Made in the USA: Are We Ready?

How many people do you know that have been affected by outsourcing jobs to other countries? The actual number may shock you. Long before “outsourcing” became a buzz word, the US had been doing it since the 1950’s. It started with small things, like electrical parts and manufacturing in the US back then was booming so no one really felt the loss when companies started purchasing small amounts of components made outside the US. No one ever dreamed that one day “Made in the USA” could ever be eradicated. Fast forward to today: manufacturing is dead in the United States. The unemployment rate is 6.3%, which is better than in recent years but still reflects the fact that millions of Americans are out of work or have given up trying to find it.

When Steve Jobs, founder of CEO of Apple, Inc. was still alive, President Barack Obama asked him what it would take to make iPhones here in the US instead of China. Jobs laughed and said “that would never happen.” To Steve Jobs and countless CEOs just like him, it boiled down to the bottom line. Since manufacturing as an industry has been long dead here, it would take countless hours/weeks/years (read: dollars) to build the plants, forge the materials needed and train workers to produce an iPhone quickly enough to keep up with technological advances. Apple’s profits would be horribly slashed, albeit temporarily, if they were to stop making iPhones in China and start making them here, and corporate greed wins that fight with a TKO.

So a handful of American companies have recently decided to take the risk and have their product (textiles, in this case) made in the USA. In a not-so-ironic twist, they are finding of all things a labor shortage! Well, what else could be expected? A handful of companies with their hearts in the right place aren’t going to reverse the sixty year decline in American manufacturing overnight. What needs to be revived in the USA is the Spirit of Manufacturing we once had. The pride we felt in the products we made ourselves instead of the sharp sting we have in our consciences now whenever we see a Made in China sticker on the item we just bought. We need a Warren Buffet or a Bill Gates to combine resources and spearhead a revitalization movement, starting from the ground up. Advertise, get some solid PR campaign going and aim to inspire people to WANT manufacturing here again. The handful of companies that have already started is small, but it’s a start. It would be the start of something big if it could just gather enough steam to get over that first big hill. Will it be difficult? Yes. Expensive? At first, yes. Labor costs in Mexico is an average of $3-$10 an hour, and in China some places are paying up to $12 per hour (though rarely). The US would have to pay similar wages to remain competitive. It would take some adjustments, yes, but it is something we must do. I know if we could just light that spark in the hearts of Americans, we would have no shortage of people wanting to be trained for manufacturing jobs.  Already statistics show that six million American jobs rely on trade with Mexico, proof that there is a way to fairly import and export without harming our own economy. Our import/export rate with China is significantly under-balanced, however, and has created a gaping deficit in our economy, an unhealthy dependence on Chinese imports as well as declining quality of life for US citizens.

My grandfather was an aeronautical engineer for more than 40 years. After he retired he would often be found tinkering in his shop with one thing or another. In his shop were parts and pieces of old things he had kept over the years thinking they would one day be of use. As I was rummaging through these things, I noticed that on every piece I picked up was printed MADE IN USA. Old but still functioning light switches, a Swingline stapler (from 1960 and still working), a door bell button, even pencils tucked in amongst the parts said MADE IN USA. None of the parts were "disposable," which explains my grandfather's reasoning for keeping them. They were all made to last, unlike the garbage we get from China by the boat load every day.  I want that kind of productivity back for our country. Our economy would be so much healthier if manufacturing were to become alive again. It’s something worth considering.

Question of the day: What can I do, personally, to bring back the "Made In USA" manufacturing spirit to this country?