Made in the USA

It goes without saying that for decades America has evolved into a nation of consumers and not producers . The old "Made in the USA" logo that once was common is now quickly becoming a thing of the past. Personally, I remember a time when imports were the pricey items, and yes sometimes a better product. However, as we witness our automotive industry in a coma, and the cost of a barrel of oil rise in difficult times. For myself, I have had a Pontiac, a Mazda, two Toyotas, a 1976 Volvo and two Chevy Chevy trucks, the latter were the only ones purchased new. Also, having a love for bikes, I have a Hyper Mountain bike made in China, and the once American pair of old Chuck Taylor All-Stars made in China, and numerous pairs of Levis, a product almost synonymous with USA. It is a sad state affairs since the aforementioned companies among others have a less than stellar records since their production mostly moved overseas.

That said, it was a joy to acquire a trash picked vintage 1980-84 Raleigh ten speed, and disassemble it and make repairs before taking it to the streets. One glaring thing in the process was, part after part read "Raleigh of America", the British owned company was purchased by Huffy in the early 80's.
So, the question is, how did this happen? Some will lead you to believe it was the Unions for simply asking for a livable wage. Others will suggest it was the regulations put on corporations, and some will say it was Democrats raising taxes. All three are nonsense. As Thom Hartmann notes in a column,

"After the Republican Great Depression, FDR put this nation back to work, in part by raising taxes on income above $3 to $4 million a year (in today’s dollars) to 91 percent, and corporate taxes to over 50% of profits."

In my lifetime, this unfortunate transition began in the 1980's, when President Reagan bought into the Milton Friedman theory of "Free Markets" and began deregulating corporations and reducing taxes from 71% to 27% on the very rich. First of all, the free market is not free, as taxes on corporations dropped, to $132 billion from $207 billion in tax revenue, the greed in corporate profits and CEO pay rose. Reaping the rewards of profit at the cost of the "good of the nation", corporations sought more. Much can also be argued over our trade agreements, NAFTA which came to life under a Republican stronghold of Congress and President Clinton put American workers further on the the brink. Congressman Dennis Kucinich continues to urge for bilateral trade policy's that will put Americans back to work. He has noted that while trade is a good thing, America is one of the largest consumer nations, that gave us leverage as other nations wanted to sell to us. "Tax Cuts" and "the Free Market" are catchy slogans, yet they are just that...slogans, and they have consequences. The tax cuts, the trade agreements, and the lifting of some tariffs has turned "Buy American" into "Bye America".