Made In America

Just when I thought the overseas outsourcing couldn't get any worse, I found out today that Harley Davidson plans to build an assembly plant in India! Of course it's all in the name of business, but come on. We're talking about an American icon here! It's like baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. (Actually, I think that certain Chevys are foreign made!)

I'm starting to wonder how long it will be before everything is made overseas. Several years ago, I bought a set of Craftsman wrenches from Sears. When you think of quality American tool brands, Craftsman immediately comes to mind. But to my surprise, when I got home I noticed that, instead of the familiar "Made in America" insignia, my new wrenches said "Made In China". I felt betrayed. When did this happen?

Along those same lines, I used to play a little guitar. One day back in the 1980's, I was killing some time in a local music store. I was gawking at the Fender Stratocasters behind the display case. For those who don't know, the Strat is an American icon in the music business. So anyway, I asked one of the store employees to let me check one out. Just as I'm getting ready to wail on the intro to Hell Bent For Leather, I notice that this particular Strat has an inscription that says "Made In Japan". I couldn't believe it. Jimi Hendrix must be rolling in his grave!

In a ironic twist, I bought my first foreign car in 1992. It happened to be a Honda Accord.. Afterwards, a good buddy of mine proceeded to bust my balls for not buying American. Since he drove an "all-American" Ford pick-up truck, he felt perfectly justified in making me feel like Jane Fonda. Well, upon further review, I discovered my Japanese Honda was actually made right here in the good ol' USA while my buddy's Ford was "assembled in Mexico". Kind of confusing, huh?

Unfortunately, I don't see the manufacturing jobs ever coming back to the US. The labor costs between the US and developing countries aren't even close. Of course, to some extent, we have cheap labor in America too. But it's usually at the hands of illegal immigrants.

Unfortunately, Made in America is quickly becoming a thing of the past.........

KW