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Charles's avatar

What would it cost if made in the USA?

Asked by Charles (4826points) January 15th, 2012

We hear so much about how all the manufacturing jobs in the US have gone away – outsourced to China, Thailand etc. If we brought these jobs back to the US, how much more would things cost?

Some examples: (Certain items and what they cost now.) Any guesses as to what these items below (and you can add in others) would cost if they were made in the US?

Designer jeans – $100

Apple computer – $1100

T-shirt – $20

Place setting of dinner dishes – $35

Artificial 7 ft. Christmas tree – $150

Are you willing to pay more for something if it’s made here in the US and benefits all Americans?

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5 Answers

john65pennington's avatar

I am a supporter of unions.

I told my wife, about 15 years ago, what was going to happen in the United States, if the unions did not quit making demands for more money and benefits.

And, it has come to pass.

Picture in your mind a circle. The manufacturer makes a product and makes a profit from selling it. The cost of living goes up, so the unions ask for more money and benefits for their workers. The manufacturer has to raise the price of its product, in order to give the workers the raise and benefits they request, or face a strike. The manufacturer’s black line is now in the red. How do they save their factory?

And so it goes, round and round in a circle, until someone finally searches the globe for cheaper labor costs, so their bottom red line will be black once more.

So, today foreign workers are filling the places of American workers. Apparently, they do not complain of their salaries or their benefits and the CEO’s again have a smile on their face.

Unions….....love ‘em or leave ‘em.

Pandora's avatar

Sure if its a better quality. Plus when things are made abroad they get you on the repair cost because parts have to be shipped.
Some things like, designer jeans, isn’t something I care for.
In the long run we pay we do already pay more for everything. Everytime a company moves and takes hundreds of jobs with it, the unemployed are supported by us. Welfare, medicare and classes to retrain people to obtain another job. When they go belly up and go backrupt and can’t pay their credit cards and home payments, the payments are passed down to us through higher interest rates and mortgage rates.
We are already paying the higher prices. The only one who profits are the CEO’s of these businesses that go overseas.
So yes, I would pay the higher price and I often do on top of the price I pay for CEO’s to profit.

auhsojsa's avatar

The standard costs between buying the material, paying someone in a vertically integrated line to create the material is usually set up to have a market value of 300% more of what it costs to have made.

Globalization will only continue to take away from the U.S. forever. It’s happening with food at the moment now at a large rate.

History repeats. Since the beginning of “business,” trade and preference have always involved subjective variables.

We can’t “bring these jobs back to America” haha. “We” are not “them” and “them” are the CEO’s who control the businesses. Businessmen don’t go to school to learn how to make America better, they go to school and become professional at turning a buck.

Why pay someone 8 dollars an hour, with health benefits and paid time off when you could go to another country who will gladly accept low wages for a non professional no schooling needed job? Businessmen practice business not morals and loyalty to ones country. I don’t agree with them, but then again I’m not a businessman and I’d probably fail at it because my hearts too big.

http://americanapparel.net/ <check out the price ranges here, American made goods and fair prices could be done and is being done. Of course there’s going to be a ratio that prefers to buy a Target blank shirt for 5$ made in Bangladesh compared to a 14$ blank shirt at American Apparel made by an American in LA.

dappled_leaves's avatar

I agree with @Pandora. There are costs associated with “cheap good” that are not visible on the tag. But we pay them every day, and our children will pay more because of the effects on the environment.

zenvelo's avatar

What is frustrating is when US companies won’t even try. The Bay Area Rapid Transit District wants to replace it’s fleet of transit cars. Five companies are interested, none are US companies, they will be built in another country. This is a project worth up to 3 billion to the company that gets the contract.

I’ll pay a bit more for american made products if the quality is there, it usually is. However, i will not ever buy a car made by Ford, Chrysler, or General Motors. I’ve been burned too many times by them.

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