MBD has a post asking readers what favorite items they possess that are Made in America. Casting about here, I spy three household categories where USA-made items are cherished above all others.
The first, old-school Craftsman tools from my grandfathers and great-grandfathers. There’s probably no portion of the household with a higher Made in America ratio than my toolbox and garage shelving. Last night, I wrote about my American pipe collection while seated at my grandpa’s office desk, which is made of American steel and veneer, as is the 1984-edition Everlast punching bag hanging from the rafters.
My office, on the other hand, is a globalist’s retreat. It has a Stressless recliner (Scandinavia), Ikea furniture (Scandinavia), a menorah (Israel), and oodles of electronics (Asia). The only American objects are some Archie comics, a framed Shellback certificate, and a handmade chess set.
The kitchen is another story, with fresh butter and milk from a dairy down the way, Florida strawberries, and a fair few heartland oats. The cookbooks are either from school fundraisers or Joanna Gaines, who, last I checked, is extremely American. The school recipes are mostly Dutch, but America is so generous that it even allowed in the clogging masses — someone has to know how to pinch a penny twice, and it sure isn’t Washington.
Last, and most important, are my half dozen pairs of Allen Edmonds shoes and boots (mostly hand-me-downs). This Wisconsin shoe manufacturer is arguably the best in the business, and these shoes don’t wear out because they can be rebuilt more times than a Chevrolet 5.3L small-block. (But you know this. Telling NR readers about AE is like explaining TULIP to a Huguenot.)
I love my American-made belongings, and if you hadn’t noticed, almost all of it will be with me for decades. But can and should every item we own have a purchase price quintuple that of a functional foreign alternative? I enjoy a lot of stuff in this house that I would never be able to afford if not for its manufacture elsewhere. Speakers, for instance. Minnesota’s Magnepan planar speakers are gorgeous — but I can’t swing $5,999 for the home entertainment system, especially when a $300 Sony soundbar and a sub do the job. There’s a time and a place for quality and just as much (or more) for inexpensive, consumable items from hither and yon.
And were Americans to purchase American-made goods, would they know how to take care of them? How many of your neighbors do you think are up to the task of sharpening their lawn-mower blades, growing and canning fruits and vegetables in season, changing the oil, or pressing and darning a jacket? The reason that most products are consumables has less to do with corporate greed than it does with a consumer base that has no interest in doing the most minor maintenance or paging through a manual. It’s not any one company’s job to teach consumers how to be better — it’s a company’s job to make a profit by providing goods and services.