Why are skateboarders hurting America?
I am pissed off and don’t' know what to do about it!....by Marie Marden
I am so tired of hearing stores say that skateboarders want cheap trucks and ours are too expensive. Time and again in the past 2 years, a store owner has told me that the most expensive trucks sold are Grind Kings & Independents and that kids really want cheap trucks now. They additionally tell me, yes, you may make the best trucks out there, but skateboarders now only care about price.
When you skate down the road, take a look around you. Do you see the 7-11 store, the grocery store, the skate shop, the clothing store…what do you see? Hopefully, you will see people like you, me, your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your grandparents and/or your friends working to make a living in America.
Grind King and Independent require more money for their trucks as they are among the last few truck companies that make their product in the United States of America. Last night my boss said to me, "we need to go to make our trucks in China to stay alive". I am so angry. Why doesn't the American skate community see what they are doing to our family, our friends and our economy?
Grind King has had a maximum of 30 employees at one time in the past 15 years working in our company. Take a closer look, how many employees have kept their jobs in America because of Grind King manufacturing in the USA? First we have the machine shop manufacture our axles and our kingpins. They have to buy the material from another company selling the steel. The steel company needs bookkeepers, sales persons, factory workers. The machine shop has bookkeepers, factory workers, drivers and salespersons. The material gets heat treated down the street and the heat treater has a group of employees to perform the tasks. The axles go to the foundry. They buy the aluminum from another material company that also has employees working. After the foundry casts the trucks they have employees clean the parts and then the parts go to the tumbler (known as a deburring company) to soften the edges. The kingpins go to the heat treater and then to a finishing company that puts a corrosive finish on the kingpins.
The bases after being cast go the drilling company to put the holes in the baseplate. The baseplate goes to the tumbling company after drilling. The hangers after being tumbled go to the painter for painting. This doesn't even consider the bushings which are made at a bushing manufacturer and the pivot cups made at plastic manufacturer. All the parts come in for assembly after the graphics are put on the truck. All the components are made in the USA by employees in America. The only parts purchased off shore are the hardware because no made inone makes hardware (bolts and screws) here in the U.S. anymore.
Is this how many employees have kept their jobs in America because of Grind King manufacturing in the USA. We are not done yet! All the employees in the different companies listed above purchase clothes, groceries, computers, cars, bookkeeping services, insurance, etc from other people working in the U.S. Without their jobs, how will they purchase goods from the shops here? If we put all of our available dollars into making our products in China, yes we will sell more but how many jobs in America will be lost because Skateboarders don't realize they are hurting America?
Next time you spend dollars on a cheaper China/foreign truck (one that is not made in the USA) ask yourself, whose job will you be eliminating today? Your mom's, your dad's, your sister's, the neighbor down the street….think about the overall impact on your life! Will you have any dollars to spend when there is no longer a job available for you because now all the trucks will be made in China? and all the money is now in China?
Yes, I have been teased that I am a dinosaur as I still drive American made cars. I have a 1997 Lincoln town car that was preceded by a 1985 Lincoln that was preceded by a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Each car was basically made in America and each one lasted me over 200,000 miles. I bought every one of them used but they were made in America by Americans.
My email is marie@grindking.com. All you skateboarders out there, let me know if you have thought about the cost of purchasing cheap trucks from China? Let me know if you care! If you do care - tell your stores you want more American made products. Look at the product and see where it is made.
In order for U.S. companies to continue manufacturing in our country – we need tariffs on incoming goods so that we have a more level playing field.
Note: after we know – we need to spread the word and unify our country to understand there are answers!
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