Made in America?

[Fat Old Guy]

Quite often the low quality and high price of BSA uniforms are defended by proclaiming that they are "made in America by union workers."

 

Keep jobs in America, that is a good goal and one that we should strive for whenever possible. You betcha!

 

Imagine my surprise when I looked at my genuine official Boy Scout "vittle kit" (knife, fork and spoon) and saw that not only are they marked with the BSA seal but they also proudly proclaim "Made in China."

 

I guess that the crappy uniforms must be American made but everything else may be made elsewhere.

 

BTW, did you know that our gracious host makes his money by sending American software jobs overseas?

 

(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)

[SR540Beaver]

The other way of looking at it is that he brings European software to America.

[Eamonn]

Could it be that we are sending American made Chop Sticks for use by the Boy Scouts Of China?

Eamonn

[scoutldr]

I'll gladly pay double for my uniform so that a Union worker can drive a new 4x4 SUV and have a vacation home at the beach, 6 weeks vacation and satellite TV. I want his kids to have a better life than mine did.

[SR540Beaver]

hmmmmm, my Dad was a union worker. He died in the same woodframe house he had lived in for almost 50 years. It was a two bedroom, 1 bath house that he hand built another bedroom, bathroom and den onto when my twin brother and I made our 2 kid family a 4 kid family. He never owned a new vehicle....always purchased used ones. He did have 5 weeks of vacation, but he had worked for the company for 32 years. He did own a 10' x 20' cabin at the lake. It had no electricity or water. Heck, the windows were screened flaps. He built another 10' x 20' bat and bed combination onto the back of it after he wired it and ran water to it. That was all done after hand cutting all the underbrush on the lot. Actually, the cabin was about 1.5 miles from the water. He worked hard for what he had. Being a union worker didn't give him the American dream. He created that on his own.

[scoutldr]

It's not really germaine to compare today's Unions to the sweatshop conditions of the past generation. Unions did a lot of good during the Industrial Revolution in the "smokestack industries" to end oppressive, unsafe conditions, nepotism and discrimination. At the local shipyard here, the Steelworkers are preparing to go out on strike at midnight Sunday. Why? They have jobs with good salaries and benefits, a retirement plan, and guaranteed work into the future. But they want more. They don't care that it drives up inflation and cost to the taxpayers (govt contractor). But when the contract expires, the first thought is "STRIKE". Why? Because they can. Enough is enough.

[SR540Beaver]

Excuse me, but my Dad didn't work in a sweatshop during the Industrial Revolution. He was forced into retirement at 58 about 20 years ago when the company broke the union. (I might add that I was making more money 3 years out of college than he was making after 25 years with the company as a union employee.) That was after 32 years of service. It takes management and leadership to operate a company. Those people should be paid well. It also takes skilled laborers to produce the goods the company sells. What is wrong with a guy who is making $50,000 a year wanting to make $52,000 when he sees the upper management pulling down $100,000,000. Any idea how far half of that would go towards giving the worker a $2,000 increase. Increasingly, employees are having to pay a larger and larger portion of their insurance coverage. The management gets a free insurance package that even covers cosmetic surgery for the wife. All unions try to do is get the company to spread a little of the wealth around. A guy screwing nuts onto bolts shouldn't make $150,000 a year......but an upper management person shouldn't make $250,000,000 either. No one is worth that kind of money. The only person pulling down that kind of cash should be the owner.

[scoutldr]

The effect it has on me is that my scout shirt costs me almost $40 while a shirt of similar quality from WalMart is $12.99. SOMEBODY's making a lot of money off of my volunteer service. I'll concede that unions are not the only ones at fault, and I apologize for attacking them. Most union workers I know are good, hardworking people, as are most non-union people.

 

It's the American people. What's wrong with wanting more? What are you offering for the extra money? Increased productivity? Working more hours? Better quality? None of these things are happening. In fact, they are decreasing. They want more because they feel they are entitled. Yes, Beaver, that applies to management, as well. It is indeed appalling that management continue to get outrageous salaries and bonuses when profits and shareholder equity are droppping. I am a govt manager, and I have employees who are GS-12 and want to be GS-13 just because they have been there 20 years. I have to explain to them that, because they have not increased their skills or education or productivity, their worth to the taxpayer has not increased. If they want more money, they need to find a position with a higher degree of skill, output or responsibility and compete for it. We need to end this cycle of "entitlement-thinking" which is pervading our society.

 

The original theme of this hijacked thread (sorry, FOG), was "Buy American". I used to believe that and bought only American built cars. My Jeep Grand Cherokee is an embarrassment. Multiple major repairs in the 2 years that I have had it. When I research the internet, all of the problems are common, well known, and preventable defects, yet Jeep refuses to recall them or cover the repairs. My next SUV (which I need for Scouting) will be a Nissan or Toyota. Sorry, I gave them a chance and they raped my wallet. I also need to do what I need to do to maximize my own family's prosperity.