"C G" wrote in message
. com...
USENET READER wrote:

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).

Are you stuck in the '80s? Most Chinese companies have been privatized.


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?

They can't as long as American consumers puy the cheapest product they can
find. IMO, Harbor Freight should not even be in business, but as long as
people keep buying the junk, they'll survive.


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?

There are some, but do you and your friends try to find them? Are you
willing to pay a higher price to buy them?


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.

That's what happens when you buy the lowest cost tool.


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.

That's different than the crews I've seen. And the Mexican laborers I've
seen are usually working their asses off. Can't say the same about some
of the "American" crews I've seen.


Amen! The Mexican workers around here bust their asses working two
full-time jobs that no one else wants. They are some of the hardest-working
and most honest workers we have in my area.

Wal-mart survives because people actually WANT to buy crap for low prices.
If they didn't want it, China wouldn't produce it.

Blame yourselves, not the immigrants nor the foreign competition.