You Can Buy American

[kevin_standlee]

My thanks to gridlore for pointing at this article:

Can the 'All American Store' Reverse Our Nation's Walmartization

There are a couple of big-box stores here in Fernley: Wal-Mart and Lowe's. I don't shop at Wal-Mart. I'm stuck with Lowe's, because the nearest alternatives are 25-30 miles away, and it doesn't always make sense to make those drives.

Note that what Lisa and I really want is for the USA to require that imported goods meet the same environmental standards (or better) than US-made equivalents. If making it would be illegal in the USA, it should be illegal to sell it here, too. Thus most Canadian and European-made stuff would be fine, since they're apt to have the same or higher standards.

I hope this store gets some success and that they decide to try and franchise it. If there was one here in Fernley, we'd shop there, even if it cost more. What's the point of buying cheap junk if it just breaks on you. The article itself says:

Selling low-quality goods at low prices, a big-box retailer can assume products it sells will break with some regularity. Perversely, this creates repeat business, as consumers file back into the store to buy replacements. Lather, rinse, and repeat!

Comments

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Having free trade involve more checking of environmental and labor standards would suit me very well. Or, as you say, I might well pay more even if the cheaper goods were available.

On quality, my consistently worst experiences are with American-made goods, though.

[howeird]

I have some nostalgia for you, FWIW. When I was in grade school, 1950's, "made in Japan" was synonymous with "cheap junk which will break before you even get it home". Today "made in Japan" is generally a sign of high quality. Over time, I expect "Made in China" to make the same evolution.

Meanwhile, "Made in USA" does not mean - to me - anything except the product was made in the USA. Unions have made some prices artificially high without the corresponding increase in quality. I totally agree with you & Lisa that if a product made in this country is higher quality than one made elsewhere, the higher price is justified. But I disagree with the premise that all things made here are better than all things made elsewhere.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Lisa doesn't say that, and we don't mean it. In fact, she routinely buys things like some custom electronic components from Lichtenstein, and she agrees that Made in Japan is often quality. But what's happened is that China has flooded the market with cheap, cheap junk, in an effort to drive everything else out of the market. And, to a great extent, they've done this by ignoring most environmental and labor rules that we've imposed upon ourselves, polluting their environment and putting their people to work in conditions that we wouldn't stand. Worse, they've been actively working to make it difficult to impossible to bring the jobs back even if they are producing cheap junk, but trying to purchase the intellectual property and the companies that design things as well.

Again, I'm not against all non-US-made goods. I'm against the predatory trade practices that are destroying pieces of the American economy. I want fair trade, not the Bigwigs' attitude of "Let's offshore all of our environmental problems and throw all of our workers on unemployment compensation. After all, it won't hurt me; my money is in the Bank of Dubai."

[howeird]

I see, good points. Though I would suggest that predatory trade practices have already done most of the damage they can do. At this point taxing Chinese imports up the wazoo is probably the only way to reverse the trend - with the irony being that when this was done with the Japanese auto industry, the Japanese started building many of their US-bound cars in the USA. The $$ still goes to the banks in Dubai. :-(

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

But of course the Japanese-owned plants in the U.S. are non-union, and have shitty benefits and wages by the standards of American industrial employment (but good by rural Southern desperation standards).

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's a conundrum, just like how the people employed by the Wal-Mart and Lowe's in Fernley are happy to have jobs, even though the presence of those big box stores destroyed most of the small downtown stores. (I know I'd much rather have a small hardware store within walking distance over a Big Box that's basically inaccessible except by car, even though the former would have a smaller selection and cost more.)

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

I'm no apologist for Chinese-made goods, but I think it's worth mentioning that "US-made" is no guarantee that it was made to legal standards. Sweatshops are rife in the US, especially in the garment industry.

China has flooded the market with cheap, cheap junk, in an effort to drive everything else out of the market. And, to a great extent, they've done this by ignoring most environmental and labor rules that we've imposed upon ourselves, polluting their environment and putting their people to work in conditions that we wouldn't stand.

Absolutely true. But also worth mentioning: China is not doing this on its own. The US Chamber of Commerce, for example, while officially pressing for decent conditions for Chinese workers has unofficially pressed for that to be ignored so that prices will stay low.* The US, and all other countries including my own who buy these goods from China, are as culpable in this as China.

*See Ellen Ruppel Shell's book "Cheap: The High Cost Of Discount Culture" for an eye-opening account of this.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Excellent points, and a blot upon American business for being so hypocritical and short-sighted.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

Having been shopping with Lisa, I'll chime in that part of the point is a discomfort with the uniformity of the origin (as well as China's various practices). She's pointed out that she'd be much happier if the Made-In options were something like Canada, Nicaragua, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Spain or Brazil. As it is we're too often presented with China, China, China, China, China...

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Monopolies are not a good thing. Diversity is good.

[dsmoen.livejournal.com]

I think shopping based on price is our national insanity.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Quite. We're obsessed with first cost over lifetime cost. Lisa and I are facing this with the replacement of the Furnace of Death. Do we spend $$ to patch-and-mend the existing system or $$$ for a new furnace, or $$$$ for a high-quality, long-lasting heat pump system that will be more efficient and save money on operating costs over the long term.

I read something not too long ago that suggested that a lot of our decisions overall these days are being driven by the general aging of the population, as people on the whole don't seem to think it matters to buy something that lasts or to invest in anything with a long-term payback (like infrastructure projects like High Speed Rail) because they personally don't expect to live long enough to reap any reward from it. The author called it "A going-out-of-business sale for the Baby Boom."

[theresamather.livejournal.com]

For art supplies particularly frames, I try to find American made or at least American assembled. The Chinese stuff is utter and total junk and I have to spend so much time cleaning, repairing or cutting down glazing to fit too-small openings in standard size framing, etc. and I have to pitch so much of it because factory flaws are purposefully hidden behind protective shipping corners, etc. that I would rather pay more for American made and get it right the first time. I HATE Chinese made crapola frame moulding with a passion.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

I would rather pay more for American made and get it right the first time.

Exactly! That's one of the reasons (the lack of funds is the other) we're thinking very carefully before springing for the next tranche of house repairs. I don't want to have to redo shoddy work done with shoddy parts, even if it costs more up front. (And at least on the bright side, this sort of major repair probably can be capitalized toward the basis of the house, which has long-term benefits, although we really don't want to have to move anytime soon.)