FTC: Made In The USA Comments Concerning Joseph Morin--P894219 6/10/97 To Whom it May Concern, I am writing in regards to the article titled "Made In the USA" from the Hartford Courant. Why does my government want to lower the rate of products being made in the USA, while increasing the number of products being made overseas, and then falsely call these foreign made products "Made in the USA?" I work at the Stanley Works in New Britain, where a lot of our products, such as millions of hinges, are made overseas. We were told this is done to help keep costs down. In March of 1997, we got a new CO. In 10 weeks, this man, with stock options, was worth 13 million dollars! How is this keeping our products competitive and our costs down? If he could have forgone his raise and options, we could have been more competitive in our plant. In May, we signed for a three-year contract where we not only gave up a large portion of our raise, but also benefits to be competitive. We need to put and end to the practice of importing raw or partially finished products and then claiming that they are made in the USA. For example, I recently bought a new pick-up truck-an "American” pick-up. Yet a lot of the parts were made in Asia! I paid quite a lot of extra money to own an American made vehicle. Our company says we need to be competitive. Most of the factories overseas are owned by US companies ... so, who are we really in competition with but ourselves? Last year was a very busy year, so we hired welfare recipients. This is like a new life for some of them. For the first time in their lives, they are making a decent living. You should see them now with the Chinese hinges. Morale is low-they are asking why we need to buy overseas when we can make the same and better here if our CO and VIP would just get what the President of the USA earns. I have a hard time going to the grocery store and finding orange juice that is all grown and processed in the USA. Most of the fruits come from Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. What kinds of pesticides do these countries use-DDT? It was still available in Mexico the last I heard of it. The government doesn't want my kids to smoke, so they are passing all kinds of laws to stop them from smoking. They are doing this after they allow third-world countries to grow our fruits when we don't even know what kind of fertilizer or pesticides they are using. This makes no sense to me. As a veteran, I believe in my country. We should take care of our people first. We are not doing that by allowing the government to import all of these products. The lay offs, the money going out of the country to countries where only a few of the big shots get the profit ... They don't allow us to export much to China and Japan. Most people that I know want to buy American products that are 100% made in America. Why is my government against this? Factory workers, coal miners, carpenters, auto workers, and farmers are the backbone of this country. We pay our taxes, fight wars, and raise families. Why are you trying to downgrade our standard of life? A reply to this letter is requested. Sincerely Joseph MorinJoseph Morin Address: |