Chuck,

You are way oversimplifying the "buy American" thing. What the hell is "American" anyway? Sure, you can tell if a pair of pliers was made foreign or domestic, but open the hood of any Chevy, Dodge, or Ford and you'll see foreign-made components all over. Take the name badges off, and you tell me the difference between a Mazda and a Ford, or a Plymouth and a Mitsubishi. THERE ISN'T ANY. It just depends on which "brand" they're manufacturing that week.

I say buy whatever is the best quality at the best price. It might be a Makita, it might be a Milwaukee, but that's up to the consumer. If you have morality issues with foreign labor policy, then by all means say so with your pocketbook. But a blanket statement of "buy American" without regard to the cost effectiveness of American labor being used to produce it, is a futile effort in a capitalist country.

I've used Gamakatsu hooks, Shimano reels, Maxima line, Daiichi hooks, and so on, but that's only because I thought they were a quality product at a reasonable price. I've also bought hand tools made in the US that weren't worth [Bleeeeep!] because they were cheap. The point is, not everything built here is good, and everything built overseas bad. I buy American when buying American is the best deal for ME. Call me a selfish *******, but I'm just your average consumer.