Shipping from China may stop due to the fact that Computers are now used to navigate the ships. That also includes oil tankers! I bought 8 cases of engine oil and one case of transmission oil! All on sale at Pep Boys for $9.50 a case!

I have purchased ten years worth of shoes made in China at Shopko! All were on sale from $9.95 to $12.95 All were leather uppers and very well constructed and very comfortable. I also bought two pair of winter snow boots at $12.50 each at Shopko. Keep watching their ads for good sales!

-- Freddie the Freeloader (freddie@aol.com), March 12, 1999

Answers

Well, you feel free to support child and forced labor for pennies an hour if you want...Me, I'm buyin' USA.

-- Mutha Nachu (---@don'ttreadonme.com), March 12, 1999.

Freddie:

I agree with you completely! There are some excellent bargains out there for those who aren't snobbish over country origin of manufacture. Recently my father purchased some shirts for me; these were made in Sri Lanka, Guatemala and elsewhere. I was grateful for them and very impressed with their quality. I'm not overly fond of snobbish American unions with their sloppy quality wares. Yes, I do buy American, but sometimes I'm disappointed.

When the China line breaks, we'll be buying whatever high priced American goods we can find or else making do with what we secured before the slow boat from China hit the Y2K iceberg.

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), March 12, 1999.

Even better yet, hit the thrift stores for beautiful wool sweaters, like new sweat shirts, barely worn coats and jackets. I now have enough warm clothing stored away for everyone that will be here and did it for just a few dollars. Shoes and work boots will be in big demand, as well as work gloves. Good thread and a reminder for all of us to stock up.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), March 12, 1999.

Recently I wanted to buy some cigarrette lighters--which will be a valuable item if the grid crashes. I was appalled at the labels I saw, "Made in China," "Made in Thailand," "Made in China," "Made in France," then wow, I found a package of six lighters for about $3.50 "Made in the USA." This made me feel better, and no, it is not being snobbish to buy American. I do buy Chinese products, but only when there is not a proper alternative.

Bic lighters, here I come.

-- Rick (doc_u_ment@hotmail.com), March 12, 1999.

Now's a good time to buy Winter stuff, folks. Once it starts coming back on the shelves this Fall, they probably will cost more and be snatched up quickly.

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), March 12, 1999.

I'm with Mutha. It is not worth grinding other human beings into the dust just so you can have cheap tennis shoes and trinkets. (And that goes for dirt-cheap agricultural products too, from anywhere.)

-- Franklin Journier (ready4y2k@yahoo.com), March 12, 1999.

Just exactly what do you mean by "computers used to navigate the ship"? Computers are used by GPS, true enough, but rollover ready GPS equipment is not expensive, and commercial shipping lines know all about the GPS rollover dates. The major concern on ships has been hardware (most of the software used is GE Cimplicity, which is fine), mostly old computer systems that had to be replaced in the engine room controls. Cost was not that much when compared to the cost of the ship, not even much compared to the cost of fully fueling one of these monsters.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), March 12, 1999.

If you are experiencing pecuniary distress, then why would you choose expensive goods made by snobbish American Unions when you can get BETTER quality from imported products? Face it, friends, these imported quality products will NOT BE AVAILABLE when TSHTF, so buy now for yourself, your family and your good neighbors!

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), March 12, 1999.

Yeah...I agree. The best way to stop low wages overseas is to stop buying imported products. Then low wages turn into no wages.

And while Americans are whining about other countries not importing enough U.S. products, you're telling Americans to 'Buy American.' The "Buy American Act' legally requires 50% U.S. content. No double standard there.

The depth of thinking on this thread is about 2 microns thick.

-- readabook (live@fivenews.com), March 12, 1999.