O/T Rant, What happened to this Country??????

Whats up HAMB'ers, please excuse me while I rant for a moment.

Couple months ago I nuked one of my 4 1/2 inch grinders cutting a petrified tire off a 16" rim from my '36.

Well, today I went to replace the grinder at Home Depot and got a pretty rude awakening.

While standing in front of the numerous grinders on Display I noticed Bosch was offering 2- 4 1/2 grinders for $99. Thinking this could be quite a deal, I picked up the grinder to look over the features when I discovered it just felt a little "flimsy".

Under the impression that Bosch was made in Germany and surprised by how the tool felt I checked the tag affixed to the side......."Made in China"........WTF???

Well, this is where my shopping experience went from bad to worse. I quickly thought, If Bosch is now manufactured in China I wonder what other grinders are out sourced and this is what I discovered.........

Ryobi- Made in China
Bosch- Made in China
Black and Decker- Made in China
Milwaukee- Made in MEXICO
Rigid- Made in China
DeWalt- Made in China
Makita- Made in China

This shopping experience FU#$%ED Me UP!!!!!!!

What the hell do me actually make in this country anymore?????? How do the Blue Collar folks in this country pay their mortgages and put food on their families tables with all the jobs disappearing????

It just seems to me like we've given away all the things that made this country great and by this I mean a lot more than power tool production.

Once again, sorry for the rant. If this thread gets closed I understand.

Regards,
Big Dirty "Concerned American"

P.S. I bought a RIGID, it appears their the only ones with any kind of warranty standing behind their product!!!

 

Either way you look at it..DeWalt grinders are still best haha

 

It's why I rarely buy anything new.

 

High wages, low productivity, not producing what people want and consumers not prepared to pay for quality.

 

No country for old men.

There really isn't much made in this country anymore. We can't afford to manufacture goods anymore. Our society has passed through the agricultural age, the industrial age, and is now into the technology age....fyi.

 

obviously you have not bought a grinder for a long time. I found if you do your searching you can find stuff made in the USA, you just have to do the research.

 

Times are changing. This is becoming a "world community"....not "us & "them" any more. Like it....don't like it....it won't make any difference.

If there is a good side, those companies may still be based in the U.S., so part of the profits will stay here.

Another good point is that if those tools were being made here....that grinder would be priced at $200, and most people would end up buying the Chinese made tool anyway.

Get used to it. It is the future. As far as jobs...get into a trade that cannot be done elsewhere. There are plenty of them.

 

I know what you are saying and it's only going to get worse.

 

I think you're right on most of this, but not low productivity. American workers have always been great at productivity.

 

This is the site I visit before I buy anything. I am sure there is a US equivalent:

http://www.canadianmade.com/

 

The only thing America makes anymore are wealthier foriegn countries.

 

All the cheaper models by these "name brand" manufacturers are made in China. The more expensive models are of better quality. I recently bought a "good" DeWalt grinder at the welding shop and then a "cheap" DeWalt at Lowes to use with cut-off wheels. It was $95 vs $35 and both were on sale! The pricey one has a better operating switch and has more "heft" to it. A friend buys his 4 1/2" grinders at Harbor Freight and I burnt a new one up after using it about 20 minutes! I guess ya get what ya pay for.

 

America wants cheap goods. China is happy to sell it to us.
Main stream America is so busy with leisure and consumption that they don't see what has happened to this Country.
So, now with our military stationed all over the world, and our dollars spent on people and countries that would rather see us dead, China is building a huge military complex and weapons stash...and all the while we continue to become indebted to them because of our deficit.
So, as most of America is watching their big screen TVs and talking on their cell phones, we are losing a war with a country that doesn't even have to fire a single shot. A war that most Americans are not aware of that is taking place right under their over-indulgent fat asses.
Kids today can't find Viet Nam or Germany on a map, much less understand what happened there years ago.
Geez, guys, we even allowed our steel mills to close down so we could buy the cheap imported steel.
We couldn't build a fleet of Liberty ships today if we had to.
By the way, a high school kid today wouldn't even know what a liberty ship is...

 

this country has been going down hill since buddy holly died

 

Americans ignore quality to save a few bucks. (There was a 1/2 page rant here - I deleted it.) WE HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT OURSELVES! WTF that.

 

Mazooma1, I couldn't agree more, thanks for your insight.

Rustrodder, I had no idea some of these larger companies made low end and High end tools. I guess if you shop where all the sheep migrate too, you'll end up with the lower quality products. I guess I'll do my homework a little better in the future and go to a specialty shop. I have no problem spending a little more for quality.

Oldchevyseller..............Your Damn Right!!!!

 

Mazooma, I just had about the same conversation with my two daughters yesterday. Hardly anyone has any true pride for this country anymore. My 15 year old has no problem spending way too much money on crap clothes made by kids who dont have shit and she cant understand why I get pissed . The only thing we really manufacture anymore in this country is DEBT. Every where you look these days are more and more ways to fall deeper in debt, ya gotta "KEEP UP WITH THE JONES' " or your just not sucessfull. I'm quite happy with not having a mortgage and driving used cars cause when the shit hits the fan and I'm out of work, me and my family JUST might make it through. Mike