25 APRIL, 2020 - AMERICAN DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED GOODS
Here is how it looks... firstly, be fully aware of the lies... "Made in America", may not be true, there can be a play on words like with our Automobiles (50+% of the parts are made in China, Mexico, Canada, Indonesia, and Europe), our vehicles are "Assembled in America" (mostly). During our spring cleaning, we took special note of labels and tags, and were shocked that we are not also eating rice every night and driving a Wuling Hong Guang.
There is a tremendous amount of truth-stretching and word-play in labeling (and downright lying), it applies to our food, clothing, shoes, vehicles (all types), toys, tools, raw materials, medicines and sundries.
We have railed on this site earlier about this, and about the change during the past 70 (and especially during the last 50) years that has been beyond comprehension for the average Joe, housewife, or Yuppie to ever know about... much less care. My storytelling about 1950 America is old, irrelevant, who-cares, obsolete stuff (like Pearl Harbor Day celebrations) but, I still tell it.
As America came out of WW2, we designed, built and marketed "Everything" on this planet... our ground soldiers had been exposed to foreign products that were sometimes higher quality, better designed or just unique, and we began to encourage the "good guy" image by supporting and rebuilding the global economy by importing these goods (globalism). Many of these products were cheaper and sometimes, equal to, or better than, our American-made product, and we simply began looking at a "value for the dollar" mentality.
Many American war-time startup industries were temporary, and we gladly shut them down to import... by 1955 this was in full swing, and headed out of control as we slowly used more and more imports. The rising power of our labor unions facilitated the noticeable price differentials of a foreign-made skillet and a double priced US made skillet (both of the same quality). So, by the 1960's we were watching our Steel and Aluminum mills, shipyards, clothing and tire manufacturing industries close down and disappear.
Electronics never took root here in America (assembly-wise) but we had all of the engineering and design prowess locked in (just like in many other industries)... America "was" the design and technology master of the world, so, we shared.. (more globalism).
I will say that again, "America was the design and technology Master of the World"... the powers in charge learned that building what we designed was very expensive here in America due to our labor costs, so, they began outsourcing the manufacturing processes to needy foreign countries. (that was early in the 1960's).
The "BUT"... comes in here.... Albany Door Knob company gives the guy in China a contract for making a $30.00 door knob as a $2.00 item, but, since they do not use doorknobs in China... China has no clue as to how to make it.
And I mean "no clue" ! they have never heard of 2160 tempered steel, thrancite pins, or admiralty brass, but, this is such a huge profit maker we decide to send two engineers from Albany over there to "show" them... and we invite them to our plant for a "show and tell", they obtain all of the material and chemical compositions for their foundries, take the blueprints home, and learn how to form the knob, and about the complete "logic" and sales pitch of the knob, they mimic the packaging, even learn English for printing the label, and build the entire device on their own... in short, we give them the entire turnkey design, materielle, manufacturing, assembly, packaging, and end-use technology ... ALL of it !
Why, we even give them the same machinery 'we" use, and give it to them with no strings attached.
As soon as the patent runs out time-wise ... it is all theirs !!!
By 1965 we are so into sharing that we give away ALL & ANY technology for outsourcing to create more profit in every field.... and all the skills and know-how are included... in the 1970's our commercial fishing, oil refining, plastic, airline piloting, aircraft building, automobile manufacture, furniture, appliance, flooring, paint, tools, home supplies, and even food processing is outsourced... the rush is so great... and the profits so big, that by the 1980's we give them our computer, solar and space technologies too !! (what the heck).
Later, in the 1990s they have our shipbuilding, propulsion, satellite, communications, pharmaceuticals, Medical equipment, and space research technologies and how-to sharing as well.
During the 1990's to Y2K we even train their Army/Navy, and give away our military stealth, armaments, missiles, attack fighter planes, laser, and underwater technologies to them... we give it all away ! (we believe in this sharing, friends, and globalism stuff).
Until around 2010, when someone notices that we no longer are doing the designing, we no longer are "the" Technology leaders, we no longer have the research or natural resources to pioneer new materials, and now... after 70 years out of manufacturing anything, we have no machinists, welders, fabricators, laborers, machine tool companies, or design engineers, the few things we have left are foreign owned, and, the biggest return gift we got, is the Wuhan Virus.
We gave it all away, and now in 2020 we are about to lose (or have lost) our international military superiority and our world currency status, along with everything else, to the Silk Road.
I know... people have no idea (nor care) how reliant we are on China today... everything you buy is made in China, ChinaMart (er, Walmart), and Chinazon (Amazon) now control some 65% of the US consumer import commerce, and even the freight.
But, what is really ugly/scary (did I mention insulting ?) is that today... China called up the Albany Door Knob Company (who is now only a marketing Company) and told them about this new design they just came up with, they sent Albany a spec. and price sheet email about it, invited them to come over to China to see the unveiling, and they requested a credit card number for the China Airlines economy tickets.
As we do all the finger-pointing about "where" the virus came from, and when, and who created it... we need to also look at what we have learned about our supply chain... and our empty shelves and why inventories cannot keep up... for medicines, food, medical supplies, and more...it is meaningless to say "MADE IN AMERICA" when you really mean "Assembled in Ameria with 49% Chinese built parts".
Start reading labels... look at your clothes, linens, shoes, cookware, and all new purchases at the Mall (remember those?). foodstuffs are in this too... but remember labels cheat, use semantics and lie.
https://www.madeinamerica.co/pages/thelist
https://clark.com/shopping-retail/american-made-in-the-usa/
But, "we" did this... and now only "we" can fix it.