confession time
Support our tax dollars, buy local...In a technology and futuristic driven world, choices of patronizing high quality products is getting easier (or more difficult depending on where you are).
Putting my hard earned money on material things that are of importance in our daily lives is one of my struggles. Yet the place and manner on which these material things are made matters most to me.
I only buy those that lasts forever, so durable the money I spend is so worth it.
Where am I going with this blog? Just to lolly gag on our attitude towards cheap versus expensive products. The lowering of our consumer standards and sold to the cheap goods flooding the market even more pervasive now in the first and second worlds. A most rare practice until 15 years ago.
So I hardly bought any foreign products since I lived here largely because of QUALITY, but even more compelling reasons are due to patronizing these goods and put our citizens to work. With the exceptions of German, Swiss, UK, Italian and Australian products, most goods produced today are of pathetic quality.
My specific reason for being a loyal local consumerist is that safety and durability.
Last week for the first time I bought a European SUV, the X5, and now I'm lured into the powerful statement of "the ultimate driving machine". Not that I've not been sold to the great performance of these vehicles just that I defended the need to support our local products. So with the exception of this, I've been driving all American made cars, my favorite of course is the Corvette and my Cobra, both has all provided me with the adrenaline pumping thrill every time I needed to beat my blues. Those 400 HP, and equally, capable pound feet of torque was just enough to make me feel alive. What a thrilling experience, my only true addiction. Driving fast and performance oriented vehicles with dedicated manual transmission.
Well my town car is parked as it can't handle the demands of the deep snow and brutal iced up roads in cold Minnesota.
My children are now sneering at their mom for having bowed down to abandon my hell bent support for my local products. Well I'll just have to apologize. I have to admit, I'm loving it, even better than my 2011 SRX and Equinox leased for two years.
Comments (29)
And I want some things, made in another country. Example: Furniture & Cook wear.
How is your weather my friend. The snow doesn't bother me anymore, I'm not scared driving into that slice of ice my friend.
I enjoy the snow. But! Where I am now. It's just raining here. Winter rain.
I don't care to much for watches. I just want to know the time. And my cell, has the time. I has it set for the time in different States and Counties.
I do keep my cars until they have about 100 k miles as they're truly made to last. My Corvette until my son totalled it had 180 k miles, and still running excellent. Until leasing was so cheap and easy.
You know! I don't even know where my Android was made it! I have never checked it....
Yeah! I know. I just haven't looked at it! Will do now.
Made in China! Do the USA, even make mobile phones in the USA?...
You might buy a new mobile phone that says ‘made in china’ but the individual components could have been produced in up to a dozen other countries. If you look deeper still, the raw materials are probably sourced from even more diverse locations.
Take a vehicle made in Taiwan: The ore could have been mined in Australia and the steel produced in Japan, the leather for the seats may have been made in Italy but the animal was raised in the USA exported to Iraq for food, The alloy parts may have been recycled in Finland from empty drink cans that were collected in Africa. Electronics mostly made in Asia from components sourced from several countries, rubber for the tyres and seals could come from South America and made in Europe?
The same story applies for almost everything we buy from clothes to super yachts. If you buy an item made in one country, you are probably affecting the economic growth of several.
....
On cars all components are indeed labeled as such.
This item assembled in the USA –
From components made in:
Germany, Africa, Australia, Norway, Italy, Ireland, China, Australia and New Zealand
Raw materials sourced from:
Australia, South America, India and Poland
Assembled by workers in the USA born in:
Mexico, Canada, USA, Australia, Italy and Ireland
....
...
All my shoes and suits they're still in great shape for the last 40 years.
What's up with that. Seafood are of great taste and abundance there. I love most the Barramundi. It is serve on seasons here in Minnesota. But that's one of my favorite fish next to Chilean sea bass.
We re living in a new age, at times I don t figure progress is better.
You were mentioning vehicles earlier, afew yrs back, I got rid of my 96 chev half ton, 505 000 kms, work truck, wasn't driven hard, but a lot of tough miles, haven't seen too many foreign jobs like that one.
I'm glad you're back.
No more local made, hand made small businesses. They're being displaced as an effect of corporate controlled mega million franchises.
I think not. Woolworth went Belly Up years ago.