US - China Trade Question

[Kevin]

Why is this allowed? I don't want this to turn into a political thread against the president. He didn't make and sell these flags. But why are there not trade restrictions against flags made in China? It's very disgusting. This flag was given to my daughter at her school on Veteran's Day. How many US companies make Chineese Flags, I'm sure there are some, but are they exported en-mass to China?

 

[sceva]

ANNIN flags - Made in USA and America's oldest flagmaker. There are probably others.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

There are many reasons I'm not a parent. One of them would involve a continuation of the rather regular battles with those who supposedly educate our children I first engaged in as a student... except as a parent the powers that be might listen better.

The education business (and make no mistake about that terminology!) tells us children NEED computers so they can learn. While I'm not so sure about that, it's a reality in many schools, so let's run with it. One of the benefits of the computer and the Internet is the ability to do searches and find info in milliseconds we might not otherwise have available to us.

So a quick search for "US made flags" yields PAGES of results listing manufacturers and vendors of flags made right here. Were I a parent, I'd be inclined to schedule a meeting with my child's principal and present a case for NOT supporting the Chinese whenever it can be avoided, backed up with some of this information. Then, depending on the response, a follow up letter should be sent, either thanking the principal for changing his/her practice, or to the school board complaining of the situation. Either way, a copy to the local paper should go along, too, either praising the principal, or opening the complaint to the public who probably don't even know what's going on!

I find this issue distressing wherever one is, but for it to happen in TX is even worse in my mind. For one thing, it shows that stupidity spreads just as I've said for years in response to the CA-basher crowd. Hope y'all can come to your senses quicker than we did here: YOU still have a chance to turn it around. Good luck!

Rick C

 

[Fox Mike]

I can buy a flag at Wal-Mart, made in China, for 1/4 of the price of the one made in the USA. Check the keyboard (turn it over and look) that most of us use to type replies to the Forum. Mine says "made in China"...as does my Dell laptop. It is less expensive to manufacture there then it is here. P.S. the flag flying from my front porch post is a USA manufacture or no flag will fly.

 

[96/44]

It is a shame that something that is the symbol of our country is made overseas, especially in a quasi-hostile country. Unfortunately, America has legislated domestic manufacturing nearly out of business. Add to that the American public's thirst for anything cheap and fast above all else, and we are where we are today.
The sad fact is that most consumers couldn't care less where a product is made, as long as it is available, and cheap enough not to max out the credit card. We are oblivious to the fact that people in China are working for next to nothing, their rivers are running red with pollution, and the money made from exporting goods to America goes directly to the Chinese communist government.

 

[graygun]

Not a school but last month in a gift shop in Cody Wyoming I saw the same thing.

 

[Rick Courtright]

I can buy a flag at Wal-Mart, made in China, for 1/4 of the price of the one made in the USA. Check the keyboard (turn it over and look) that most of us use to type replies to the Forum. Mine says "made in China"...as does my Dell laptop. It is less expensive to manufacture there then it is here. P.S. the flag flying from my front porch post is a USA manufacture or no flag will fly.

Hi,

It would appear at least a few folks may be getting tired of cheap Chinese cr(ud) and are working to return some home grown quality to the computer marketplace:

http://www.computersmadeinusa.com/

Yes, this is being written on a Dell system, which hardly lacks for the "Made in China" stickers. Once upon a time, they did their assembly here, but that may have changed. It's my first, and probably last, one from them. How Dell's practices compare or contrast to the industry in general, I dunno, but found it interesting to read the brief run down of their own assembly/QC processes from the guys at Velocity. Somehow, judging by a lot of stuff I've seen in recent years, I'd imagine they're way ahead of the pack...

And if they do what they say, I'll gladly pay American prices next time, which is coming up soon...

Rick C

 

[Kevin]

I realize trade and imports and exports are necessary to a growing economy. Certain products have no value being made here and we can utilize our time and recourse on something more valuable which can be made here.

But the flag should be in a different class of products. Just as the Bald Eagle is protected, the flag should be also. Remember the hubbub over the imported Olympic uniforms? That was an outrage. I guess my opinion is the flag should be too.

Rick your idea of writing a letter to the school is certainly good. I might not do it this time but if I see it again and again I will say something.

 

[Fox Mike]

Hi,

It would appear at least a few folks may be getting tired of cheap Chinese cr(ud) and are working to return some home grown quality to the computer marketplace:

http://www.computersmadeinusa.com/

Yes, this is being written on a Dell system, which hardly lacks for the "Made in China" stickers. Once upon a time, they did their assembly here, but that may have changed. It's my first, and probably last, one from them. How Dell's practices compare or contrast to the industry in general, I dunno, but found it interesting to read the brief run down of their own assembly/QC processes from the guys at Velocity. Somehow, judging by a lot of stuff I've seen in recent years, I'd imagine they're way ahead of the pack...

And if they do what they say, I'll gladly pay American prices next time, which is coming up soon...

Rick C

Tell me what you are planning on acquiring? I can find no USA made computers.

We have already noted that Dell in manufactured in China but so are HP and Toshiba.

Hewlett Packard computers are manufactured at the Foxconn factories in China. Foxconn also makes products for Apple, including the iPhone, iPad and Macbook computing devices. 800,000 people work in the factories.

Toshiba laptops are produced in Hangzhou, China. The corporation transferred laptop manufacturing operations from the Philippines and Shanghai, China to Hangzhou, China.

So too are Lenovo's Chinese.

The Micro-soft Surface Pro is manufactured by FoxConn (see above HP). Samsung manufactures some of the components inside but it is assembled by FoxConn.

 

[Cholo]

And if they do what they say, I'll gladly pay American prices next time, which is coming up soon...

Me too! I'm in the market for one or 2 new desktops. Dell's not even on my radar after the fiasco I went thru with them last time :x Might be a good new topic to start.

There's no way I'd buy an American flag made outside the USA!

 

[Rick Courtright]

Tell me what you are planning on acquiring? I can find no USA made computers.

Hi,

Did the link I posted not work? http://www.computersmadeinusa.com/

There are several US mfrs listed there with links to their websites. I've checked out Velocity, Lotus, Puget and AVA Direct's websites so far. My budget is limited by practicality these days: I just need a desktop number cruncher that surfs the Internet reasonably well at leisurely DSL speeds and has a fair amount of storage. I'm not a gamer, social media addict, or go into withdrawals without my daily fix of YouTube, so I don't need to have the biggest, baddest box on the block any more. A decent "off the shelf" build is fine...

As such, Velocity and Lotus have attracted my interest for right now. Gonna look a little more at AVA Direct next. Puget looks really good on screen, but they don't seem to be in my budget range judging by the only couple of prices I could find on their site. They appear to be a "Call us and we'll work with you to build a system then give you the price" kind of outfit. More of a "semi- to full-custom" builder than an off the shelf seller? The two I mentioned look like they can get me going--and with Windows 7 even!--without hurting the wallet...

We've gotta remember, too, that "US made" is probably more correctly described as "US spec'd and assembled" since electronic bits come from all over the world no matter what we like. And it's far more likely the techs putting 'em together here know what a computer is, and care that it works when they're done, as opposed to the hungry child laborers in Wayfaroffistan who haven't a clue what "Just put Nut A on Bolt B" kind of assembly they're working on!

Rick C

 

[powder smoke]

As soon as America WAKES up and stops buying this crap they will stop sending it!
I buy American the best I can. That my friends is the problem with jobs.
BUY AMERICAN GOODS. WE MUST BAN TOGETHER. ps

 

[GunnyGene]

The list of stuff that is produced outside of the USA is nearly endless. Even includes chicken processing. Those chicken nuggets or other packaged frozen clucker parts are likely "Made in China" from frozen whole birds shipped there from the US, chopped up and shipped back. Just ignore the occasional rat. :wink: :roll:

 

[wizofwas]

The last computer I bought was assembled right here in Fla. The components are made all over the world but that's just the way life is these days. It's been running now for 2 1/2 years without any problems. And it's only shutdown when I'm gone from the house for more than a few days. And it was real inexpensive too. Just research what components you want, go to Tiger Direct and buy them and assemble it yourself. It's really not that hard to do. By doing it this way, YOU get to pick the MB, CPU, mem, video card, and power supply that you want. Not what someone has and want's to sell you. Just my $0.02.

 

[wizofwas]

As soon as America WAKES up and stops buying this crap they will stop sending it!
I buy American the best I can. That my friends is the problem with jobs.
BUY AMERICAN GOODS. WE MUST BAN TOGETHER. ps

I got a little chuckle out of this post. I've been saying that for the last 40 years and look where it's gotten us. Hungry? Out if work? Eat your foreign made crap.

 

[hittman]

We Americans are the cause of this problem and are the only ones with the ability to fix it.

It's likely we won't. People vote with and live through their pocketbooks.

 

[Kevin]

At first I was going to argue with GunnyGene about the chicken nuggets, but out of state relatives are here for Thanksgiving, as I was making pancakes, someone brought this up, how the meat is raised here in the states shipped overseas for "processing" and shipped back to the US. Apparantly it doesn't have to be disclosed on the packaging.

Chicken nuggents, cheese pizza and macaroni and cheese are all disgusting foods anyway. Kindergarten staples which I try to avoid. That is another topic for another thread.

You know this is a common theme here, buy American, I try to as much as possible. Sometimes, the US product is only a little more expensive, but the quality is so much better.

 

[GunnyGene]

At first I was going to argue with GunnyGene about the chicken nuggets, but out of state relatives are here for Thanksgiving, as I was making pancakes, someone brought this up, how the meat is raised here in the states shipped overseas for "processing" and shipped back to the US. Apparantly it doesn't have to be disclosed on the packaging.

Chicken nuggents, cheese pizza and macaroni and cheese are all disgusting foods anyway. Kindergarten staples which I try to avoid. That is another topic for another thread.

You know this is a common theme here, buy American, I try to as much as possible. Sometimes, the US product is only a little more expensive, but the quality is so much better.

There's been a lot of news about this for the past year or so. There's also a petition going around that you might be interested in. https://www.change.org/p/congress-keep-chinese-chicken-out-of-our-schools-and-supermarkets

It's not all chicken that makes this round trip to China, of course. But there's enough of it to cause some concern. Some of the birds originate in Canada and Chile also.

 

[Cooperhawk]

My old chain saw gave up the ghost last week with no parts available, so I purchased a new one. I purchased an "Echo" 18 inch saw. Someone said, "Made in Japan?" I looked at the bottom of the box it came in and it said, "Assembled in Illinois with parts from the US and other countries."

I guess I can live with that. What other choice do we have?

 

[hittman]

I understand that this country has the highest corporate tax rate of any industrialized country in the world. That, unions involved in manufacturing, burdensome legislation, the entitlement mentality of many folks age 50 and under and ...... there you have it.