Products of America

            Living in America, you might think the majority of the products that you purchase would be made in the United States, but the last presidential election indicated a different conclusion. Many of the speeches and debates centered around imported goods, especially those from China, and the effect on the economy.           

            In investigating the context on a national level, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in their FRBSF Economic Letter provides stats of the following data: Chinese goods account for 2.7% of U.S. PCE [Personal consumption expenditures], about one-quarter of the 11.5% foreign share. Of the 2.7% of U.S. consumer purchases going to goods labeled “Made in China,” only 1.2% actually represents China-produced content. If we take into account imported intermediate goods, about 13.9% of U.S. consumer spending is attributable to imports, including 1.9% imported from China. (Hale and Hobijn) 

The 2.7% figure is a surprising since the consumer encounters so many items from foreign countries, principally China, in the discount stores. Looking at the numbers of how many products are produced in China compared to America, the U.S.A looks pretty good. It would appear that the manufacturing goods of China really do not dramatically impact America, like we might expect. Before looking more into this, I suspected that the results from sampling small ticket items in a discounted store would show very different results. 

            Living in a small college town only gives you a few stores to choose from when shopping for essentials. There are a handful of major stores to shop at, like Wal-Mart, Big Lots, H.E.B., and Dollar Tree, just to name a few. I need a few things for a family gathering, so I went to Big Lots. It is a discount store, but compared to Walmart, the access is much easier and parking is convenient.

                        My expectations were proved correct by the fact that there were so few American items and so many from other countries. In relation to the small number of American-made products, I noticed that the store arrangement gave much more attention to imported goods.  For example, immediately on your left when entering the store there is a large area of imported pottery, imported art, and imported furniture often from the overflow of stores like Pier One, whose items are almost always from other counties. 

            I predicted when going into the store that items that were made in America were going to be a little higher in price and harder to find.  I also was assuming that most of the items in Big Lots were going to be made by a foreign country. However, I was hoping that I would find a few more American-made products than I did. Big Lots does carry a few bigger ticket items such as furniture, but I did not check those items because I would expect a store featuring furniture and appliances, (such as Sears), to have some USA assembly component on most of the items (similar to what I found with the pillows in Big Lots). 

            Actually, the United States of America makes or grows a variety of items that other countries cannot, will not, or cannot ship. The New York Times reported that about thirty years ago, the United States produced eighty percent of our country’s produce, now it is down to around sixty-five percent, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/ MAPI, an industry trade group.  The stamp Made in U.S.A. is most likely to be printed on heavy equipment such as circuits that go inside other products, toys, clothes, aircraft, missiles, and even space-related equipment. The Times continued 

                      The United States sold more than $200 billion worth of aircraft, missiles and 

                 space-related equipment in 2007, and $80 billion worth of  autos and auto parts. Deere,

                 best known for its bright green and yellow tractors, sold $16.5 billion worth of 

                 farming equipment last year, much of  it to the rest of the world.

                     Then there are energy products like gas turbines for power plants made by General 

                 Electric, computer chips from Intel and fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. Household 

                 names like GE, General Motors, International Business Machines, Boeing and 

                 Hewlett-Packard are among the largest manufacturers by revenue. (The New York Times)

Despite the fact that the United States seems to make more large equipment, the U.S.A still supplies much of the processed foods that our country consumes. We also make a good portion of products used for personal hygiene; for example, soap and shampoo, as well as cleaning supplies and prescription drugs (The New YorkTimes).            

                                                                                                                                                          

            While my purchase indicates that Big Lots carries many more foreign products than American-made, the overall picture presented by Hale and Hobijn does not present a threatening trade balance. This may be due to sectors other than retailing, such as raw materials, autos, or services.  With many bulk or large ticket items being produced within our borders, they appear to balance out the inexpensive products that are being made in China and other foreign countries. However, the job market for unskilled labor or low-tech products could definitely be impacted in the current sluggish economy.      

Cyber Attack

Recently in the news a Dutch man was arrested for the cyber crime of DDoS attack that took down the internet in Spain. This attack not only affected Spain but also America and Britain.  The mans name is Sven Olaf Kamphuis and you can read more about the arrest here. 

I find this article particular interesting especially since our recent class discussion about cyber security. Unfortunately this relates to me in a particularly negative way. While I have not personally had my computer hacked, I have however had my credit card information stolen from me. About two years ago I was unable to make purchases on a card until I confirmed recent activity on my account. To my dismay, there were purchases that I had not made and money was missing. Luckily, the amount taken was very small and the issue was resolved very quickly. However, because it was a cyber crime, the person who stole my card number was not apprehended. To me this is very scary because I am very careful about my online purchases. In fact, I rarely buy anything off the internet nor leave my information vulnerable. 

The reason why I bring up my experience and the fact that the man was arrested by Spanish government, is because of the pressing issue of cyber security. While I am not for censuring the internet and the information that can be accessed by people. I do believe more security needs to be in place to prevent hackers from destroying the internet or more personally threatening, the stealing of personal information.  I have no clue what exactly can be done, but I am not sure the government should monitor everyone. 

Has anyone else had information stolen from them and thinks our personal information should be kept safer?

I SAY NO!!!

A few weeks ago we discussed in class the need for drilling for natural gas and a new technology called fracking. Fracking is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer by a pressurized fluid. Some of the chemicals they use can contaminate water by leakage, and can be harmful to the environment.

I know this has already been blogged about, but last week I went home and learned something very disturbing. Oil companies plan on “dumping” said chemicals and diesel chemicals in to holding pits only 5 miles from my home in either direction. Whats even more disturbing is the fact that the chemicals will be stored in a cliché pit that will have no liner. The reason they will have no liner is because the diesel chemicals will eat away at the liner.

I have talked with several biology professors at schreiner and several governmental groups like the Railroad Commissions to find out exactly how this could impact the environment. The railroad commissioners assure me that the town hall meetings we have been having is gain understanding and express our concerns to prevent the company from obtaining the permits. Furthermore, they assure me that if the company obtains the permits (which it probably will) the EPA will have many requirements for them to uphold.  Having had discussions with my professors, they tell me that it depends on which chemicals they will be dumping if it will be harmful or not, and they believe that the caliche pits will not only not be good chemical holders, but they will also not be good filters for any leakage. 

What I have yet to mention is that these pits will be sitting over an aquifer and if this aquifer gets contaminated, it can contaminate all the way to the gulf of mexico (about 50 miles) affecting hundreds and thousands of homes. I don’t know about the everyones opinion on this, but I am very against this. It can harm the environment, decrease property values, and hurt our agricultural community. 

Please give your feedback. 

U.S Poverty

          In class we have talked about all kinds of issues from environmental situations to technology wars. When thinking about how many countries cannot keep up with technology because of cost, it made me think about how many of those countries are also  in poverty. Not only did it make me think of just the third world countries, it even make me think about all of the Americans in “my own back yard” who are living in poverty right now.    

            In 2010, more than 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty (ABC News). With that number cited there, you might be asking yourself what is exactly does living in poverty mean? According to Yahoo News, The Census Bureau in 2011, defined poverty as "any individual living on an income of  less than $11,139, or any family of four living on less than $22,314. But that measure, developed over 40 years ago, is inexact at best. It doesn't include non-cash benefits-things such as food and housing subsidies—that can play a key role in supporting families. Nor does the Census definition take into account the large differences in the cost of living in different part of the country, or expenses such as child-care" (Yahoo News). The U.S is not the only country being affected by poverty rates, everyone around the world is.

            Poverty in the U.S. does not look as bad when compared to third world countries, like those on the African continent. The U.S. has many safety nets for those in poverty. The U.S. tries and hides the facts to everyone around the world including those in the United States that many U.S. citizens do live in poverty. I believe that we try to hide it because we are trying to live up to the expectations of the U.S. being a strong country, and we do not want to show weakness. Although the U.S. tries to hide it, the government also has many different ways of helping families out that are in need. For example, the U.S. sets up subsidized housing, welfare programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, and WICS for single mothers and infants.

            The children of America are very important to the government, and it also provides multiple ways to make sure that every child that attends school does not go hungry while learning. The government does not want to punish the children for their parent’s economic status, so students whose

parents do not make a large income can receive free breakfast and lunches. This program (The National School Lunch Program) helps many children in public, nonprofit private schooling and residential child care across the nation. This program keeps some kids from starving. A number of children only get those two meals a day from school because their family cannot afford to buy food.          

            One question you might be asking yourself, is race an issue in the total number in poverty? I did find the percentages of people on welfare by race, as of 2012. The list included Blacks first at 39.8%, then Whites at 38.8%, then Hispanic at 15.7%, other ethic groups at 3.3%, and Asian at 2.4% (Statistic Brain). 

            Living in poverty can also be a mental state. It is up to the families as to how they are going to live, and not every family is up to working hard and getting off welfare. Welfare to some is just an entitlement replacing achievement. A major factor that I think that helps explain most poverty in the United States is that lack personal motivation. For example, some kids who live with their families have too much family support when it comes to money, so when they have to go out in the real world, they end up failing. Other things to consider are the dropout rates, the availability of care programs that we have to offer, and the economic class system. It all goes back to lack of motivation, without motivation to do anything, you just get stuck in poverty and rely on the government for a handout. Poverty in the United States will never be eradicated but “stuck in poverty” has more to do with mental state than monetary state.