On "Made in America"

When I was growing up in South Texas, my dad taught us kids that we should always "buy American," to support our country and its workers. He wasn't a union worker,but he was blue collar -- he worked in the oil fields and was later a welder.  He believed that if Americans didn't buy their own products, we would have trouble down the road.

My dad is long gone, but his early lessons haven't faded for me. The thing is, it's pretty hard to find anything made here.  Diana Sawyer and her crew found that out recently. They didn't find an American-made TV, and I doubt they found an American-made coffee pot -- although I wanted to ask whether they'd looked into a vintage Corningware percolator on eBay!   I have one but can't find the country of origin on it.

I listened to my dad and played out his beliefs in my adult life. He even made a believer of my husband.  I remember trying in the late 70s to buy an American-made TV; the salespeople were baffled when I asked them where the sets were made, and when they couldn't tell me because they didn't know, I looked all over for the "Made in America" label I hoped to see but didn't. We finally found one, Curtis Mathes, but for some reason didn't buy it.

Looking back now, I bet it was their pricepoint. 

Not much has changed, as I found when I have recently shopped for a patio umbrella. U.S- made is about 3 times the price of one made in China.  A new dishwasher? Those, too, cost more if made here, and KitchenAid and Wolf/Viking were the only ones I could find.

The pricepoint takes on even greater significance now, "accidental retirees" as we are, and we shop much more carefully than we did when we had income from jobs that was plentiful and seemed neverending.

We ask ourselves, do we pay 3 times as much for that patio umbrella, and 25% or more for an American-made dishwasher?  Do we think about the future of the other "accidental retirees," their offspring, and the country as a whole, when we make these financial decisions? Will it really make any difference to this economy if we take heed of our fixed income and buy the less expensive stuff made in China?  Or is it important to retain our principles as best we can and pay double or triple and support our workers here?

This past December, while in Houston for a wedding, I visited the Battleship Texas with my brother, his fiancee, and his son.  My dad loved that ship and was so proud of its status as having served in both world wars.  As I walked through the ship that day, my dad was very much in my thoughts.  Ending our visit in the inevitable souvenir shop, I looked through the offerings and found a few things I thought would be nice mementos: a Christmas ornament, a coin purse with an armadillo on it.  Neither was made in America.

I put the souvenirs down, took the money I'd have spent on those tchotchkes and stuffed it into the "Restore the Battleship Texas" box, saying, "This one's for you, Dad."

My husband and I are going to pay nearly triple for the patio umbrella, and we are going to buy the American-made dishwasher rather than one in made in China or Korea.  And as for that patio set I wanted, also made in China?

I am going to keep the old set I have.