engines, dental equipment, environmental technologies, etc.
I hear what you're saying Mark, and I also know that even when the Chinese can afford to spend more, they won't necessarily buy products that are "Made in the USA". They may prefer to buy products from other Asian countries, from Europe, and many of them will no doubt be happy to buy products "Made in China".
Chalk it all up to unbridled corporate greed. But the thing that bugs me even more is that LOTS and LOTS of real estate, i.e. the ACTUAL, PHYSICAL segment of Mother Earth that is our beloved America is owned by foreign corporations or private individuals.
Whose f*cking idea was this? Stinking, greedy PIGS who do not deserve citizenship or IMHO even the right to continue breathing.
But the worst aspects of unchecked capitalism are not nation-specific. I have heard that many of the 'tech support' jobs outsourced (what a sickening euphemism) to India have, in turn, been outsourced to South East Asia.
As long as a "boss" can find some poor bastard who will work for less no American job is safe. These bastards would sell their dead mothers gold fillings and their own daughters into slavery for another dollar in their already sky-high pile. What can be done?
(NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS STRICTLY HYPOTHETICAL IN NATURE)
Imagine a sort of 'reverse Kristallnacht', a night when all of the CEOs of major corporations (and their scumbag lawyers) are discovered murdered in their beds.
Freaking corporate capitalistic monsters who are willing to sell all of us out for a dime.
I try to avoid ChinaMart as much as possible....They are doing a huge disservice to Americans...They used to tout made in America a long time ago....I have nothing against China...my daughte ris adopted from there!, but I have huge problems with the meager wages, and slve type conditions in most of their factories. They are on the way towards huge environmental disasters due to their negligence for controlling industrial wastes. So the picture is not all rosy for China either.
Problem is what other choice do we have? Walk down the ailes of your local retailer and you'll find the answer.
I quit flying the flag until this administration is out of office. They have hijacked the meaning of the flag, and I don't want to be mistaken for one of them.
Of course I think that we all should buy American. Problem is that we have to work too hard to find American made products when we shouldn't have to. We should be able to go to one of our local retailers and have the choice between puchasing American or foreign made products. There sould be a balance and with appx 90% of the products on the shelves being made in foreign countries, there is no balance whatsoever.
Thanks for your links..there seems to be a bit of promise there, however considering that some of the components may be manufactured in foreign countries, the circle still isn't complete so it seems. Perhaps you can tell us where we can buy a Hamilton Beach toaster that is manufactured in the U.S. from U.S. made components?
I may sound a bit harsh towards you, but please don't misunderstand me. I'm confident that your heart is in the right place. Please keep posting.
I can understand the frustration for people who want to "Buy American" when it's so difficult, and often impossible. But retailers can't sell products manufacturers don't produce. Manufacturers can't make products that cost them money instead of produce a profit.
International trade is a complex issue. If the circle you mention is complete, that means it's closed. Do you think economic isolationism is in our (America's) best interests?
As things stand right now, there is no balance.
I still don't think that the consumer is to blame here. It's all about greedy American companies exploiting cheap slavelike labor.
Don't get me wrong, I agree that there are a lot of companies (not just American, this is happening throughout the world) that put profits over people, and who are happy to do anything they can to lower costs.
But American workers don't really want to compete with Chinese workers for the opportunity to provide cheap slave-like labor to those companies, do they? They want good jobs, good wages, job security, etc. Can they get those things making toasters and shoes and toothpaste? I don't know, but I doubt it.
It's a complicated issue, and I think it's not just international trade that makes it complicated. Even in terms of the domestic market, it's the scale. There are many big companies (and smaller companies doing anything and everything they can to try to become a big company) that it all operates beyond a more human scale. Bigger isn't always better, but it's hard for smaller companies to compete.
http://www.andyzhang.info
No, US manufacturers can't compete with countries that employ slave labor, where industries aren't saddled with heavy taxes and regulations. Historically, the US protected its industries with tariffs, but now its intent is to open our borders, to bring about an end to the age of nations in a quest to form a world government.
As Bill Clinton said, "There are a lot of very brilliant people who believe that the nation-state is fast becoming a relic of the past."
Brilliant people who don't believe in America, who are using free trade to destroy it.
It's not a complex issue at all, and it's not a question of isolationism--it's just a matter of protecting our manufacturing base.
Here's a chart from my website, which shows what the US has done over the past several decades, reducing tariffs from a reasonable level (10%), down to almost nothing: Historical tariff rates
And here's a chart showing how the US trade deficit is affected by tariff rates (the second chart on the page): Tarrif rate vs Trade balance
Our fantastic trade deficits over the past several years will eventually sink the dollar, and sink the US economy.
I just wanted to say I am finally going through what is now under 6,400 pieces of gather new mail that is in my inbox on here. So with that in mind I have finally come to a piece of mail that was addressed to me in regards this article submission you have created to share with the gather community. Thank you for taking the time and sharing your piece with us here at gather. :o)
And I hope you have a Happy New Year... in 2009 :o)