It seems like everywhere you look, every item you try to buy, the words ‘made in China’ or ‘made in Vietnam’ or really made anywhere other than America appear in those tiny black letters. This is just the reality of the supply chain today: it is cheaper to manufacture goods abroad, so that's what the big companies do. Well guess what? Manufacturing goods overseas has some pretty negative effects on the American economy.

Overseas manufacturing allows for goods to be made in large quantities efficiently and for cheaper prices than it would be to make the same items on American soil. Yes, this can be beneficial as it allows more goods to be made and therefore sold by American companies at lower prices, but it's not always that simple.

For starters, manufacturing goods requires workers, right, that's just common sense. And workers need to be paid, or else they go hungry and our whole mess just backtracks. Well, when we manufacture goods in countries like China, the workers are paid far less for their extensive labor. According to CNBC, the average Chinese worker gets paid approximately $3.60 per hour, and according to the BBC, a standard workweek is a maximum of 44 hours; however, this rule is very loosely enforced. All the while, companies here in America are struggling to find workers, many of whom will work fewer hours for more pay, which in turn means less production of American-made products in American factories.

America runs on a capitalistic system, and yes, some goods being produced abroad benefits that system; however, if we make every item we sell in other countries, our precious capitalistic system will crumble. We would still be making money, but it would all go to the government and the business owners and their investors, not to the American workers who lost their jobs because their company moved their factory overseas. This could send our country spiralling down the rabbit hole of socialism, and if you know your history, you know this never ends well.

Throughout this pandemic, another downfall of international manufacturing is simply getting items here. We have had shortages on the most ridiculous common items all because of lack of work and lack of transportation. The entire world is currently struggling with a shipping crisis with no real end in sight. Earlier this year, the Suez Canal in Egypt was blocked for six days, which caused catastrophic delays on goods and, according to the New York Times, cost Egypt tens of millions of dollars. Just a few weeks ago, nearly half a million shipping containers were stuck off the coast of Southern California because of ports operating way below capacity.

American-made goods may be more difficult to find and you may pay more for them, but the reward for doing so is far greater than the extra cost. American-made goods mean Americans are working. And working Americans are critical to a strong economy. Keeping our economy strong and secure is one of the essential building blocks to American power. Without our economy, our country is nothing. By buying American-made goods, you not only supply profit to American businesses, but you help proud, hard-working Americans put food on the table.

So next time be sure those little black letters say, ‘Made in USA.’