Time to reduce Chinese product purchasing, folks

[psn]

For years (check my join date on the left) I looked the other way for the sake of this hobby. But now it is to the point where something's got to give with that country/government so I'm not buying any more of their products than I have to.

Unfortunately, this hobby is almost ENTIRELY dependent on items sourced from there. If can you build an entire rig out of USA parts, LMK. So until that happens, and if that means no more RC of any kind for me, then so be it.

I am sure there a lots of dyed-in-the-wool American boys/men in here who will only drive a Ford or a Chevy. Well, think more about where your $$ end up next time you drop your rig in the bed of the truck. And how un-American it is. We have to start applying that mentality to more of our purchases.

And that's what I'm going to do.

Paul

[MaX-D]

Originally Posted by psn

For years (check my join date on the left) I looked the other way for the sake of this hobby. But now it is to the point where something's got to give with that country/government so I'm not buying any more of their products than I have to.



Unfortunately, this hobby is almost ENTIRELY dependent on items sourced from there. If can you build an entire rig out of USA parts, LMK. So until that happens, and if that means no more RC of any kind for me, then so be it.



I am sure there a lots of dyed-in-the-wool American boys/men in here who will only drive a Ford or a Chevy. Well, think more about where your $$ end up next time you drop your rig in the bed of the truck. And how un-American it is. We have to start applying that mentality to more of our purchases.



And that's what I'm going to do.



Paul

I'm with you. Bought my face masks for my family and I at Origin Maine. Also bought some jeans for myself from there as well. Love that company! Everything they make is made at their plant in Maine. They even grow their own cotton. It's hard to find all American made products these days though.

https://originmaine.com/

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[kincer]

At this point in time it's gonna pretty hard to do, but I think over time it's gonna become easier and easier, I think we are gonna see more and more products made in the USA. There's no reason things can't be made here in the U.S. other than corporate greed and that needs to change.

[mikemcE]

Really “corporate greed” I always love how that’s flung around . Whether you like it or not, we are part of a global economy, and in order to remain competitive manufacturers have outsourced to remain competitive. Tariffs do work, but can hurt some businesses.
I buy quality.... it’s not too hard to feel and see the difference, and pay a bit more..... Realism is that many of us are cheapskates. I’m one in many places, tools are a major exception.


Hang up and Drive

[kincer]

I'm not gonna argue, but does a CEO really need millions of dollars a year? So yeah corporate greed, I lost my job of 30 years to corporate greed! American companies outsource to where they can get it made cheap so they can line their pockets even more. I was told first hand by the president of my old company once you make your first million it's like a drug and you want two million and on and on. So yeah greed. I'm middle class, worked hard since I was 16 and I'm almost 50, I'm content, got everything I need, a lot of what I want and have never made more than 60k a year.

[mikemcE]

You work hard you get paid. I have no issues with CEO s making $$$$$$ What I do have issues is the board of directors who get bonuses for nothing. You work for years, take huge risks, that’s how you get those millions.
When I ran my business I was $$$$ quite flush, with no family time. I made my choice then, family before $$$.
Haven’t made 6figures since, but sooooo much happier.


Hang up and Drive

[kincer]

I'm not arguing, you don't get it anyway.

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[mikemcE]

Originally Posted by kincer

I'm not arguing, you don't get it anyway.

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Oh you have no clue about what I’ve seen and been through. My Employer back in the 70’s was family run, for close to 50 years, CEO dies, Union bullies family into ridiculous concessions, 8 years later the Union won, we all lost. I bought my business and didn’t look back. When the work force takes no risks and puts a business under as it didn’t adapt, I’m not seeing greed, just stupidity.


Hang up and Drive

[JatoTheRipper]

You can't be in RC and not buy from China. You can't even live modern life without buying things made in China. It's a sad fact. China has the world by the balls right now. It's stupid that no company or government could foresee this. If the US went to war with China, we'd be in big trouble. I can only imagine how many military components are made in China. I'm not saying we wouldn't still win, but I can imagine China could make it more difficult.

Long ago, everything was made in the USA and people could still live a comfortable life and buy American products? Why can't we do that now? I'm not a business expert, but I think corporate greed exists to a certain extent IMO, but not in the sense that most people think. Profit margins have increased steadily and substantially over the years. Why? Greed. And most companies aren't quick to give raises. You can't raise prices each year to maximize those profit margins while paying people the same (which in reality is less due to rising costs of everything else) and expect things to go well for the average consumer. I do think good CEO's deserve their money. They are like pro athletes. Few can do that job well. I don't think a union screwdriver turners deserve $25 an hour. Almost anybody can do that job. Why don't people mention those overpaid people when talking greed? It goes both ways IMO - the top and the bottom of the pyramid and anywhere in between. We're humans and we are animals. At the end of the day we are naturally greedy for ourselves and our families.

I thought that there was a Made in the USA list on this site or another RC forum. Good time to start one.

Proline Racing
Vanquish Products

This topic is already getting heated as expected. But lets keep it on an adult level and try to respond with cool heads - me included.

[kincer]

I'm not gonna argue, I was union for 30 years and didn't agree with a lot of what went on, when unions were started there was a real need for them, now they are just another big business, they make it hard if not impossible to penalize or even fire an employee that is a complete lazy slug, meanwhile the good employees end up carrying the slugs while getting paid the same. It's all out of whack and that's just the way it is. Everyone is gonna have an opinion but one thing I think we can all agree on is more products could be made in the U.S.

[sherbs]

When I started in RC as a kid in 1971 everything you needed for aircraft could be bought USA made. Some options were made in Europe or Japan if you went for some of the higher $$ stuff. In the early 90's I got into off road land, Associated and Losi, All US made. Then China was given "favored trade status" and US hobby production went away. Why not make it here, corporate greed. They can sell a item for less and make a higher % on it if it is produced offshore.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by kincer

I'm not gonna argue, I was union for 30 years and didn't agree with a lot of what went on, when unions were started there was a real need for them, now they are just another big business, they make it hard if not impossible to penalize or even fire an employee that is a complete lazy slug, meanwhile the good employees end up carrying the slugs while getting paid the same. It's all out of whack and that's just the way it is. Everyone is gonna have an opinion but one thing I think we can all agree on is more products could be made in the U.S.

Those are a lot of my issues with the Union.

But yes, more stuff Made in the USA. I know it's cool to hate the USA now, especially with the younger generation, but hopefully we can generate pride for the country again.


Speaking of which, here's a list of more made in the USA companies according to this source. Novak is sadly dead. I'm sure there are others. And if one of these companies moved to outsourcing let me know and I'll remove it.

AJS Machine RC Products
Billet Works Design
Blue Groove RC Concepts
Calandra Racing Concepts (CRC)
Crawford Performance Engineering
Dark Soul Racing
DE Racing
Dubro Racing
Fast Lane Machine
Flextek RC
Fox Manufacturing
Fullforce RC
Hollowpoint RC
Hostile Racing Products
JConcepts
JETT Engineering
Killer Bee CNC
Kimbrough Racing Products
Kraken RC
Lunsford Racing
Max Velocity Racing Products
Micro Hobby
Modified RC
Montana Scale Designs (MSD)
Moore's Ideal Products (MIP)
Motor Saver Filters
Nova RC Products
Novak (Team)
Outerwears
Overkill Concepts
Paasche Airbrush
Pactra Paint
Parma/PSE
Platinum RC Products
Pro-Line Racing
RC Monster
Robinson Racing Products
RPM RC Products
SNR Graphite
SPI Racing Wheels
SuperFly RC
Tekin (Team)
TGN (Team Gonads)
Turtle Racing Products
Twenty1Eleven
Vanquish Products



Source: Made in USA | RC Products | RCCOH

[psn]

All good points, and I see the greed being referred to everyday. It often starts with a young, MBA grad looking to prove himself and get that big bonus and recognition at the end of the year. Unfortunately proving oneself usually comes in the form of cutting costs and that leads to sourcing products, cutting headcount and turning to labor outside the US. The really dangerous types are the ones who do not know the business/industry, but think they do.

This is where you come in, by reducing your spending on items that come from China.

Think the Chinese aren't greedy too? They have an entirely different type and it is much worse than ours that has worked fine for almost 250 years: They are using your money to beef up and modernize their military!

[fxman]

Like JatoTheRipper mentioned, you will have a hard time nowadays to live without China. It is way easier to not get upset about it and live with it. If you look at your car, the majority of parts comes from somewhere else than the US. Even if the companies claim, they manufacture here, the components mostly come from companies outside the US. Continental = is German, so is Bosch and just like AC Delco all of them get their parts overseas - mostly from China. Hevk, even the president's MAGA hats come from there.
They have an incredible, scary work ethic. Work almost for free and way more than we do. Wuhan, the supposed origin of the Corona virus, is a city of 11 million. Before that virus you probably never even heard of Wuhan. They have a massive amount of people to draw workforce from. And half of them still live in the stone age and their demand for modern life is rising quickly. It just shows how little we know about them.

That said, I live global, think global, grew up on a different continent, travel global, hence use global products. There is more important stuff shaping a country's image and people than the goods it produces - at least to me it is.

[mikemcE]

Add Beef Tubes to that USA list.


Hang up and Drive

[psn]

Dont know what continent you're from fxman but this one is in worse financial shape than it was 50 years ago.

Largely because we are sending too much money to China.

If we can't be in RC without buying from China, then we should rethink what we are into.

Or at the least, stop hangin hats on corporate greed, and get on board with MAGA and other initiatives designed to bring wealth back.

[psn]

This:

"I don't think a union screwdriver turners deserve $25 an hour. Almost anybody can do that job. Why don't people mention those overpaid people when talking greed?"

For every greedy CEO there are 10 greedy unions that stifled companies to the point where they couldn't compete and had to open up shops just over the border in Mexico, or just shut down completely and say f*** it.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by psn

This:

"I don't think a union screwdriver turners deserve $25 an hour. Almost anybody can do that job. Why don't people mention those overpaid people when talking greed?"

For every greedy CEO there are 10 greedy unions that stifled companies to the point where they couldn't compete and had to open up shops just over the border in Mexico, or just shut down completely and say f*** it.

The money isn't equivalent between CEO's and grunts, but the point is still valid IMO.

I worked at a place that closed up shop and moved to Mexico for cheaper labor thanks to the union invading the shop.

[mikemcE]

Many of the big players in manufacturing in WI were raped by the skilled tradesmen supporting their “unskilled “ brothers and sisters demanding those wages, great example Briggs and Stratton... we all know them for gas motors.... But they also manufactured all the lock cylinders for GM, 10,000 jobs were outsourced, down to Kentucky..... for 50% labor savings, everyone won, except for those that were bamboozled by the “Local”......
I grew up with many of those skilled workers, they were replaced by Robots who just work, work, work.... 3shifts a day and don’t screw anything up. Zero waste, couple dozen machine watchers.... that’s a shop today.


Hang up and Drive

[kincer]

Originally Posted by mikemcE

Many of the big players in manufacturing in WI were raped by the skilled tradesmen supporting their “unskilled “ brothers and sisters demanding those wages, great example Briggs and Stratton... we all know them for gas motors.... But they also manufactured all the lock cylinders for GM, 10,000 jobs were outsourced, down to Kentucky..... for 50% labor savings, everyone won, except for those that were bamboozled by the “Local”......
I grew up with many of those skilled workers, they were replaced by Robots who just work, work, work.... 3shifts a day and don’t screw anything up. Zero waste, couple dozen machine watchers.... that’s a shop today.


Hang up and Drive

As I said earlier, Unions were needed back when they were created, but just like anything else they abused their power over the years, I was union for 30 years and was fed up with carrying the deadbeats getting paid the same wage as me for not doing a thing basically, management would try to penalize and sometimes even try to fire these deadbeats, they were given time off without pay pending dismissal blah blah blah but in the end they'd get paid for staying home and the company had their hands tied. When I started there were a lot of good old timers that did their jobs and very few slugs but as time went on and new people were hired the tide turned and there were very few of us left that did our jobs and cared, the slugs saw that that they could get away with doing nothing and did nothing. Maybe I shouldn't have labeled it corporate greed more like just greed in general. My new job is in a non union family owned shop and I don't make the money that I did but with my early pension I make about the same combined and I get treated way better and they don't put up with slackers, they fired a guy right after I started, I already got a raise but I do my job. We as a country can do it we just need to work together.