Made in USA

[slackjawedyokel]

Reading the thread on leather boots, I am struck by how little emphasis is placed on purchasing items made in America. Dont get me wrong , I firmly believe in buying the best equipment that I can afford, but if I can purchase something equal quality , I will seek out American made. Even if it cost a little more. Do any of your departments have a written policy of trying to buy American made? Also is there a definative data base for researching the country of orgin ? I would like to see Congress pass a bill making everything to have a simple code that could be accessed to verify the country of origin. After you buy it and get he box , its too late.

[LVFD301]

Great thought - but how much stuff is actually made in the US anymore?

Try to buy a dependable radio that is made in the US. Motorola? Nope. Tait? Nope. Icom? Nope. Kenwood? Nope.

Add to that - what do you do when the quality of the US product is subpar, and the foreign product is better, and cheaper?

And then what constitutes made in the US? Many of the parts of cars made in the US are not, and many of the sub assemblies of the cars are made in the US, but put together in Mexico.

[RFDACM02]

Great thought - but how much stuff is actually made in the US anymore?

Therein lies the issue. We used to have a large "American" manufacturer's packaging plant (big manufacturer, small plant) here in town. They'd take clothing made in other countries in and sew on "made in the USA" and then package them for sale! Like so many other federally regulated labels, the rules on what can say "Made in America" do not necessarily mean they are. Just like "low fat", "organic" or "healthy" it's buyer beware.

[FIRE117]

Whenever I have the opportunity to purchase equipment, I make an effort to purchase "Made in the USA" equipment.

One of the misgivings of moving our manufacturing base out of the US (China, etc.), is what are we going to do if a war broke out? Are the countries that we are at war with, going to sell us what we need to fight them?

We have lost alot of jobs that have gone to other countries. In order for a country to have a stable economy, it must produce something. The US, for the most part, has become a "service" economy. It does not look like that is working out, is it?

[tree68]

In too many cases, it's our own fault. Our efforts to "keep up with the Joneses" have led to escalating wage requirements, which, of course, leads to higher costs of production.

It's a vicious cycle.

[sfd1992]

In too many cases, it's our own fault. Our efforts to "keep up with the Joneses" have led to escalating wage requirements, which, of course, leads to higher costs of production.

I can agree to a point, but corporations that move everything offshore and pay kids $1 week in their factories don't share any of that responsibility?

Even Henry Ford knew that there was no point in building cars, if no one was paid well enough to actually buy one.

[slackjawedyokel]

Fire 117 - you hit the nail on the head --- history repeats itself. I remember in history class , pictures (paintings)of Valley Forge with the soldiers in the snow their feet wrapped in rags. Could very easily happen again -- think we could re-tool and start making combat boots in short notice. And LVFD - some things you have no choice , but there are still quality products out there. And thats why I would like to see a easily deciphered code on all products. One for 100% USA - another for assembled in USA - one for USA materials assembled elsewhere and of course one for outside USA. Im sure you would need a few "sub codes" but still something to base your decesion on. I wanted to buy a roll around tool chest, took me hours to finally chase down one 100% American.

[FWDbuff]

Great thought - but how much stuff is actually made in the US anymore?

And then what constitutes made in the US? Many of the parts of cars made in the US are not, and many of the sub assemblies of the cars are made in the US, but put together in Mexico.

About a year ago, we were in the market for a new minivan for the wife. She needs dependable transportation for her work as a Visiting Nurse. Quickly ruled out the Ford, Chevy and Mopar vans. Settled on two- The Honda Oddysey or the Toyota Sienna. I was leaning towards the Sienna AWD model which would have been good for her here in the snow. But then a friend turned me on to her Kia Sedona. So I looked into it, but was turned off by the fact that they were completely built (at that time) in Korea. But I really liked their option packages, warranties, etc. So I stopped in at the dealer just to look around, but I doubted I was going to buy one.....At least the Honda and Toyota were assembled in the USA of foreign-made components. But as I got to talking to the salesman, I found out that they had just built a brand-new plant in West Point, Ga. At the time I bought the van, the factory wasn't even online yet, they were expecting to start up February of 2010. Needless to say I was impressed. Sure in the end my money is probably going to Seoul, but several thousand residents of the State of Georgia have jobs now. We now own a Kia Sedona.

[islandfire03]

Reading the thread on leather boots, I am struck by how little emphasis is placed on purchasing items made in America. Dont get me wrong , I firmly believe in buying the best equipment that I can afford, but if I can purchase something equal quality , I will seek out American made. Even if it cost a little more. Do any of your departments have a written policy of trying to buy American made? Also is there a definative data base for researching the country of orgin ? I would like to see Congress pass a bill making everything to have a simple code that could be accessed to verify the country of origin. After you buy it and get he box , its too late.

We do have a policy that when making major capitol purchases we try to buy American made and owned products if they are the same or better quality.

Is it always possible ? No
When we wrote our RFP for turnout gear we put in that the products would be given preference if produced in the US and from an american owned company.
Globe fit the bill.
When we went out to bid on radio equipment a couple years ago , We knew it was not possible to buy American made equipment. But we did not buy from a company that is based in Asia.

Personally I spend my money with the small family owned business versus the giant conglomerate big box stores.
I am willing to pay a little more to ensure the stability of the American economy.
We just bought a new refrigerator. Same model from a big box store was $11.00 cheaper than buying it from a small local appliance store. The bonus being the big box wanted 15 days to deliver one and the family owned business delivered it the next day.
We went with the small family owned business happily.

Whenever you can support American owned business!

[fireinfo10]

Reading the thread on leather boots, I am struck by how little emphasis is placed on purchasing items made in America. Dont get me wrong , I firmly believe in buying the best equipment that I can afford, but if I can purchase something equal quality , I will seek out American made. Even if it cost a little more. Do any of your departments have a written policy of trying to buy American made? Also is there a definative data base for researching the country of orgin ? I would like to see Congress pass a bill making everything to have a simple code that could be accessed to verify the country of origin. After you buy it and get he box , its too late.

Reinventing the wheel. If made outside of the US must have country of origin on the packaging. Soon will be hard to buy rubber boots. I hear the last ones are now moving to China.

[slackjawedyokel]

Fire info --- please tell me how , if I buy something online and or by phone , and I cannot see the package , I am to tell? Falling back to the tool chest --- I could not find anything local - so I researched best I could - very time consuming - example - waterloo industries (which is what I bought) Best I remember there were two models made in Mexico - one in China - and one model made in Missouri. I had to call the factory and have them look it up. Maybe I lack internet skills , but again I see no master list or code to determine country of origin -Returning the item after looking at the box is not a real good option.

[Bones42]

Policy handed to me by my Town is to buy the lowest priced item that meets the quality we need.

[islandfire03]

Policy handed to me by my Town is to buy the lowest priced item that meets the quality we need.

The wallmart mentality strikes again!

[GTRider245]

Policy handed to me by my Town is to buy the lowest priced item that meets the quality we need.

As long as you are the one determing the "quality you need" I don't see a problem with this at all.