Mainers - Buy American (Bangor, China: low income, for sale, house)
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Did you see Diane Sawyer's special report? They removed ALL items from a typical, middle class family's home that were not made in the USA .
There was hardly anything left besides the kitchen sink. Literally. During the special they showed truckloads of items - USA made - being brought in to replace everything and talked about how to find these items and the difference in price etc..
It was interesting that Diane said if every American spent just $64 more than normal on USA made items this year, it would create something like
200,000 new jobs!
I WAS BUYING FOOD THE OTHER DAY AT WALMART and ON THE LABEL OF SOME PRODUCTS IT SAID 'FROM CHINA '
FOR EXAMPLE THE "OUR FAMILY" BRAND OF THE MANDARIN ORANGES SAYS RIGHT ON THE CAN 'FROM CHINA '
I WAS SHOCKED SO FOR A FEW MORE CENTS I BOUGHT THE LIBERTY GOLD BRAND OR THE DOLE SINCE IT'S FROM CALIF.
Are we Americans as dumb as we appear --- or --- is it that we just do not think. The Chinese, knowingly and intentionally, export inferior and even toxic products and dangerous toys and goods to be sold in American markets.
70% of Americans believe that the trading privileges afforded to the Chinese should be suspended.
Why do you need the government to suspend trading privileges? DO IT YOURSELF, AMERICA !!
Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says 'Made in China ' or 'PRC' (and that now includes Hong Kong ), simply choose another product, or none at all. You will be amazed at how dependent you are on Chinese products, and you will be equally amazed at what you can do without.
Who needs plastic eggs to celebrate Easter? If you must have eggs, use real ones and benefit some Maine farmer. Easter is just an example. The point is do not wait for the government to act. Just go ahead and assume control on your own.
THINK ABOUT THIS: If 200 million Americans each refuse to buy just $20 of Chinese goods, that's a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor...fast!!
Most of the people who have been reading about this matter are planning on implementing this on Aug. 1st and continue it until Sept. 1st. That is only one month of trading losses, but it will hit the Chinese for 1/12th of the total, or 8%, of their American exports. Then they might have to ask themselves if the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness were worth it.
If we can't live without cheap Chinese goods for one month out of our lives, WE DESERVE WHAT WE GET!
Pass it on, Mainers ....even to the rest of America
Well instead of doing it for just 1 month why not try to do it all the time.
My husband and I have been chanting this mantra for years. We've found that trying to stick to only American-made goods has been next to impossible, thanks to corporate retail giants and their commitment to inflate their profit margins through overseas manufacturing. The result is high U.S. unemployment, limited variety of goods, and a decreasing U.S. dollar value.
I'm ready for the bunker in the woods but I can't afford it. These days being a middle to low income American is like being an indentured servant shopping at the company store.
We try to buy American and avoid Walmart....because they are so heavily into importing from China. The primary exception is our car......we bought a Honda...(after all we are a Japanese American Household).....but next time.....it may well be an American made automobile....tho Toyota, Honda and especially Subaru .... are my favorites.
I certainly dont want to eat food from china.....or hand out halloween candy from China or Mexico for that matter.....or especially pet food from china.......it has contained poisons. We found that the furniture manufacturing had pretty much moved to China (devestating N. Carolina)......but some is coming back....China has been subcontracting with other countries with cheaper labor....and American corps have found quality control and increasing problem...or so I was told.
We have bought really nice American Made furniture.....Amish made in Ohio or Indiana and Shaker reproductions made of cherry.
Buy American when you can.....and patronize local business over franchises.
If we can't live without cheap Chinese goods for one month out of our lives, WE DESERVE WHAT WE GET!
Pass it on, Mainers ....even to the rest of America
Well instead of doing it for just 1 month why not try to do it all the time.
I try very hard to buy U.S.A. when it comes to food, but anything else I will only buy from this country if it is competitive. We DO deserve what we get. We have powerful unions that have destroyed our steel, paper, and auto industries. We have a welfare state that has put so much overhead into making anything that there is no way we can compete with other countries. Lastly, we have over regulated our industries to where they are getting strangled and are moving away. We deserve what we get, so either enjoy it or change it.
I try to when I can. It is almost impossible to do so in the realm of electronics. I just bought a new TV, no made in USA units to be had. I also have discovered that not all Craftsman tools are no longer American made, some are Chi-Com, need to look close. Diamond Gusset jeans are a good American made jean in the Levi & Carhartt style (both made in Vietnam). The former largest denim mill in the world sits not 5 miles from my home (Cone Mills) idle. I notice L.L. Bean is a purveyor of Chi-Com goods now. All my vehicles are GM (except my American made Indian Motorcycles), My GMC Sierra is made in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada although I believe I can live with that. My wife owns a Volvo, but she is not American (Kiwi) and New Zealand autos do not exist, this coupled with the fact that I would never,never purport to advise her in any matter unsolicited! One picks up little tidbits through the decades. Another tidbit is to be open to advice from my wife.
This is nothing new. This has been happening (albeit very quietly) since the early to mid 1980s. Granted, it's been a slow process.
In the mid 1980s, POS (Point of Sale) came into play and Merchandiser jobs went the way of the dinosaur. Merchandisers were responsible for scanning well-selling items and ensuring they were restocked. That's why you could reasonably expect an item you always found on the shelf to be there longer than six months before completely disappearing. Instead, bar codes were placed and the register scanned them which would then relay to the central office what was being purchased for restocking purposes.
Departments were tended by Managers and Assistant Managers, and were staffed with employees who were responsible for the appearance and replenishment of that department - many full-time. In other words, employees were assigned to one place only (merchandisers included). That is, Automotive employees worked only in Automotive, Apparel worked only in Apparel, etc.
Employees (in a lot of stores) were paid in cash weekly from the cash office. The exception to that was the managers who received checks every two weeks.
Fast-forward to the the 90s, (I'll use Bangor for example) and Wal-Mart moved into town. In fairly short order, area department stores were forced to enact practices designed to 'compete' with the purchasing power of Wal-Mart (and I'm talking after Sam Walton died when all of the "Made in USA" signs seemed to disappear). Many retailers were thrilled when the numbers came in at a certain percentage below for sales numbers in a given week instead of even lower the week before (I forget the exact numbers now).
In fact, it was not exclusive to Bangor, the entire nation of retailers began the mad dash to compete with the Wal-Mart model of doing business. Some managed to accomplish that, others (like Kmart and Sears) had to merge.
Later on, instead of paying attention to what the customer was buying, it became stock whatever is loaded onto the Merck ships and sent over to the warehouse (i.e. manufactured cheaply). It was sort of a "Let's see what sells and then buy something else cheap anyway" sort of thing, and we lapped it right up apparently. That's why in today's modern retail store, if you find something you like, you better buy 12 of them as you may not ever see them again (or not for a couple of years).
In all fairness, it wasn't just Wal-Mart who was doing this: The rest of the chains had to follow suit, or they'd go out of business.
They had to outsource to slums like China because what person in their right mind (and free to do so) would work for practically pennies a day like they would - union or not?
Long story short, in a race to the bottom to provide John Q. Customer with the absolute lowest prices, many people who had made a career out of retail sales had to sacrifice a LOT. I'm not talking teenagers who used retailing as an after school job, I'm talking people who worked better than 20 years for the company. Some took pay cuts, reductions in benefits, and reduced vacation time - all in the name of competing.
I have a relative who was a major purchaser for Kmart in NY. He was the one of the ones who brought various brands of merchandise to stores nationwide. He saw the writing on the wall early enough, and moved to Human Resources.
Slowly, in our zeal to keep prices low, we're now pretty much reaping what we've sown.
Last edited by cebdark; 08-02-2011 at 05:59 PM..
Reason: clarity
If everything in or around your house is bought the second time around like at yard sales, dollar stores, farmers markets, donation stores, consign stores, pawn shops, Craigslist, Ebay or used car dealerships, isn't that buying American? Is that what we have become? A nation of resales, rebates, restocks, remakes and retreads? I know some folks in Maine who never buy anything new except maybe food at the local grocery store because it just can't be helped. That and other places like hardware, department and feed stores once in a while. Even then they are cheap bastiges, I mean clearly practical with their personal wealth redistribution.
I guess if I think about it, I might start being prudent with my store purchases and start looking at 'where made' labels more. I know I'm already programed to look at labels for price, freshness, fat, calorie and sodium amounts.
buy local- independently owned, maine in made-
all of these phrases are out there-they resonate with some, but not most- this thread hits a nerve with me the older i get, im guilty, of want to be buying cheap- but in the last few years im making it a point not to drive by a local store store to go to walmart or any other big box store- there's an old saying, everything starts local- so if we just make some more local choices, it will add up, besides, the gas it takes going to a walmart and fighting the crowds isnt worth it to me anymore
made in maine-get real get maine- many instate promotions and alliances,, I have witnessed many start up companies and food vendors trying to specialize their products with good luck, i've helped many of these companies- get exposure to many stores, im always pulling for the mainers-
however, start up companies, with all the rules/laws are costly, along with facilities, production, distribution, payroll, and on and on
quite a good story to a seafood company that opened in washington county-in trescott i believe, I heard a presentation from one of the owners- they make frozen seafood pies- exclusively from maine seafood, so it can still happen
many good companies in maine- and if someone did the research online, i think theyd be surprised to see how many maine companies there actually are- some may even be nearby
Many maine towns have half the businesses they use to have, every time a business closes, the tax burden goes up on all the residents- think about that when you go to sams club or walmart
made is usa- I believe this cliche' phrase needs to resurface with added urgency- I'd love to see more the entrepenuer spirit of more opening businesses based on just local products, all made in usa, the challenge is=most of us like cheap,
id like to see a sticker on items, "all materials made in usa, with american labor" or "when buying this item, you are supporting hundreds of american workers and families"
we cant be bashing china too hard-we owe them trillions, thanks to our politicians
if everything does start local, then talk up every local vendor around you, to friends and family- get the word out- the more we buy local, the more we are helping ourselves in the long run
also, dont be shy about giving feedback to a local businessman/woman if you think they are high priced- tell them that
It's funny to hear the whining about WalMart. It's like people believe that WalMart's marketing concept was a quantum leap and otherwise wouldn't have been discovered for centuries. Before them there was Woolworth's, Sears, Zayres, Mammoth Mart, Giants, Ames, blah, blah, blah. They all forced each other out of business by selling cheaper. Someone will force WalMart out by selling cheaper someday.
The problem isn't that someone is selling something cheaper, it's that WE aren't making virtually anything cheaper or better. Look at a Consumer Reports and you will see Asian cars selling at the same price as American cars, but the American cars are always on the bottom of the list. Why is that? Because we are paying American Autoworkers Union employees $50 per hour (probably more with benefits) to wrench lug nuts on an assembly line. Stop blaming everyone else and take a look at us.
Put on top of it all a nanny state, the money to pay for it, and a failing economy, say bye-bye to ANYONE that's trying to start a local business. Right now we have a real inflation rate of over 10%. It looks low because the government takes all kinds of stuff out of the calculation (like gas prices). Every time I fill my oil tank I eat out 50 fewer times. Go ahead, try to open a restaurant. It's our fault. Accept it or change it.
I am not sure how this thread, particularly the ideology and politics has anything to do with Maine.....politics really belongs in another forum.
I would suggest that Hannaford has a "Close to Home" promotion in which they flag the products that are made in Maine....and there are quite a few of them. I do try to purchase them whenever I can.....sometimes the price difference makes this impractical. That usually has nothing to do with unions.....it usually is competition ie: between a boothbay harbor canned fish product and perhaps Geisha....big multi-national corp vs. a smaller local company.
I buy B&M over Bush beans to support local company and local jobs....etc. I shop for many vegetables at a local farm stand....not all....but when I can.
Last edited by elston; 08-02-2011 at 07:49 PM..
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Is that what we have become? A nation of resales, rebates, restocks, remakes and retreads? 
I know some folks in Maine who never buy anything new except maybe food at the local grocery store because it just can't be helped. That and other places like hardware, department and feed stores once in a while. Even then they are cheap bastiges, I mean clearly practical with their personal wealth redistribution.
