i guess it's not quite as bad now here, we never had any real manufactoring jobs, mostly service & tourism. we have a very large military presence locally and a lot of jobs connected with that. as far as buying american, we all try, but price is the largest factor. i try to support locally owned merchants and commercial supply houses. not always the best price, but like destroyer said, they know my name. as far as the future, i can't see it getting any better. my wife is in education(30 yrs) and will be retiring soon & my daughter graduated last year with a bs in history(to teach). jobs so scarce, she went back to get masters, graduates in dec and will probably be subbing until something breaks.

i'd still rather be poor in the south,(warmer)

When my wife and I started having kids, she stayed home with them until the youngest went to school, so for about 10 years we were POOR! I wouldn't have had it any other way, but it was very tough and extremely stressful...but since she is back teaching, we get along ok, not loaded by any means, but get to do a lot of fun things and my kids have more than they need.

Earlier I was cleaning up my email and ran accross this, it a guide to barcodes so you can tell what is from where when shopping.

The whole world is concerned about China-made "black hearted goods".
Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China ?

If the first 3 digits of the barcode are 690 691 or 692, the product is MADE IN CHINA.
471 is Made in Taiwan .
This is our right to know, but the government and related departments never educate the
public, therefore we have to RESCUE ourselves.

Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products "MADE IN CHINA", so they don't show from which country it is made.

However, you may now refer to the barcode - remember if the first 3 digits are:

690-692 ... then it is MADE IN CHINA
00 - 09 ... USA & CANADA
30 - 37 FRANCE
40 - 44GERMANY
471 ... Taiwan
49 ... JAPAN
50 ...UK

BUY USA & CANADIAN MADE by watching for "0" at the beginning of the number.
We need every boost we can get! Pass this on to everybody on your E-Mail Contact List!!


If the government won't help us, we MUST help ourselves.

Yea its called the crap-o-meter. The lower the number the better the product. Except for france......should be somewhere in the 6's.......

That reminds me, i have an old french rifle for sale. Never fired, only dropped once.........

i can appreciate everybody's points. all are well thought out and expressed. BUT...... there are certain things that dont exist with the usa on the back. stupid little crap like the travel cases i had to buy for my kids video games. the headphones they use for their ipods. just the crap we all use in our everyday lives. watches. shoes. t-shirts. televisions. the computer you're all sitting behind. my underwear. we just cant escape it. i have made it my business to attempt to "look for the union label" but in many, many cases the union label just cant be found.
i'll start christmas shopping for my kids over the next few weeks and i'll just bet i wont be able to find one dam thing that was made in america. it's really depressing.

hey marc
just think of this, PUT A SIGN IN YOUR TRAIN !!!!!!!!!!
THIS CAR FOR AMERICANS ONLY
:nut:

Stolen from another source but well worth repeating:

Quote:
As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods - merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year could/should be different. This year, Americans can give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands.

Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, everyone. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper? Everyone gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber? Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates. Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down big bucks on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a many owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by an American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would love the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I know I can find some young guy who is struggling to keep his repair business running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local arts and crafts people spin their own wool and knit it into scarves. They make ***elry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre. Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, do you really need to buy another hundred Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. Instead, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice big tip.

You see, the holidays are no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US, incouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our
communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine. THIS is the new American holiday tradition.

This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what Christmas is about?

Good ideas!!!! Now lets talk about censorship.....:head:

hey road, all good ideas for the future but for now, it's gonna be pretty hard to tell a nine year old that he's getting a haircut or an oil change when he has his heart set on a helicopter and a skateboard.
we try to support local business when we can and as ace hardware is 2 miles and home depot is 5 miles, we go to ace when practicable. i just wish that more people would have felt this way when it was needed. it may have made a difference.
where i live there are no big retailers. we are a very popular summer destination so in the summer nobody drives their cars and we all stay within bicycle distance to home. that also helps our local economy but it's just a tiny spec on the landscape.
unfortunately we cannot act globally as nationally we are at almost 10% unemployment and the working class is carrying the 41% of our population who doesnt pay taxes. so when a walmart opens in a lower income neighborhood it becomes a mainstay for the lower class, which by the way is ever increasing in size.

I'm with yall, I try to buy American made when possible, but I buy Toyota vehicles because they are so reliable ( and are assembled in USA). When Walmart started they went on and on about" MADE in USA" products, you don't hear that anymore. I use to work for Union Camp Corp.( an American owned and operated paper and wood products company) which merged with (bought out by) International Paper Co. I was told that the new plant built in Brazil would'nt affect us, but a year later they shut the whole plant in Franklin Va. down sending 1500 people home. I was lucky to find another job with Nucor Steel to which I'm very proud and thankful to have! Nucor won't buy or use any Chinese made products! I really feel sorry for anybody struggling to find a good job in these times. But I hear alot of people complaining about not being able to find a job when there are jobs out there. It may not pay what you're use to, or be as clean or nice as you're last job but it is work and it does pay the bills. We at work just went through a shutdown for a week to repair some things we couldnt fix while running and the contractor co we use came in with almost 100% hispanic workers to help us do the work. It is dirty, hard but rewarding work. When I asked about why they hired all hispanic workers I was told they couldnt get Americans to do the work. I guess if they're getting money ta sit on their *** and do nothing, they're ok with it. I think anybody getting a FREE check should be drug and alcohol tested and cut off if they dont pass it. When I was out of work I cut grass, cut wood and worked at a local body shop to try and make ends meet. My family depended on me to provide for them and I didnt want to let them down. I would have shoveled $hit or done anything to make the needed money to keep my family going. I think some Americans have lost this feeling!! Just my two cents!!

This statement always bothers me as Toyota hasn't had that great of quality for the last 10 years or so. They've been turning out subpar work since the late 90's and using there rreputation that the ybuilt in the 70's and 80's to sell them. GM has been making great vehicles since the mid 90's, but to many people are still hung up on the 70's and 80's and some of the complete SH!T they turned out then. I work on cars out of my house, and TOZYOTA's are one I will not normally touch. Not because of morals, but because they end up costing me more to work on than I will make it in warranty repairs later on. Most all of teh imports are becoming this way for me at least. DODGE still needs to bring up there interior quality, but otherwise are also pretty good now as well. It just burns me when I hear peopel say how great the imports are, and then they continue to say how great they are even when they need thousands of dollars worth the repoairs when there are domestic vehicles running longer with less than half the repairs in many cases. As for the imports being assembled here and the domestic vehicles beig assembled elsewhere, we have nobody to blame but ourselves and the unions for this.