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MADE IN AMERICA
Use it or lose it. I hate to say it but America’s industrial base is just not what it used to be. One of the key strengths and economic drivers for the United States was our industrial base. America led the world in manufacturing cars, steel, ships, appliances and construction equipment.
Over the years we allowed quality to slip and prices to rise. We invited anxious overseas competitors to get a foot hold on our own shores. They started modestly but offered quality, innovation, and a huge price advantage. Also, while other countries set up significant roadblocks to imports, the American buyer welcomed the opportunity to buy more, for less.
One by one we lost our competitive lead in key industries. Foreign competitors that had made their entry with economy, no frill products, began to fill out the line offerings with more and better offerings. The automotive industry was particularly hard hit, as foreign entries provided not only a cost advantage, but were ahead of the curve on fuel economy. American manufacturers were still building big expensive fuel guzzlers, while the Japanese were building smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles.
As the quality and price differential widened, Americans overwhelmingly choose the imports over the domestic brands. Brands like Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Sony, Airbus, Hitachi, Komatsu, and others became the standard that we now have to compete with.
Today, our young people out of college, all want high tech, white collar jobs, but we must be careful not to abandon or industrial base. For the foreseeable future we will still need our cars, boats, planes, and military hardware. Aside from the obvious economic trade deficient, we should not allow ourselves to become as dependent on foreign products as we have on foreign energy sources.
But I guess that’s just how one poor Italian boy sees it. Let’s make “Made In America, mean something again”.
Until Latter
P.I.B
Use it or lose it. I hate to say it but America’s industrial base is just not what it used to be. One of the key strengths and economic drivers for the United States was our industrial base. America led the world in manufacturing cars, steel, ships, appliances and construction equipment.
Over the years we allowed quality to slip and prices to rise. We invited anxious overseas competitors to get a foot hold on our own shores. They started modestly but offered quality, innovation, and a huge price advantage. Also, while other countries set up significant roadblocks to imports, the American buyer welcomed the opportunity to buy more, for less.
One by one we lost our competitive lead in key industries. Foreign competitors that had made their entry with economy, no frill products, began to fill out the line offerings with more and better offerings. The automotive industry was particularly hard hit, as foreign entries provided not only a cost advantage, but were ahead of the curve on fuel economy. American manufacturers were still building big expensive fuel guzzlers, while the Japanese were building smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles.
As the quality and price differential widened, Americans overwhelmingly choose the imports over the domestic brands. Brands like Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Sony, Airbus, Hitachi, Komatsu, and others became the standard that we now have to compete with.
Today, our young people out of college, all want high tech, white collar jobs, but we must be careful not to abandon or industrial base. For the foreseeable future we will still need our cars, boats, planes, and military hardware. Aside from the obvious economic trade deficient, we should not allow ourselves to become as dependent on foreign products as we have on foreign energy sources.
But I guess that’s just how one poor Italian boy sees it. Let’s make “Made In America, mean something again”.
Until Latter
P.I.B
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