What Are You Wearing?
I decided to take a look at the outfit I’m wearing right now to see where each item is made. I was hopeful that some of it was made in America. But, that wasn’t the case. How is it possible that America sits atop the perch of world powers, but doesn’t make its own clothing? It’s mind boggling. What are you wearing? Did you ever take a look?
My pants, shirt and socks were made in China. My shoes and underwear were made in Vietnam. So, nothing in my outfit was made in America. Going one step further, my toothbrush was made in China and my shampoo was made in the Philippines. At least my soap was made in America.
And, So?
I bring all of this up because of the supply chain crisis. If everything I’m wearing is from overseas, then eventually I’m going to be naked. I won’t be able to brush my teeth or wash my hair, but at least I can clean myself with a bar of soap. I can’t believe our country has allowed this to happen. It reminds me of that fable by Aesop named “The Ant and the Grasshopper.” In that fable, the ant spent it’s time storing food for the winter while the grasshopper frolicked and played and made fun of the ant. Then, when winter came, the grasshopper came asking for food from the ant.
America is the grasshopper and Asia is the ant. Asia has the facilities and the know how to make the products we need. We have become entirely dependent on them for almost everything. We should be working to get this straightened out immediately. This should have never happened. America must be independent, not dependent. Our government should use all of our tax money to incent businesses to manufacture basic need items in America.
This isn’t just good practice for buffering us from a supply chain disaster, it will also keep the money to make those goods in our country. In other words, we won’t be paying China to make our goods and ship them here.
What are you wearing? You should take a look.
