Community Comment : ‘Build Factories, Not Cute Offices’

K.I. LEE

Cerritos

Whenever I visit friends and relatives in Korea, I find myself shopping for American-made gifts to take back. My family expects to receive gifts with the prestigious “Made in the U.S.A.” tag. Yet I can’t find many items actually made in America in the stores. From toys to electronics to clothes, it seems America doesn’t make much more than hot dogs and tissue paper.

America used to be known as a manufacturing powerhouse. That came to mind several weeks ago, when I had the chance to ride the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) while visiting my son at UC Berkeley. I’ve ridden trams in Germany, Japan, Mexico and Korea. But the BART train cars, made by Rohr Industries of Chula Vista, were first class.

The seats weren’t luxurious, but simple and functional. The spaces between them were just right. I had the same feeling of quality about this BART train that I have for a Sony television set or a Lexus automobile. I was impressed at the manufacturing capability of the United States.

However, that BART car was built 20 years ago. In the meantime, American manufacturers have yielded their reputation to other countries.

It worries me that if Americans do not produce consumer goods locally, in time they will forget how to manufacture. The trade deficit is growing through the roof. How will Americans get merchandise in coming decades if they don’t make anything or don’t have the money to buy from foreign countries?

Americans may think that they have strong service industries such as real estate, insurance, banking, entertainment and computer software. But if the world economy takes a downturn, these are among the first things people stop spending money on.

America must start building strong, efficient factories instead of cute offices with up-to-date supplies for white-collar geniuses.

Interviewed for The Times by James Blair.