I'm basically cool with "not China and Russia", preferring the goods of our Canadian and Mexican brothers. I mean, it is obscenely difficult at times to find American made goods.
Totally not a necessity... but do you have any idea how difficult it is to find basic yarn that's not from China? I've found some good sources, but yeah, it's a challenge. A whole lot of textiles end up being made in China... or they're treated as if they're exotic and rare gems commanding a high price. It's a little bit easier when I'm after wool, silk blends, or finer cottons... but acrylic, polyester, and basic cottons are really challenging. I ended up with a company out of Holland that has a really good selection of European, South American, and a smattering of specialized African or Asian yarns for most things. It just takes longer to get here, so I really have to plan ahead and make sure I order enough to get the project done.
I think you might be making a false assumption here. The people I know who care about where things are made don't shop at Wal-Mart... specifically because of Wal-Marts borderline predatory business practices as well as because almost everything in the store is made in China.
Yes, I actually check the tags. I'm not a fan of child slavery, I'm not a fan of forced labor, and I do my damnedest to avoid providing financial support to any countries that engage in such.
I'm happy to have more made in the USA products. Not only does it ensure safe working environments and reasonable quality controls, it also provides jobs to US citizens and reduces the likelihood of supply-chain interruptions.
Honestly: yes, I do and have since I was a teen. When I was a Union Carpenter, it was unthinkable not to have anything not Made in USA (also, Chinese made tended to be junk). After Nike and their sweatshops got well known, it cranked up a notch. With China being our kinda sorta enemy, it's still very much a factor, but admittedly sometimes impossible, especially after they relaxed regulations where the country of origin had to be stated on the product.
Bittersweet ◊◊◊◊, right there.
I hear this. Usually I just try to buy from, as you say, nations that are not unapologetically evil. Allies are fine. My spirit levels, by choice, are all from a German manufacturer (also happen to be the best on the planet).
It annoys me that my Japanese car built in Tennessee is "foreign" but a Ford built in Mexico is "American".
Trust no one.
DeWalt? That's my spouse's favored brand when he can justify the expense to me.
Yep
Stabila for levels. Dewalt is an old school American company that used to manufacture all their tools in the States, but are now almost entirely Chinese. They have a few still made here (my reciprocating saw is one). Good quality, but IMHO not always the best. Makita is my personal fave.
Shows what I know about tools. I meant Hilti - I had to go look at it! And apparently it's Lichtenstein, which is close enough to German that I don't even feel bad for getting that DC-sized plot of land wrong.
Why? The design is Japanese, the IP is Japanese. The process is Japanese. I bet a lot of the components are coming over from Japan. The guarantees of quality and performance are the guarantees of a Japanese company. How much credit should Americans get, for assembling a Japanese car to Japanese specs?
If one's interlocutor is haranguing one for "not buying American" it's usually in the context of labor: jobs and pay. In case of American-built cars, that labor is Americans, in America, being paid American money which they then spend on American goods and services. From that perspective it is better for America and Americans to purchase the "foreign" car in my example.
The focus is the workers, not the government. Like, the beer I drink is from my two local microbreweries. Hell, I know a couple guys that work in them. Solid jobs for my neighbors, pumping cash into the local economy, that kind of thing. Knowing they are good paying jobs in good working conditions is a meaningful incentive for where I'm buying.
What do you mean, no one to purchase our goods? There are 340 million Americans. That's a lot of people to purchase our goods.
Getting our trading partners to lower their tariffs on US goods is a good thing for the US. Which is the point of the tariff threat. Trump has been quite open about this. His goal isn't to have high tariffs on imports to the US, his goal is to get others to have lower tariffs on imports from the US. US tariffs are the leverage he's using to try to make that happen. And he might succeed. He's going to piss people off, but that's hardly the only important metric. When someone is taking advantage of you and you stand up for yourself, that will piss them off, but oh well.
You seem to be rather inconsistent here. You think Europeans won't buy American goods because they don't like America, but you expect Americans will keep buying Chinese goods despite not liking China. Why? Are European consumers more noble, more principled, more patriotic than American consumers? No, I don't think so.
OK, I repect that, and it certainly can be true. The jeans I am wearing right now are Lee brand, made in Mexico. I chose the brand because it comes from one of our trading partners, that we have (had) a healthy and mutually beneficial relationship with. Same with a lot of lumber I buy; it comes from Canada, which is another solid hommie that rates for me right up there with buying domestic.
