nearly there, but only a wet dream

[kristoj]

Wayne Dalton garage door company is based just down the road from me, so they pretty much have a lock on the market here. But I think most garage doors are still made in USA. Genie garage door opener company is also based in Northern Ohio. Like you, I make it a point not to shop at Wally World as you call it -- mostly because of the crowd that hangs out there. It's not the most pleasant shopping experience if you know what I mean. However I must point out that they are the single largest employer in the USA and many low-income families depend on their low prices just to get by, so I'm not sure we are helping the economy by not going there. The important thing, as you point out, is to do a little research so you know exactly what you are buying and can support local companies that positively contribute to the economy. Now go out and buy a $5 latte from your local Starbucks -- they provide their employees with solid wages and benefits!

John

[So Cal Mark]

Starbucks? the company that just lost a 100 million dollar judgement because supervisors were skimming tips from the hourly workers as company policy? The evil empire that escalated a simple cup of coffee from 75 cents to the 3 dollar range? I'll skip that one as much as it may hurt the economy

[mbouse]

well, my new Genie Garage Door Opener works just fine for a "made in America" product. the local guy that installed it is grateful of Mr. Bush's handout.

Single largest employer means little when wages are less than 20% of the total expenses... Where do the products come from? Where do the profits of the sale go?

Did you watch how many mom-pop shops closed when your Wally World opened? I certainly watched here. We lost one lumber yard, two hardware stores (including my favorite), one shoe store, three grocery stores, two pharmacies, and the downtown area (ten years later) still struggles to stay open. The majority of the Wally World employees live over an hour away from where they work....a statistic i read from a Wally World publication; meaning, none of those lost jobs were replaced in our community. Since Wally World purchases zero of the products and services produced in this county.... they are the biggest DRAIN on our local economy - EVER. and our city fathers were mislead into giving tax abatements on top of it. the only return goes to the utility providers.

yes, we need to educate ourselves, and others concerning the evils of the Wally Worlds (and similar) on our local and national economy. that is the point behind my post....

IMO, George should have stipulated WHERE we could spend our "stimulus package" and not just pass out our future tax bill like it was so much candy and gifts. Better yet, our economy could use a good tax reduction by elimination of give back programs. Reduce the drain on my pocketbook by eliminating the waste, and I'd gladly spend more on those items i "need".

[dinosabella]

Good on you.
Dont stop with your stimulous package. Have you tired to buy a pair of dress shoes lately, there was a time when a nice pair of shoes that were a little costly would be from Italy. Now allllll the shoes are from china and the prices are the same.
I could understand if chinese goods were drasticaly cheeper from western goods but there realy isnt that huge of a gap.
So buy Made in USA, Made in Canada. Hey pretty soon Alfas and possibly some Fiats will also be made in USA and we could buy those too.
What im trying to figure out is how NAFTA is helping the little guy. Why is it that when I order parts fro my good ole Fiat from the States that I have to pay duty but if Bombardier orders 5,000 wire harnesses made in California for a new jet they dont have to pay a red cent under NAFTA.
I can go on and on on the injustices facing the little guy in our countries but I guess Im just realy bitter considering this never melting snow and fridged temperatures.

Oh by the way can anyone confirm if the story about a chinese city being name Usa, pronounced (oussa) but being spelled USA is true. Cause the urban legend reffering to this story goes on to say that this city was able to stamp on their goods produced made in USA.

[Danno]

Here's a snopes debunking on Usa, Japan....
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/usa.asp

[kristoj]

Hey Mike, since you are such a staunch supporter of Walmart, I thought you would enjoy the video clip below:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Dow ... 032608.wmv

The back half of the video gets into yet another deplorable act by this company. No amount of money spent with the finest PR agencies in the land can get you through something like this.