Triumphrat

Felony

Sometimes, however, there is a ray of hope for the masses to control the man. Several years ago, Stanley Tool Works of New Britain, CT announced that they were going to move their corporate operations offshore to save millions in US taxes. They have been an American company for at least 125yrs. Well, this didn't sit well with the trades(I'm a self employed furnituremaker) and basically Stanley was told you do that, and we stop buying your tools and products. Stanley didn't move offshore.

D41

Stanley should have moved.

SherpaT

That gets my "stupid post of the year" award!

HAP

I didn't think of unions and off shore when I wrote the OP but it is funny to me how sides have been drawn as to who is to blame for our purchase choices. IE: Made in the USA vs over seas.
Now, I did a 4 year apprenticeship and the union paid for my degree so I know a tad about what unions are but the biggest club used to drive jobs from this country wasn't union costs, or pure greed on the part of companies. Both share blame. The biggest problem was and still is government rules and regulations, fees, delays in approvals, permit requirements that are purely hidden taxes, no comprehension of business needs and a desire by social engineers of both parties to create a service driven country and not a dirty manufacturing one.

Steel mills where driven out of business by safety standards raised beyond reach, pollution laws enacted not allowing enough time to modify, zoning laws prohibiting home work shops, pollution laws that didn't allow or give cement companies alternatives to stay here, drywall manufacturing driven out because of fair trade deals struck with other countries. Tax incentives created that favored over seas vs in house manufacturing This list is endless.

We stopped our logging industry on a national self sustaining level for an owl, we stopped oil production in certain states for years for a lizard.

We the people made those choices, we ask for the environmental controls so rigid that 1/3 of the country is off limits to resource use. We are cutting down on cows grazing on federal land because they pee on the ground and it runs into the water. All these actions drive up costs, cost us millions of jobs over the years and the sad thing is no one seems to care if it happens to some one else's job.

Schools have cut back dramatically in vocational schools (who is going to fix our plumbing, hang a door or repair our high tech car in the future?) in order to force every student to be a computer geek.

My question should not have been is my purchase of an item the product of slave labor but why aren't we making it here? Because I, just like all of us continue to vote in jerks who think they know how best serve us by sending our jobs over seas.

Silverado57

Gerbing got wise in the past year or so and has moved production of their jackets back to the USA.
Their goal is make 100% of every product in the US within the next several years. Good on them.

http://gerbing.com/News/recentNews.php#n16

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Kevin
Luceo Non Uro
NJ USA

LEE

I have to agree with Silverado. Gerbing is an excellent product and I was unsure what I needed to order and called them direct. There service was excellent, professional and they took the time to talk about the product.
If Idid not have my gerbing vest in june I would have been in trouble. I was riding in the rain for at least four days straight. The temps up in the mountains dipped down. The vest kept my core temp normothermic.

SherpaT

Good to know! I like hearing success stories like this.

asp125

Doesn't anyone find it incredibly ironic all this "buy US" talk is on a forum of Triumph (and not Harley) owners?

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Silverado57

I got more.

http://www.allegiancefootwear.com/

Allegiance Footwear is a small company in Tennessee that makes the best, most comfortable boots you'll find anywhere, at prices that won't shock you.

The owners worked for Timberland when they were Made in USA and they refused to give in to the made in China mentaility.

Between my wife and I we have SIX pair of their boots. I'll never buy a made in China Timberland product again.

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Kevin
Luceo Non Uro
NJ USA

lam@ratf

I've been thinking about that. I buy local whenever I can but it's not always possible.

My bikes are my transportation not 'recreation' vehicles. I'm not a mechanic so I need a certain level of reliability. I got the both Bonnie and the Suzuki because they were the bikes I wanted that met my criteria. If there were American made bikes that met my criteria then I would have bought them.

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Physics always wins

You're a fast idle knob. - Demonic