Why a "made in the USA" label is better than a "made in China" label

We did it to ourselves. As consumers, we demanded everything and more, and we didn't want to pay much for it. So, our factories closed and our retailers started getting items from China because they could get them much cheaper and sell them at lower prices here. We could buy more and more stuff and everyone was happy.

That is, until we found ourselves either unemployed or with low paying service industry jobs because there were no production jobs left. Then, we suddenly couldn't even afford so much of the cheap junk that was being imported from China and somebody suddenly looked up and said, "Hey, how did this happen?"

There are so many reasons a "made in the USA" label is better than a "made in China" label that I couldn't even begin to list them all here. We have discovered some of those reasons recently and I, for one, can only hope it's not too late to do something about it.

Jobs and economic impact:
The main reason a "made in the USA" label is superior to a "made in China" label is that if the product was made here, somebody had to make it. That means jobs on American soil. The person who made that item worked at a production facility. That means that person was employed, had money to spend that would stimulate the American economy and was able to pay taxes to keep the American government running. It also means that the production facility was paying taxes and more than likely purchasing raw materials here in the United States to make the items they produce. That's a whole lot of economic benefit from one baseball cap or similar item being made in the USA rather than China.

Health and safety:
One reason the things being imported from China are so inexpensive is because their costs to produce them are lower. One reason their costs to produce them are lower is the fact that there aren't nearly as many rules and regulations on health and safety in China as there are in the United States. With all the news lately of toys with lead paint, poisonous food and similar horrors, we have finally begun to discover that you get what you pay for. Had those items been "made in the USA," they would have been thoroughly inspected by government agencies whose jobs it is to ensure public safety. They don't do that with the stuff that comes into our borders from China. We find out about it after a child chews on a toy car with lead based paint and has to be hospitalized for lead poisoning. Yes, it's a little more expensive to put systems and proper equipment

in place and to provide workers with good training. Yes, that raises the costs of goods made in the USA. No, a child's life isn't worth saving a few cents on a toy car.

Improved quality:
Because of less regulatory activity in China and because of a workforce that will work for much less than Americans will accept for the same work, the quality of items we import From China are much cheaper. That means, of course, in all ways. They are cheap as in inexpensive, and they are cheap as in poor quality. We were willing to accept this for years because we were gobbling up more and more lower quality stuff and loving having so much. Then, we began to take a look at what we really had. Slowly, people have begun to realize that it doesn't matter what a super low price you pay for something if it's potentially dangerous or falls apart in a week. We are moving back from a disposable society to a society that values craftsmanship and we are hungry for well-made items that will last a while. This is partly because we don't have the money to keep buying the "made in China" crap over and over.

The bottom line is that "made in the USA" is good for the USA in more ways than one and we, as consumers, need to start truly demanding it. We need to get good jobs back on our soil and not have to worry that the things we buy might kill us or fall apart the first time we use them. If these things matter to you, start looking for the "made in the USA" label the next time you go shopping. Odds are you're not going to find many, but if you stop buying so many of the "made in China" items, retailers will eventually get the message. Another way to give them the message, of course, is to step up and make your voice heard by telling them that you want a better selection of items that proudly carry the "made in the USA" label.