Items Made in China

Did you know if you removed everything that has a component made, or was made in China.
The house would be empty, except for antiques.

 

Absolutely not true.

 

They make everything from fasteners to thread, and companies look for the cheepest resources for materials.

 

Just because many things are made there does not mean nothing is made anywhere else. And if you put just a little bit of effort into your shopping, you'd know that.

 

I totally agree. I remember something on TV about that a few years back. It followed a family as they tried to buy only American made stuff. They had a lot of things.(But there are many things that are made out of the country that we import.) If I could remember the name I'd post the link.

 

ABC Evening News did a series in 2011 called "Made In America". They went into a typical American family's house and removed every item that wasn't made in the USA and attempted to replace it with a USA made product.

If you go to www.abc.com and search "made in America", several of the complete newscasts featuring the series will come up. It doesn't appear that ABC has the "Made in America" segments available for a la carte viewing...go figure.. :confused

For what it's worth, "Made in the USA" is usually defined as the final assembly of the item within the US. This can get horribly fuzzy:

* New cars and trucks are usually labeled as to the percent of parts content that come from within the USA. A Honda Accord built in Ohio may be more "American" than a Chevy truck that was built in Canada or Mexico.

* Few American-built items are more iconic than a Harley-Davidson (so long as you ignore the fact that the fuel injectors, front forks and some other parts are built in Japan by subsidiaries of Honda :eek).

* Furniture. The La-Z-Boy or Ashley sofa you just purchased may have been made in the USA, but the fabric was imported from Asia. Just like motherboards and hard drives, production of upholstery fabric within the US became extinct years ago.

 

I basically agree, onegoodman is pretty much right. I work in retail.... in shoes, I frequently have this discussion with people complaining about products "Made In China"

While many products are made in the USA or Canada, Britain etc etc, the components are frequently made in somewhere like China or Thailand etc.

Something simple like the Solder use to binds components in a circuit board or the metal eyelets in your shoes.

While many products are still made "in country" , most of them are consumables.

Now I did some research on this subject a while back and the results were basically a rule bending statement.

"Made In The USA/Canada/UK" etc does NOT have to mean 100%, many of them are made 65% in the USA etc or they are made in Canada "With imported components"
It's pretty hard to find a product made 100% in country.

Sadly it IS true that if you removed every single item/component that is "Made in China etc" you may still have lots of items.... but they would be missing bits or wouldn't work.

Now for some reason they do not have to tell you this, depending on where you are it is usually around a minimum of 60% of the product is to be made "in country" to qualify for the "Made In US, Cnd, UK"

Irish Setter hunting boots are a great example and basically a contradiction in terms.
"Proudly Made in the USA with imported components"

Good one *thumbs up*

But then again it was us that forced it to be that way by demanding higher wages and cheaper products, it's a economical paradox. So companies started making them offshore which brought the price down (although inflation had that covered). Now we complain about things being made offshore.
Now things are starting to come back, largely because of the many issues in China of late, but at the cost of having to import cheaper components and several of the major manufacturers in my line of work are forecasting upto a 40% rise in price over the next 2 years.
So rest assured you WILL be getting that so desired label on the same product safe in the knowledge that the extra $80 on that same $200 pair of Nikes or that extra $200 on what would have been a $500 couch is going to a worker "In Country"

That's awesome.... but you wont stick it for long

 

An after thought... something else that I often wonder is the fact that factory and labour jobs are the most abundant of jobs, even more so in the future with all these factories supposedly opening up to bring products "Back home", yet for the past 20 years or so we have been putting more and more pressure on our kids to go to university so they don't have to have low paying physical labour jobs.
Thats great... but once my generation (gen x) retires , wouldn't that leave a large majority of highly qualified people unwilling to work in a factory or on a farm etc etc?
Obviously there are many youngsters who work these jobs , but there are more in school.
It's getting silly, when job hunting I was shocked to read I needed a University Degree (in anything) to be a Pool Lifeguard. Same thing with a Secretary.
Seriously? a $50k + eduction to be qualified to earn $12 per hour?

I think we need to focus less on the paperwork and more on the actual skills.
I know many will say education is of paramount importance... that is true but not always necessary for the work field you want to be in and doesn't always mean you are good at your job.
Example: 20 y/o mate years ago took a carpentry course, 6 months..... thats a joke, most chippies I know (including myself) spent a minimum 1 year on site doing donkey work and then spent 5 years training before being considered "A Carpenter"

He was bragging about how it's funny I still use a hammer instead of nail gun and how he knows everything and should easily get a job as a carpenter.
So I thought I'd be an arse and call him on it, took him out to the shed and told him to get his nail gun out of the van, we lined up some old bits of oak floorboard I had left over
and I told him we would race to put 5 nails through the 1" thick boards.
He laughed at me until his first nail folded like it was tin.
I then asked him a few questions about frequent problems you come up against in old buildings and he couldn't answer any of them. You see his training is mostly how to build a new house... they can't train you on how to fix a sagging 200 year old slate tiled roof, you have to experience it first hand.

So anyway, back to what I was talking about lol, who is going to work all these EXTRA factory jobs in 30 years?

And please don't say those with university would work those jobs, most wouldn't for long. I know many people who are happier to be unemployed than work in a minimum wage job simply because they are worth more.
Sometimes you have to suck it up, I AM a carpenter but due to back injuries and problems I have had to change my field to retail for approx a $15-$20 per hour drop in wage.

Rant over :-D

 

Well said Ned! There's actually a shortage of quality blue collars like plumbers etc. who can make a decent living which doesn't require a degree but a long apprenticeship is needed and be someone who can think on their feet to solve issues which no course can ever teach, it has to be in you from the start.

LOL @ the wannabe 'carpenter', he's more like a Mechano set builder.:-D

I won't go into the China debate as Ned already excellently expressed my views. Welcome to the Wal-Mart world.

 

Not arguing, but I have it on good authority that many large companies such as Walmart and Best Buy do not like hiring unemployed people with degrees.

The logic? A true IT professional who is hired into a $10-$12/hour Geek Squad or cashier job knows their skills are worth many times this amount - given this, they'll quit as soon as they find a "real" job. "The Man" frowns upon wasting valuable training time spent teaching you how to cram extended warranties and store credit cards down customers' throats if there's even a slight chance you'll try to escape from their Big Box plantation.

 

Not quite sure what your point is there, the quote is fact that I have personally read in job advertisements, my point in the quote is that it doesn't matter what your degree is in, as long as you have one for those jobs when a degree is so intensely unnecessary.

As for the hiring at wal-mart etc, I agree and is incorporated with my concern as to who will work these jobs when the majority is university educated?

And yes you are correct, I have been victim to this myself, an agency gave me a call for an aptitude test, I didn't hear from them for weeks and then got a letter simply saying I was not "Right" for any of their positions. These guys deal with mainly factories.
Bare in mind I have no qualification on paper. I just submitted resume and went for test.
After a couple of phone calls to have the letter explained I finally got an answer.
I scored 99% on the test and that would suggest I am over-skilled (new one huh? Over SKILLED) for anything they might have.
Laughable.
What these companies don't realise is the many people they turn away because they are over qualified etc actually need the job otherwise would not be applying for it and therefore are more likely to perform their daily tasks with competence because they NEED it. Where as someone who drifts from min wage job to the next really doesn't give a crap about the job because they can always find another one.
I personally would rather have to hire 3 good people per year than have to fire 3 bad people per year, so screw the qualification, just go with who you think could do the job better.

 

It is depressing how the 'made in America' often applies more towards Toyota over Chevy. But it is true that so many components are made in China. You have to do a bit of searching to find an American flag that was made in the US...

And even Ireland is into this. A lot of the Guinness beers for sale in the US are brewed in Canada!? I don't want my Irish beer to be brewed in Canada!

Springfield, an good American gun company right? Their XD line of handguns are made in Croatia.

Sure, I like lower prices, but I think we kinda shot ourselves in the foot -D) outsourcing so many things, and buying so many imports.

I just hope the Red Solo Cups are made in the USA, or I think the Republic is doomed.

 

I try to buy American (United States Of American) when ever I can, or at least material goods produced in the Western Hemisphere. Am usually happy to settle for Japan, India, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, even Pakistan. Just don't seem to see European products in the American market place the way I did twenty years ago,either, except for automobiles, and they are usually multinational products.. As a rule I will not buy Chinese goods, just a personal preference, and am willing to pay a premium for "American Made", unless of course it is a circa 1980's Chrysler K Car...rolleyes

 

Ahh Guinness, I remember the Guinness girls coming to town and stamping your hand with a Free Guinness stamp and everyone called in sick to work the next day. Ever drank 10 pints of Guinness?.... it lays heavy man :-D

Guinnes ad that won No.1 TV ad in UK history in 2000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcdDg30VBgo

Guinness.... poured perfectly in Ireland over 119.53 seconds at 6C/42.8F... through pumps.... made in China :-D

 

Yes, you do! :mad

Beer, like wine and any other "sensitive" alcoholic beverage, does NOT travel well. Beer brewed in Europe is treated with a large amount of sulphates and other unsavory chemicals, before exported, or it would never survive the trip. Unfortunately, that means that by the time it reaches its destination, the beer has survived, but thanks to the sulphates and other assorted additives, it tastes like sewage mixed with swill. Horrible.

You seriously do not want to buy and sample a beer or wine that has had to travel across one ocean and at least one continent before it reached you. You really, really, don't. uke

 

Ah, the K car...the Ford Pinto...the Chevy Vega. Just a few of the reasons why a large number of US buyers are still scared s:***tless of buying an "American" brand car or truck.

It's taken GM and Ford 30 years to finally get the quality and reliability of their small cars up to the level of Toyota and Honda, as evidenced in Consumer Reports repair history surveys of car owners. Chrysler is late to the party; we'll know in a few years if their new owner's name is really an acronym for Fix It Again, Tony. For now, I'm with the millions of others who are still trying to figure out how J-Lo's rear end fits in such a small car. :-D

 

No, I really do. I love Belgian ales. Had a lager from Slovak tonight, Golden Pheasant. What, no more French wines, no more CDR? No more Bordeaux? You are a tormenting person. :-D

I drank a Lithuanian ale last night. Adult libations have crossed the seas for centuries. Sometimes even making them better for the crossing.

Just watch the dates on the bottles. You know some French wines come over here and sit in cellars for 30 years before being deemed drinkable...

Cheers! I only buy the Guinness that is brewed in Ireland. And I like it. :-D

The English used to buy French blends, but when they were at war with France, the English teamed up with Portugal to make port for the English. Look into the names of the main Port wine makers. They are English.

Tons of history with drinking and shipping. The 'proof' is in the flame. Ask an old English sailor, or pirate. 80 proof, or 40% alcohol burns. Any less is watered down, and does not pass the proof.

 

I thought this thread pertained to dishes....

http://www.list4all.com/www3/china/12-1.jpg

 

That is a very nice looking coffee cup Boom. You do have a saucer for it?

 

Nope, no more French. I prefer the wines from South Africa or Chile, if I'm going to drink something non-local. We have a couple of impressive wineries outside my town, so I usually buy from them. Support local businesses and all that... which is easy when they provide high quality products.

 

I am all about the local bidness. The propane tank exchanges are a ripoff. Pay $20 or more and get 15 pounds of propane, take your tank to the local guy, and get 20 pounds for $20.35 tax and all...

I wish I could enjoy the local wines, but muscadine, onion, watermellon... Ahh, I am sure they are tasty (would love some of the onion wine to cook with...) but for drinking with dinner, no thanks.

Yeah, I drank some onion wine. Was not near as bad as I thought. I want a bottle of that for cooking... :-D

 

I'm sorry, but the very thought of onion wine makes me gag. uke

 

It was actually much better than I thought it would be. And I am not an onion person. But for cooking, would be great! :drool

 

As long as I like a wine then I'll cook with it otherwise it won't be in my food.

 

Amen!!!! I will never understand people who purposely buy cheap nasty wine because "it's only for cooking". Seriously?!? If you don't like the taste of it in a glass, why on earth would you put the taste of it in concentrated form infused throughout your FOOD?

 

Guess I am weird. I won't eat an onion, but I cook with them. :-D

I am with you as far as normal wine. If it ain't good enough for my glass, it ain't good enough for my plate. I have heard of some German food which is supposedly cooked with bad wine on purpose. Don't remember the name, and would not eat it.

 

Ah but you guys have to remember, not everything you cook with tastes good on it's own.
It's the sum of the parts that makes a good taste so it's perfectly conceivable that a "bad" wine could make a good taste when blended.
Personally I'm not that into wine and never cook with it lol.... but Onion wine seems odd, but then the wife is allergic to onions anyway so I don't eat them or anything with them.

 

I am not a fan of the onion wine. But after taking a sip, I was thinking, damn, a few ounces of this would rock in some burgers or maybe a soup or stew...

Crazy folk around here make wine from onions, tomatoes, watermelon....:yum

 

Well that proves it then, if the folk around your town/city are crazy enough to make wine from Onions etc, then they are crazy enough to cook with it :-D

 

Well, you can't really mock it until you try it. I did not want to drink it, but curiosity got the best of me. Heck, some people eat snails.

It honestly tasted like a Sauvignon Blanc, with an onion finish. Look in to Cajun cooking, they cook with almost anything!

 

That was actually supposed to come across as a sort of jesting compliment lol

And seriously man, you don't need to tell me about people eating weird things..... I live in Canada :-D
A co-worker is aparently going to bring in some Squirrel and Chipmonk stew... niiiiiiice...
I wont be trying that on principle alone :-D
As for snails, I never ate snails but I've eaten whelks and winkles, didn't like either of them, too chewy and ... nasty.

1 word.... Bacon :-D

 

BACON :drool:drool

 

Bacon is meat candy :-D



But then even the bacon is sliced on machines made in china :-D

 

I dream sometimes of a bacon steak. Like a rib eye, but bacon. :drool:drool

 

Squirrel and chipmunk stew is actually pretty tasty, if it's done right. Takes a ridiculous number of them to get enough meat, though. :-D

 

I can think of a few reasons, but I'm pretty sure that actually posting them would get me severely moderated.

 

You make stew out of this: http://www.chipmunks.com/

Could be fun to see just how off topic we can take this thread. :-D