Have a look around your home; chances are very good that well over 70% of the household items you see are made in China. Your coffee maker, travel mug, microwave, blender, steak knives, panini sandwich press, toaster oven, kitchen table & chairs, television, TV stand, DVD player, stereo, bookcase, office desk & chair, computer, monitor, speakers, printer, wi-fi router, fax machine, portable heater, lamp, bedspread, sheets, pillows, soap dispenser, toothbrush, hair brush, broom, mop, vacuum cleaner, hand tools, power tools, light bulbs, outdoor playset, patio furniture, string trimmer and Christmas lights were probably all made in China. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
I recently started work on a Murphy bed for the guest room in our home. I went to the local Home Depot and purchased some pricey cabinet-grade birch plywood to construct the bed. Stamped on each 4 x 8 sheet: "Made In China." Made in China. Can someone explain to me how it could possibly be cheaper to produce and ship plywood halfway around the world than to just make it here in the U.S.?
I was stunned. I took a short walk around the store and picked up random items off of the shelves. Sure enough - over 70% of the items I picked up were made in China. In Home Depot. The new toilet I just purchased? China. The new carpenter's square? China.
Understand that I have nothing against China or the Chinese people. I am glad that they are pulling themselves out of "third world" status and that fewer and fewer Chinese people live in abject poverty. They are becoming a global economic powerhouse - and that's good for them. But when I look around at the nearly 30,000,000 people out of work in the United States (myself included), I get a nagging feeling that something is very wrong here.
America imported nearly 338 billion dollars worth of goods in 2008. From China. How much did we export to China? Close to 70 billion. That's 268 billion American dollars flowing out of the country and into Chinese pockets.
But America has a service-sector economy you say. You're right. We have transitioned away from manufacturing to financial, electronic, medical and other services. And who honestly wants to work in a plant that manufactures soap dispensers? The pay would be well below minimum wage; well below what anyone could live on. But in our quest to get the most value for our dollar, we have driven American manufacturers out of business and put our fellow Americans out of work. When faced with a choice, we will usually go with the cheaper Chinese made product over a more expensive American made one. A lot of the time, the choice is made for us without our knowledge by corporate buyers who are driven to get the cheapest possible price.
We are perpetuating our own economic slump by buying cheap foreign goods. The estimated U.S. budget deficit for 2009 is 12 trillion dollars. That's $12,000,000,000,000. Who holds the majority of that debt? China.
This is not a problem that our government can fix. This is a problem that we created and that we need to solve.
So, I'm issuing a challenge to every single person in the country: next time you go to pick up that bookcase at Walmart or that set of steak knives from Target or that tape measure from Lowes, check the box to see where it came from before you purchase it. Where possible, spend the few extra dollars on the American made product. That goes for everything from toothpicks to automobiles. There are, of course, some things that America simply doesn't manufacture, and that's fine. But be conscious of your purchases. Put down that Chinese made cordless screwdriver and pick up the American made one. Will it cost more? Perhaps, but you're keeping American money in the pockets of Americans, who can then use it to invest in American industry, helping to pull us out of this recession.
When we support each other, everyone wins.
Photo Credit: Gary Tamin
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