Want a microwave made in America? Even a thorough web search reveals just two options – one costs $550, the other starts at $600. Build it in to your cabinetry, and you’re looking at more than $1,000 to reheat those tantalizing slices of leftover pizza with a machine born in the U.S.A. Of course, if you’re willing to go with a model made in Asia, the local Wal-Mart has one for just $55.
So begins this story over at The National Journal on the increasing difficulty of finding American-made products:
What Exactly Is - and Isn't - Made in America? One Lobby Shop Finds Out. This sad state of affairs has been brought about by deliberate government policy, including the bi-partisan embrace of disastrous free trade ideology. As the quote above from the story demonstrates, some things like microwaves can be found that are manufactured in the USA, although at extremely high prices. But other, common items, cannot be found in made-in-the-USA versions at any price:
Need computers, televisions or phones for your home or office? A coffee maker or a compact fluorescent light bulb? No such luck. Those products simply aren’t manufactured stateside.
The deindustrialization of our country didn't just happen. It is the planned and intended result of specific government policies that have shifted the USA away from a manufacturing dynamo into a service and technology focused economy. And while that has been good news for some sectors of our workforce, mostly knowledge workers, it has been catastrophic for the working and lower-middle classes.
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