....coz they are making 50k of a thing. Not four a year.

Indeed. Is there an online store that specializes in products not made in China? Or at least allows me to filter products by country of design and manufacture? I'd give anything to have that filter on Amazon. It would get rid of most of the scams and shoddy products that end up in wastelands shortly after purchase.

I really don't mind paying a premium for products built elsewhere. I'd rather pay extra for quality than buy another cheap Chinese knockoff.

This but for everything.

Everything is so full of bullshit no one asked for these days. Refrigerators. Ovens. Cars. Microwaves. TVs. Computers.

You name it, it's full of garbage that both took a lot of effort to put there AND makes the product worse.

It's like capitalism has contracted herpes.

Check out the Handmade online community [0] and/or attend one of our conferences [1] this year.

I’m biased because I’m the organizer for the conferences, but we genuinely share your line of thinking. Wouldn’t hurt to congregate with like-minded folks :)

[0] https://handmade.network

[1] https://handmadecities.com

I wonder what all the factories here in Germany are doing then...

My washing machine from Miele says 'Made in Germany'.

Maybe I'm too cynical, but from what I know about the NSA and other three letter US Government agencies, I beg to differ.

Additionally, good luck finding any type of electronic device that is entirely made in the USA. I honestly can't think of anything with a printed circuit board that is assembled in the USA from 100% American-made parts.

Then of course there's always the whole engineers taking shortcuts to meet unrealistic deadlines thing. Somehow network security tends to be very low on the list of priorities when you have to make a profit.

They're going to buy a car and then pay someone to install an aftermarket immobilizer.

> That's why it's near impossible to find a printer that's not garbage.

Brother laser printers are widely regarded as decent. You're also legally permitted to buy cheap garbage for low prices. It will be cheap garbage, so maybe don't buy it.

Well, sounds like truly free trade.

No patents, no copyright, no BS.

If you can make it and sell it cheaper than someone else, you win (and people get it without artificial restrictions on its production).

Sorry to burst your bubble. Manufacturing pliers and screwdrivers is a joke when compared to, as an example, manufacturing a cordless drill, battery packs, charger and accessories.

We cannot do ANY of that in the US.

Something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-12V-Lithium-Ion-Co...

Nope. Can't do it.

Not unless you are willing to play $500 for it, or much more.

Let's put it this way: If you take the time to create a detailed list of every component, material and process required to manufacture and deliver that product, you will quickly discover that NONE OF IT is made in the US.

In business terms, the supply chain for the manufacturing of such products is long and very expensive, because it isn't local.

Guess where you'd have to buy all the components from? China.

A corollary is that you cannot make this product for less (or even the same) than what it costs to make it in China. Impossible, even if the factories existed.

While people love to talk about "Buy American" there's a huge gaping hole between those who virtue-signal with bumper-stickers and flags and the much smaller group who actually practice --to the extent possible-- what they preach.

BTW, I have attended trade shows where Chinese OEM manufacturers showcase products they make, including tools. To put it in simple terms, anyone can sign a deal with any of these manufacturers and have a line of quality hand and power tools with their own brand and logo. You go to these conferences and can actually talk to and buy from the very companies who are making tools for the top brands in the US and Europe.

I feel this is likely. I know of no-other company that regularly releases videos (or marketing material) of how its products are made.

Wasn't it made in the US?

No. I can't think of anything I buy that I would want to go back in time with. The quality in my experience has only improved, often dramatically. Those who try to skimp on quality get destroyed by the competition. What are you referring to?

The only thing I can think of that you might be referring to – based on what I hear other say, not based on my own buying habits – is things like appliances where manufacturers have really dug deep into computerization so that they can enjoy the same legal moats other tech companies do. But what you are experiencing there is the lack of competition we spoke of earlier.

Have you actually done that, Tom? Or are you just reselling us your same old fantasy story about how easy it is to coordinate a bunch of companies from a bunch of different countries and actually bring a product to market?

I can't even remember all of the other stories I've heard about multiple rounds of prototypes, production problems, sub-standard end products, etc (some of which requiring extensive travel to sort out). Or perhaps a partner company dissolves its relationship with you and decides to market the product on its own. Sure, it has to work out some of the time, but stop presenting this idea that international business is somehow this miraculously effortless process.

I know this wasn't the central point of a piece nominally about immigration and youth achievement, but the fact that he had throw in the same stale scenario that he's been writing about for over a decade makes it entirely impossible for me to take this guy seriously anymore.

How dare you put words in my mouth. I have no skin in this whatsoever. It was written as a statement of fact as I see it. The motive behind the scarcity is not something I was discussing, and is, as I said a commercial one. Legislating that a 3rd party parts market must be catered for is potentially a slippery slope.

As for anti-capitalist? This is right out of the capitalist playbook! False scarcity leads to control of the market place, which leads to capital, by way of higher repair parts or increased revenue in terms of new device sales instead of repairs.

There is, it's called "Chinese OEM manufacturers".

(Yes, I know that an 'OEM manufacturer' is like an 'ATM machine'.)

As I type my keyboard is sitting on an Ikea desk. It's cheap, it's simple, it does the job and I'm happy with it.

Cheap stuff is not the problem. Crappy cheap stuff (and crappy expensive stuff!!!) is.

For example, I have two radios in my house that I don't use? Why because the crappy power leads have frayed and I can only use them with batteries.

Or again, I bought a kettle 2 years ago that stopped working after 6 months.

Unironically yes. Handmade does not mean "hacked together". Airplanes are handmade. My dinner is handmade.

I'll ignore your snark and admit I typed that on a whim.

> Also, "American-made" is a very tricky thing to define.

In the end, I think a list of American-made brands or products would have to be curated. I believe a multi-billion dollar tech company like Amazon can pull it off, though.

> Why not?

Because,

1) I personally don't care about this. 2) More important than 1, I don't think the law/government has any business deciding this. The market can decide (spoiler: it already has).