Finance, Forex and Investments

Why EVERYTHING we buy is MADE in CHINA/INDIA?

There is one problem that is serious but not many people talk about it or realize it. And, personally, I think it is the real reason for all the current mess in the economy. If you go to the store, everything you see there is made in China or India today. Go to Walmart and take a look at labels to find out where things are made. If all the goods we buy were made here in the US, so many more people would have JOBS. The US dollar would be stronger too. We all would be more proud. I have borrowed this question from one discussion forum, and I have to post it here because I think it is very important. But see here for more if you like: http://www.maxi-pedia.com/forum/index.php?topic=76.0 (The USA economy wont improve until trade with China is restricted) What do you think about the fact that everything is made in China? Edit: Of course, people buy stuff from China because it is cheaper. But that is only because only very few of us realize the COMPLETE price of what we buy. A t-shirt at Walmart made in China costs "only" $5. But, how much does it cost when you add to it the price of lost job opportunities, when you add the cost of government bailout plans, when you add the price of risk. Anyone, can you imagine what will happen when Chinese decide to dump all the Treasuries they currently hold and switch their reserves from USD to EUR and YEN? That will be the beginning of the REAL trouble. And who should be blamed for it? Consumers for not realizing what they do by purchasing made in China/India OR the government (Bush) for their inability to stop subsidizing China by freeing the juan/dollar exchange rate? (hint: If the exchange rate with China was NOT fixed, it wouldn't be so profitable for companies to import stuff from China to US) http://www.maxi-pedia.com/forum/index.php?topic=76.0 Good answers, thank you.

Public Comments

1. a better question is why do we buy things that are made in china?
2. Its cheaper to make over there. The cheaper they make it the cheaper you buy it for. Free trade encourages competition and companies will go where they can make more cash and still give the consumer what they want at a reasonable price.
3. cheaper to make things there
4. If you go in to a store... two identical shirts on the rack, side by side. The one made in China costs $20 less than the one made in the USA. Which one are you going to choose?
5. Perhaps it is because American products have become sub par and cannot be competitively priced. Also, we pay for millions to be on welfare that refuse to work whereas everyone in China and India work by choice.
6. They don't have unions.
7. it's cheaper in order to compete with the prices, we would have to pay our workers probably under $1 an hour.
8. Because our bright, intelligent Corporations are teaching China/India how to copy US products...... so in ten years China/India could do it themselves and give the US corporations the boot
9. Everything isn't made in China or india, You just think they are. Less than 17% of the imports coming into the US are from China. Imports from India are under 2% of imports. If the american people, don't want products from China, they don't need the government to limit the imposts, they can just stop buying them. But we really don't need those jobs that made the cheap imports we get from China. Textile jobs and the jobs making that cheap stuff, were minimum wage jobs when they were in the US.
10. Corporate greed. No doubt it is cheaper to have goods produced overseas. Lax labor laws if any , no unions, no OSHA. Cut costs ....corporate profits go up. Bigger salaries & perks for execs. Short sighted. Outsourcing jobs means loss of income to the US workforce . Less to spend on goods & services. Not much choice but to buy cheap imports when there is little alternative. Eg. GM closed US plants & shifted production of some models to Mexico. Lowered production costs but still sold the cars at the same US built price Who benefits ?, Mexico, US stockholders,GM execs. Was it worth it to destroy a city ( Flint MIchigan) & make thousands of US citizens homeless.? If ever China reaches the point where there are labor reforms that cut into profits the jobs will come home. Job hungry US workers will take cuts ( half a loaf is better than none) & the big corps win again. There are such things as win/ win propositions but that does not fit into the present corporate culture.