I've been following ABC's on-going pieces on the subject with David Muir.
They have done things like going into "nice" neighborhoods and asking homeowners if they could have moving guys take everything out of their houses that was not made in America.
Most rooms are laid bare--sofas, wooden furniture, anything that uses a wall outlet, gone. Sometimes there's a carpet remaining, or an antique lamp.
They focused last night on the building trades. A company they interviewed is building houses with ALL American materials. Nails, screws, drywall, wiring, plumbing, fixtures, every scrap made in the US. The total extra cost is marginal. Some doemstic products are a bit cheaper (and still better) than their foreign (mostly Chinese) counterparts.
They couldn't find domestic J-bars (a pre-made J-shaped piece of re-bar), so they bought straight pieces and had a neighborhood metal shop bend them.
The main point is, if the trades increased their purchases of US-made products by 5%, it could create 225,000 jobs, now--right now!
Of course, I did notice that not one power hand-tool being used on-site was American---'cause there aren't any. They were using all Japanese brands (Makita, Hitachi), made in ...???? Bingo Chiner!
So, I'll try to be more mindful when I buy my supplies, but that means staying away from any and all home centers, Ace, Tru Value--any national chain. Their prices are Chinese- dependent in such a huge way. I guess making the time to discover the US mfgrs., then hunting down local reatilers is the issue.
No mention was made about from how far away in the US the products were trucked, so 'carbon footprint' didn't enter their equation. But, hey, ya gotta start somewhere.
