@FancyPhillyshopper wrote:
Yes, every so often this same issue comes up on these boards. I highly recommend that all those who wish items were made in the USA start a manufacturing company and hire their friends and family to work for economical wages.
Many Americans do NOT want to do monotonous work, which is why so much manual labor has become outsourced. And with a global economy, companies look to where labor is cheapest, and benefits are weak.
I saw in our newspaper (Phila Inquirer) that Amazon warehouses have such a high turnover of staff that they are trying to make robots do everything.
It is sad that most jobs in the US no longer offer pensions, either--most Americans must save on their own to retire. There are a lot of people who live only on their Social Security, but it was originally supposed to only be a supplemental source of income.
As to international relations, friends today are enemies tomorrow and vice versa. Finally, many items are made from parts from many different countries, so there is not really one origin country.
I love your answer @FancyPhillyshopper - it's factual and complete.
@Stylized It's often the very same folks who complain about cancel culture that are ready to boycott without all the information. I'd like to piggy back onto what Fancy said, and I hope you read everything she wrote carefully.
We've been having goods manufactured in Asia since as long as I can remember. I grew up with goods from Japan and Taiwan in the 60's and 70's. No one stole our jobs - they were happily given away. It's not fair to blame the Chinese people for their government's actions - they have even less control over it than we do, and ours is off the rails no matter what party you stand with.
I saw a documentary a few years ago on Chinese laborers - the "artists" Valerie and Tara call them, though they are hardly treated that way. (These laborers weren't associated with the Q, just to be clear.) Most of them live in factory dormitories far away from their children and families.They work terrible hours for very little money, which they send back home. I watched a lovely young mother getting to see her children a few times a year on a long bus ride. It was heartbreaking. If we boycott China, Chinese workers will suffer horribly in poverty our poorest Americans don't experience here.
Yes, the government benefits from our income, but the workers and their families exist on it. We are all human beings - even people you understand very little about, so far away. We were just lucky to be born here. Compassion, please - I know you want to do something, and you will do as you choose, but it's not as black and white you think.
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