I am starting a DYI home-improvement project and I notice that few power
or hand tools are made in the USA. Even most of the Craftsman brand
tools are made in the USA. Some are made in Taiwan (a democracy I have
no problem doing business with) and Red China (perhaps I should call
them Fascist China, a country where the factories are owned by the state
and staffed with slave labor).

Almost everything in Harbor Freight (except for the reconditioned DeWalt
tools) is from China. The stuff is garbage and usually dies after a
short period of time. Grinders and drills come with extra electric
motor brushes which almost always get lost by the time you need them -
and you will. HF always tries to sell you an extended warranty program,
and most people I know don't buy them - even though for all intents and
purposes, if you buy the EW, you can bring back the tool and swap it for
a new one anytime the older one doesn't work. So other than the time
you lose always gong to HF to exchange tools, that does seem like a good
deal. How can American companies compete with that?

But I was talking to two buddies of mine and then mentioned something
about the construction trades which made me wonder if any more tools are
going to be made in the USA?

One guy works as a stone mason and he is finding it harder and harder to
find American made tools of his trade in the stores. The Chinese-made
crap (his words) are cheaply made, don't hold up to continued
professional work, rivets pop, everything rusts unless you soak it in
oil (which is not good for the mortar or cement, mason's hoes break
after one use, etc.

The other guy runs a catering truck that runs around to construction
sites. He says that, except for the licensed trades (electricians and
who are mostly younger white guys), the plumber (who are mostly older
white guys) and the bricklayers (who are mostly African American) -
everybody else is Mexican and they almost only speak Spanish and need a
bi-lingual supervisor on the job. This supervisor - who is not dressed
out for work - usually stands around talking on his cell phone, looking
at his steel and gold Rolex watch - is a white guy.

Well - the real question is - are any of the largely illegal immigrant
construction workers buying quality American-made tools, or are they
spending as little money as possible on tools as they might either get
them stolen from a job site, or because they might get deported at any
time and don't want to have any more money invested in tools than
absolutely necessary?