Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Buying American?

OK, so I haven't seen it mentioned good or bad, or what you all might have thought about it...

Last week ABC did a special on "Buying American", pretty much debunking the myth that you can't buy American because we don't make anything... Or if you find it, it's going to cost you an arm and a leg, or that the quality just isn't there...

Don't know if I buy into everything they said, specially the fact of almost over night creating some 200,000 jobs if we would just spend an additional 1% on American products...

But if I can find an American product, over a foreign product, it's going to be an American product every time!

And actually you save gas by searching online for American products instead of driving all over town searching for something...


Phil

Agreed, I make a point to buy American first.

Buy American when I can. I go to considerable effort to do so. But, tis easier said than done. And depending on what you buy, it can be an arm and a leg more. Usually, it is significantly more. You can not always save time finding what you need on the internet. While it's a great resource, there can be cases where you spend more time looking on the net than taking a drive. It just depends. And labels which say made in USA may only be assembled in the USA, which is better than nothing at all.

We try to buy American first, North American second and on down the line with China being last on the list.

I do not own a TV so I did not see the program. I have no clue to the real number of jobs that we would create if we all tried to buy American but there is little doubt in my mind that there would be a lot more people at work and off unemployment.

Glad to see that there is some media attention to the problem. It makes no sense to me that we send mots manufacturing to the same country that we are the heaviest in debt. At this rate China will own America without a shot being fired.

preaching to the choir

i just bought a bunch of easton aluminum and hopefully it is still made here. all my other components even if it says it's u.s. i highly doubt it. talk is cheap.

It is sad how many things are only made in China. Find me a double walled SS coffee cup made here. They aren't any. No water bottles either.

I can find leather work gloves made in the USA at around thirty buck a pair but I have to go to Seattle to get them. That is a eighty mile round trip in the car and a ferry ride across the sound.

Then there is the fact I am hard on work gloves. Even with care, cleaning and leather protection they last about two to three months. That is a lot of money on truck driver's pay. Would cut deeply into my 1911 savings.

The April issue of Car and Driver has a three page spread showing which makes and models of cars are considered domestic under U.S. law. To be domestic 75 percent (by value) of the parts have to come from the U.S. or Canada (but not Mexico). Looking at the charts I came up with the following numbers.

GMC (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick) has 12 domestic models

Chrysler (Dodge, Jeep) has 9 domestic models

Ford (Mercury, Lincoln) has 7 domestic models

Toyota has 6 domestic models

Honda (Acura) has 4 domestic models

Mitsubishi has 2 domestic models

The highest domestic content of any model is 90% for the 2010 Ford Explorer made in Louisville Indiana.

There are many Chrysler, Ford and GMC models that don't meet the 75% requirement to be considered "domestic", so you can't tell which modes are domestic just by the make. For example, the Dodge Ram 1500 and the Ford F-150 are not domestic models, but the Toyota Tundra is a domestic model. Who would have guessed that?

American made rifles are generally cheaper than European.

I will gladly pay more for a product made here in the USA that I deem as one that will last, vs a same/similar product made in China which will last 3 months before crapping out.

You get what you pay for.

Thinking Nancy Pelosi got that Made in America label on the clothing coming fom her husband's slave labor camps run in some US Territories.

Getting much harder to do. With a lot of US companies going overseas to control their costs of production. This new round of high oil prices will send MORE companies overseas. That's what you get when your only energy policy is to push renewables.

The entire world-wide production of BMW's 3 series SUV are made right here in the USA. Tundras are made in Texas. I just look for value, and everything made in China is garbage. I buy American when I can, if it's a good value. It's the American Way

USFA

Ruger

Savage

Kimber

Barnes

Nosler

Hornady

Starline

Lee

plenty more!



I own 'em all, and they are amongst the best, and in USFA's case - thee best.

You can browse thru any "big box" store and look at where stuff comes from. I'll bet 90% of the product come from overseas.
I had to upgrade my lighting in my work shop last week. I went to the new Menards. While I was getting setup by the lighting manager I asked him if there was anything in the electrical department that was made in America. He said there was nothing made in the USA. Every light bulb, whether GE, Philips or Sylvania comes from China. GE was the last to close a plant in NC (IIRC) and sent 200 Americans to the unemployment line.
That plant made CFL light bulbs - you know, the ones with 5 and 6 milligrams of mercury in every one!
So now, we have the Chinese sending us mercury not only in sheetrock but now cfl bulbs! God help us.

I know John Menard (Jr), and knew his Dad, John Sr.

Made in America didn't fit into the equation - but in fairness neither does it with their competitors.

Womans clothing? Just ask your wives/girlfriends. The sizing in stores is all over the map. All the "women in my life" just go nuts when you bring up sizing. Most have clothes that range in 3 different sizes. All foreign made. The same size can vary from one garment to another. An acquaintance in the biz told the wife that it is a nightmare - so much so that they insist woman try everything on before they leave. All foreign made.

Menards and other big boxes would have nothing to sell if they only stocked American goods. They don't have a choice.

I have no problem with foreign-made women >grin<

True enough, however I can cite several examples where Menard's would buy foreign product shipped from half-way 'round the world in- lieu of products produced locally.

They -- out of necessity -- purchase on price.