Why don't people buy American?

Question

Why don't people buy American anymore? This country used to be so faithful to our products, but now we resort to foreign made goods, which in turn makes us take jobs from our own people.
Why don't you buy American?

I am very sincere about this topic because I am from Michigan and I see how many people are losing their jobs at Ford, GM, etc. It is so sad to see.

Answer 1

It depends. Generally speaking I agree with you, but many products are not made here. In those cases, you don't have much choice. In some other cases, like electronics, the American product is often inferior to the foreign made product. Should we buy inferior products, then? Finally, in some instances, the American product is more expensive. Some people cannot afford to buy expensive American products when cheaper products are available, especially in cases where the quality of the product is the same. It is a very complicating issue.

Cars are an interesting example. Sometimes you buy a supposed "American" car like a Ford or Pontiac, and it is made in Mexico using parts made in Asia. Meanwhile, my Honda is supposedly "Japanese," but was made in a plant in New Jersey. So which one costs more American jobs, the American product or the Japanese product? At least my Japanese car employed American auto workers to put it together. Hmm...

My point is that you are oversimplifying this problem. People often have little choice in what products they buy. The problem is more the corporations that refuse to make their products here, and less that people don't buy American. Given the choice, most Americans DO buy American, but it depends on the circumstances.

Answer 2

It's as simple as supply and demand for what you want, and letting the capitalist market forces set the standards for quality and price. People typically buy the best product that they feel they can afford. More often in more industries, that means foreign and not American.

My camera and car are Japanese because that's the best I could afford. My watch is Swiss because that's the best I could afford. My nice shoes are Italian because that's the best I could afford.

Yes, I drive a Honda (never had maintenance issues with it), and I've never owned an American car and I probably never will for the same reasons as "brevejunkie".

Some of it's quality, but a lot of it is price. If there are two products equally good and the foreign-made one sells for less money, most consumers would choose the import. I can understand that, otherwise wouldn't I be rewarding the American company for manufacturing an inferior product? How does that help the industry improve its methods?

I do make efforts to buy groceries at farmer's markets and support local agriculture and organic food stores and shop at local businesses as opposed to chain business. But that has everything to do with the quality of the goods and services that I can get there, and nothing to do with where specifically they are provided.

Answer 3

When speaking about cars, I can tell you from first hand experience and the experience of many friends, American cars (for the most part) are garbage. I have two cars--a '98 Honda Civic with 135,000 miles and a 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue with 80,000 miles. My Olds has needed some type of service work or repair work since I purchased it two years ago. My Honda (which I purchased 7 years ago and have since put nearly 100,000 miles on in that period of time) has needed nothing more than a new sets of tires and a new set of brakes. It could be said that the Olds is a lemon (NOT. I've owned American cars in the past and they're ALL like this.) or that I lucked out with my Honda and got a good one. (ALL Hondas are good.) It's not so much about where cars are made (My Japanese Honda was made in Marysville, Ohio)--it's about the design of the car. Anyone can design a car, but only the Japanese can design an excellent car. Ask anyone who owns a Honda or Toyota if they'd ever trade them in for an American car. I'll give you $20 for everyone who says yes...

It's a fact--American designed cars are garbage--plain and simple.

Answer 4

In these days, most people have to buy according to their wallets. Other countries charge much, much more for imported American products...the U.S. does not do this.

Greed, low foreign labor rates, sometimes better quality for the price...those are the things that make people not "Buy American".
Besides, products are made all over the world now...who knows whats "American" anymore?

Answer 5

Most of the "American" products are assembled in foreign countries from parts made in other foreign countries, and transported on ships bearing foreign flags.

Soon there will be no nations as we know them, only a few multilnational corporations ruling the world.

Answer 6

I think people do buy American. When I was in Europe, I saw a lot of Ford cars...there are American owned restaurants all over the world. People do invest in our products and goods.

Answer 7

it incredibly is impossible to comprehend whether you're "paying for American" anymore. First, as "American" companies have transport hundreds of hundreds of jobs remote places, many manufacturers that have been as quickly as American are synthetic in another country. 2nd, human beings do no longer make something anymore. We used to make each little thing, yet now, we in simple terms import and purchase. We went from being a creditor u . s . a . to being a debtor u . s . a . throughout the Eighteen Eighties. (ask your self who replaced into president then?) third, some remote places manufacturers have set up flowers interior the U.S. As a poster above talked approximately, Toyota has assembly flowers that use American workers. subsequently, the question turns into plenty extra complicated. you incredibly could do study till now you could incredibly comprehend whether what you're paying for helps or hurts American workers.

Answer 8

You have a good point.
I try to buy American. Its hard though. They just flood the market with foreign products to support their own agendas. I think we just get caught up in the middle.
By making prices of foreign products 20/30% cheaper then US goods. The consumer (on tight budgets) are forced to choose between them

Answer 9

i think since many of our jobs have been outsourced to other countries we are more of a service nation. i see our country as we like to play more than we work. So the jobs that we actually work at our services provided mainly to ourselves ex fast food , call center telephone svc, shipping products we bought offline to ourselves. with the changing global economy many employers are getting goods made elsewhere which gives us hardly any choice. (I absolutely do not shop walmart ! ) but there are some places like eddie bauer clothing that have products made in the usa, but there stuff is kinda plane jane and with with lower competitive prices most consumers would rather pay 20.00 for a sweater from target/walmart than a 50.00 sweater from eddie bauer. I honestly think american made is better quality stuff. but the truth is we are a service nation. america has to differentiate itself now.

Answer 10

Even American cars are multinational. Look at the labels of clothing you wear....hardly anything is made in the U.S. Even the flags we wave on the 4th of July are made in China.

I buy local produce from the Pasadena farmer's market and hand made jewelry from artisans. I really don't buy anything but food since I have everything I need.