In a message dated 10/30/2002 2:28:37 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Sometimes I get so sick of all the "imperialist" rhetoric and steady drip of > guilt trips that I sincerely wish everyone would go back to > buying only > goods made in the U.S. even if it costs 100 times as much. I am enjoying this discussion a lot. Kakki, you are echoing many of the same things I believe on these issues. Referencing your statement above, it is now VERY difficult to buy products made in the USA! I read last week where one of the last (major) shirt manufacturers in the US has had to close its doors. Next time you go clothes shopping - look at the tags. I'll give you a dollar for every "Made In The USA" tag if you give me a quarter for every "Made in Sri Lanka/Singapore etc." tag. When I worked at the kayak factory back in 2000, we bought 95% of our product from US suppliers. I was constantly pressured to transition to buying the same products from Pacific Rim suppliers in order to get a lower unit cost. This was one of the reasons I quit. The business had ZERO concern for supporting a domestic manufacturer and was ONLY concerned about the bottom line. Which is not to point the finger at business; we as consumers do the same thing every day. I am deeply saddened to read about United Air Lines heavy losses, as they were the only airline that did not make major cuts after 9/11. They committed to their employees that there would be no layoffs. And the flying public applauded but didn't support that attitude - they shopped for their best fare available. I concede that these are all really tricky issues without easy answers...it may be that our economy won't truly begin a turnaround until we have another 'Industrial Revolution' and gear back up to manufacturing real products again, which will HAVE to be SUPPORTED by consumers. Bob NP: AC/DC, "Night Of The Long Knives"
