Your next phone may very well be made in the USA

[Ducimus]

Well, it's a start i guess.

We used to make A LOT of things here. Not so much now. "Made in America" used be synonymous with "Quality product". I have a few items around my house that i've owned for decades that, if you examine them, say, "Made in USA". They've lasted so long, because they were made when Made in USA meant, "Built to last". From my clothes Hamper, to an Igloo little playmate lunchbox, and a number of items in between. I don't think any of these items are made here anymore. All china now, and those never last very long.

[Oberon]

Good to see it happening, wish it could happen here too. I mean, I'm not the nationalistic type to say that everything should be 'Made in the UK/US/etc' but this trend of importing everything we use and only when we need it has got to stop, it's not sustainable, we have little to no reserves of anything, and it leaves us very vulnerable to external events and entities.

[Ducimus]

I'm unashamedly nationalistic. I don't think that EVERYTHING we use should be made here, but i think we should be making domestically at least the same quantity of goods that we import. I'd be happy with a 50/50 split. As it is, we import just about everything i think.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

I'm unashamedly nationalistic. I don't think that EVERYTHING we use should be made here, but i think we should be making domestically at least the same quantity of goods that we import. I'd be happy with a 50/50 split. As it is, we import just about everything i think.

That's not nationalism, that's common sense! The problem is the pricing, somewhere in the system from producer to consumer it's gone wildly out of whack, so you're expected to pay three or four times the price for something that was shipped several hundred miles around the world as opposed to something made in the next county/state.
Now, in a world where transportation costs are low then that makes economic sense, you go where the labour costs are cheap and cheerful, usually China or the surrounding area...but what happens when transportation costs start to rise, as they have done and will do because of oil prices...you got it, the consumer pays the extra cost.
Economic sense, for those in the middle, but then what happens when the transportation stops, because of war or a natural disaster?
The producer and consumer are both screwed, the producer has no native market for the things that he has making, and the consumer runs out of the imported goods and either has to move into being a producer, or die.
We've let economic sense overrule common sense too much, and it's going to bite us in the arse one day.

[Jimbuna]

Given the choice I'd buy 'Made in the UK' every time...just don't have the choice anymore

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Oberon

We've let economic sense overrule common sense too much, and it's going to bite us in the arse one day.

The problem is, like common sense is unfortunately not very common, economic sense is neither very economic.
If I'd borrowed 99 cents and promise to either pay back one dollar next month or one cent each day over the course of the next 10 years, most would take the first offer.
This short-sightedness is reflected not only that people often do not put in things like durability in a purchase decision. No, people saw off the branch they sit on. "Oh, I bought some nice wood panels from wall-mart for cheap. And have you heard that Uncle Joe lost his job in the sawmill last month? Damned Obama!"
This is just one example of the costs which are not in the calculation. There are other costs, costs everyone has to pay in their own country: for unemployment benefits, industrial subsides, bail-outs, etc.
About the human costs we had a good discussion on here some months ago: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=191956
Apropos Obama: funny that people who call him a Socialist who wants to destroy freedom seem to have no problem to support the biggest dictatorship in the world when buying stuff from China.
Another bill everyone pays are the environment costs, here's a good report about it, how it effects us on a global level: http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment...tion-nightmare

[the_tyrant]

You know, my current computer is made in Canada, I assembled it myself

But thing is, just look at the nexus Q. Sure it is made in the USA, but come on, the price is outrageous for what it does.

A streaming music player for 300$? how the hell does it even expect to be competitive!

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Penguin

This short-sightedness is reflected not only that people often do not put in things like durability in a purchase decision. No, people saw off the branch they sit on. "Oh, I bought some nice wood panels from wall-mart for cheap. And have you heard that Uncle Joe lost his job in the sawmill last month? Damned Obama!"

edit:

As an aside, I personally have no problem paying more for a product if it was made to last. I've never liked cheap crap.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Quite so.

The one hurdle I stumble over is how do you make a Western country competitive with the likes of the PRC, without causing a massive price-hike and without outsourcing employment laws to Beijing?