OmaForFour

Just tell DH that you will be able to open a "store" of sorts and sell to the rest of us here on the board. You would make some $$ and we would save some. I LIKE THAT IDEA!

uote=amandasgramma]Yip -- that's what they were talking about on the FoxBusiness channel. I suggested to DH that we take the guest room and start stashing LOADS of fabric in there....fill the room up. I got "that" look from him .....guess that won't happen!!![/quote]

IrishNY

It is still cheaper to ship overseas than to pay the taxes, wages and benefits, higher machine and utility costs in the US. I am not defending the practice, just stating the facts.

katied772

You are so right. We pretty much lost our family business because of that day and we are nowhere near NY.

IrishNY

Manufacturers moved production overseas to keep costs low because we as consumers demand it, just as everyone on this thread is doing. It became too expensive to manufacture here when we had to pay hourly wages and other costs that were way above the rate in less developed countries. We are complaining about the very action that kept prices low as long as they were. If we hadn't moved production off-shore, the current price levels would have occurred long ago in the US. We can't say we want to produce here AND we want low prices unless people who work in manufacturing are willing to take a huge pay cut, utility prices are slashed, taxes are reduced, etc.

We can't blame the Chinese or the government for this, only ourselves, for expecting high wages in our pay but low prices for what we purchase.

Sorry, off my soapbox now.

Texasjunebug

You are totally right, Irish. The money that previously went to our tax revenue, wages and benefits - has now been turned into profit for the large corporations - by selling to us. Please don't misinterpret my point; I am not anti-profit. Way back when companies discovered the cheaper labor, they found high profits. The problem arose as more and more companies took advantage of it - our own consumer base was broken by loss of jobs by the outsourcing. They were successful to get what they wanted, but sacrificed our American economy in the process.

With the growth of our government standing about 25% increase in the last two years, regulations are doing more harm than good. The American worker is the newest commodity - and we're being stripped bare one layer at the time. As soon as we all are willing to work for any amount to get a job - we will live within our own country, unable to buy what we make. That scenario should not exist.

I do not recommend paying many millions to even another profit center like unions to fix the problem. American corporations need to understand that the worker is not the enemy - we are the asset. When we are paid fairly for the job we do, we spend that money in the economy, and profit is sure and steady.

janb

I will continue to haunt the used clothing places looking for cotton fabrics that can be cleaned, pressed and ironed for use in quilt tops. It works for me!

candi

I wholeheartedly agree with this and very troubled by it.

SunQuilts

The Marcus company expects cotton prices to decrease - does this mean they will decrease the cost of fabric accordingly? Doubt it very much! Once they know folks will buy at the new, higher price, it is not likely they will go back to the old pricing. Sorry to sound cynical but that's the way it usually works.

quilterlois

I remember looking for the "Made in the USA" tag.I haven't seen one in years. We can all tell Washington why there are no jobs. It's not Rocket Science.

oldswimmer

Around here almost all the farmers are growing more and more corn...because it is at a very high price right now. You should see the piles and piles of corn that they have to put on the ground because the elevators have no more room to take it. They are paying high prices for corn, so none of the farmers are storing it and having to wait for a fair price. I live close to the county fairgrounds, and last year there were about 5 big piles of corn sitting on the ground...this year there is close to 20 or more. We have had SO many ethanol plants pop up over that past few years....it scares me. I am not on board with all the ethanol "push", for several reasons, and don't buy it at the pump. I do believe that all the corn being grown for ethanol has limited the corn being grown for food products, and that boils down to higher food prices for the consumer. JMO