Why "Made in the USA" matters

Sure, most of us support the idea of products being "made in the USA" but often the added cost of products made by US workers is hard to justify when a similar product made in China or a third world country is temptingly cheaper. The argument for Made in the USA is much more nuanced than price and feel-good fuzzies, however, and has direct economic links back to each and every one of us.

Let's start with the obvious first benefit: US jobs. Yes, workers here are earning a wage that is spent locally supporting area businesses and services such as the one you own or work for. Their taxes support your roads, schools, police force etc. But it's not just the workers. There are many suppliers: vendors, distributors, technicians, and even other manufacturers in the USA who are dependent on the business they get from US manufacturers. When I produce my clothing I buy from vendors all throughout the US, many of whom have struggled to stay afloat after the exodus of apparel manufacturing to China and other countries. Their money, in turn, goes to support their local businesses and municipalities.

Why does it cost more to produce in the US? US manufacturers are held to laws and regulations that protect consumers and workers but add a tremendous cost to doing business. Higher wages, liability insurance, workers comp, OSHA, licenses, health benefits, federal & state taxes, Social Security & Medicare taxes, etc are all designed to protect workers and the general public from fraud and the expense of treating injury to workers in the quest to earn money. Remember the recent scourge of fatalities in Bangladesh? Lead poisoning from China? All of these are just recent examples of unregulated greed at the public's expense. Had this happened in America, all the workers medical expenses would have to be absorbed by the public in some way, shape or form, and the surviving dependents would be drawing Social Security benefits until they came of age.

It's not that all outsourcing is bad, really. To some extent the inter-dependency this has created is, by default, our greatest incentive for peace, but the lopsided scale has been overwhelmingly to our deficit. Try finding any products made in the USA at any big box retailer these days. Go to Walmart, Target, Home Depot, or Lowes and it is highly unlikely you can find a domestically produced product amidst the sea of cheap foreign imports.

What has the loss of US manufacturing jobs meant? It means we are no longer the self-reliant country we once prided ourselves on being. It means we have lost control over critical aspects that affect our very health and safety: food production & processing, pharmaceutical components, lead in paint, toxic metals, and other ingredients recently discovered in tainted products made abroad for our consumption. It means a brain drain. It is exponentially more difficult for many industries to ramp up in the US now even if they wanted to because our knowledge base is gone. The exodus in manufacturing started more than 20 years ago. At that time, the workers who were at their prime of knowledge and experience were in their 40's. This means that by now most of them have retired and there is no one to replace them as young people needing to earn a living chose not to enter a dying field. Many industrial manufacturing jobs were reasonably well-paying jobs that were available without a higher education and allowed for a livable wage at which workers could support their families. Those jobs have been replaced with low-wage service jobs that often required taking both parents out of the home and working 2 jobs and odd hours just to make ends meet. As a result, more kids were left with less supervision as their parents picked up shift work. The rising crime rates and gang activities have a direct link to this lack of family stability. Lower paid workers, in turn have needed to rely more on government assistance to make ends meet, and many are uninsured, driving up costs for society at large. Cities and small towns across our country have been left in shambles by the systematic closing of one manufacturing plant after another - with their tax base depleted and their prime work force gone.  The list goes on and on but the math brings you back full circle to the realization that every dollar you "save" on a cheaper foreign made product may well prove so much costlier in the end.

3rd Grade Honesty for Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, when teachers everywhere who question their good judgement in deciding to work with our kids are supposed to receive the encouragement to continue. There is nothing like the honesty of a 3rd grader to give you that needed dose of reality. But there I go, boasting again on another proud parenting moment. I am so glad I thought to give my son a name worthy of a Pulitzer winning author! Here is a recent 3rd grade writing assignment, verbatim:

"At a regular I learn math, sience, n, reading. I always savor to go home cause I don't like to learn. our Dismisle is at 3:30pm. When I get home I have 3 hours to play."

And he wonders why the teachers don't adore him! That, and falling out of your chair regularly during class while spinning around in constant inattention do not tend to win points with teachers.

A Cord By Any Other Name...

I have been absent for months from my duty to readers to provide them with worthless blather but I am now back - my apologies. Today I thought I would share with you a ridiculous interaction involving a simple power cord replacement for my 12 year old daughter's boom box that will make you yearn to have the few minutes of your life you spent reading this back.

A few months ago I brought her boom box into my sewing workroom to entertain the sewers with lively music. Upon plugging in the cord it literally exploded out of the unit into two pieces. Pretty scary. My daughter was very disappointed so I felt it was my responsibility to try to fix it first rather than replacing it, as it had been a birthday gift from her grandmother. I plugged the exact model of the boom box into Google and out popped a supplier - Power Payless who claimed to have the exact match. I paid the $14.95 (including shipping) and a week later it arrived in the mail. My neighbor happened to stop in as I opened the package and watched as I tried it out to make sure it fit and ...nothing. She tried it and couldn't get it to go in either. Findally my husband followed with the same results. Obviously it wasn't a match. The shape and size was very similar but it simply did-not-fit. Time to return it. How far will a company go to save themselves $15? Let me show you.

I called the number on the slip and was instructed to take pictures and email them. I couldn't really see the point of this but I did, noting that the cords were similar - albeit not identical - in appearance and that this did not mean it worked. I receive this response from their customer service department (note the ridiculous tagline:) 

Did you have chance to test the power cord? it cannot fit. I checked your picture. they look like same size cord.

Regards,

Power Supply...Specialty,Service,Satisfaction!

Somehow not surprised, but now thoroughly annoyed, I shot back this response:

SERIOUSLY? Are you kidding me? I clearly mentioned in my prior emails that although they look very similar the cord you sent me SIMPLY DOES NOT FIT.  I am not an idiot, but your question surely implies that you think I am.

THREE (3) adults (one was a man if that makes it more credible for you) tried to cram it in several times each. The holes on the cord you sent me are simply about 1-2mm too wide - just a fact. Do you really think I would bother to contact you if I hadn't tried it, as if I have no life and nothing better to do besides this?! Do I need to waste more of my time sending you a video of a $10 extension cord not fitting? 

Email me a UPS label and I'll gladly send you the stupid boom box that my kid has been expectantly waiting for me to fix along with the original cord that blew up in my face and top that prize off with the one you sent me that doesn't fit and you can tickle yourself pink playing with it all day long to see if you can get it to fit. Perhaps a little help from Arnold Schwarzenegger might help you stubbornly power it in. -Lesley

You have to really wonder: had I been a Bob or Fred would they have asked me such an asinine question? 

My friend Annmarie, having missed her calling as the Ultimate Most Awesome Customer Service Rep Ever, anticipated their response as such:

Ms. Fleming,

We would need to see a video of no fewer than 3 (THREE) adults, at least one of them male, 2 (TWO) children between the ages of 11 & 13, and one cat, preferably a black one,  attempting to cram the cord in. A notarized affidavit will need to accompany said video. We will also require a signed letter from your doctor or other mental health provider to verify that you are not an idiot. After we receive the items above via certified mail, we will verify with our crackerjack team of experts to make sure that the cord does not fit. Upon verification of this we will be happy to send you a new cord in a padded self-addressed envelope that you provide to us, along with a COD label. The new cord will only be $49.99.

Thank you,
Power supply... Specialty, Service, Satisfaction!

Not too far off, but a little less amusing, I received this email from them:

Could you just modify a little bit the cord and use it? we will partial refund you. Or, just return it for refund.

Regards,

Power Supply...Specialty,Service,Satisfaction!

Sure, let me drop everything and get right on that!

Customer service faux pas:

1. PICK YOUR BATTLES. No one is too small to lose face over.
2. Make them jump through hoops
3. Assume your customer is an idiot and is just trying to rip you off (out of a grand $14.95) so proceed to QUESTION them and in doing so, annoy & insult them
4. Offer a cheesy and chintzy lukewarm return/repair option that further inconveniences them

And viola, now you have the Power Supply....Specialty,Service,Satisfaction!