Are decision makers so out of touch they see no need to "buy American"?

It's not as if the topic of American jobs is on the back burner. Jobs numbers and the need to bring manufacturing jobs back to this country are a hot topic. How can decisions be made to outsource the making of the outfits for our Olympic athletes?

The New York Post found the uniforms aggressively preppy. Stylist Robert Verdi told the Daily News, "I wasn’t sure if they were really chic crossing guards or Olympians." Ouch.

Yet there's another sticking point: the uniforms were made in China. ABC World News noted that every single piece of the uniforms, from the neckties to the shoes to those silly berets, was manufactured overseas. Nanette Lepore, a strong advocate of American-based manufacturing and New York City's Garment Center, told ABC World News, "Why shouldn't we have pride not only in the American athletes but in the American manufacturers and laborers who are the backbone of our country?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/olympic-uniforms-us-china_n_1667780.html?utm_hp_ref=style

That sucks a big one! And why does Ralph Lauren add berets... to make them look like Frenchmen or Green Berets???

As I said at PNJ, USOC contracted with Ralph Lauren Company to provide the uniforms for the athletes and that is exactly what he done. Ralph Lauren Company is a private company and therefore he can contract with whomever he feels like it, whether we like it or not it is still a

Ghost_Rider1 wrote:As I said at PNJ, USOC contracted with Ralph Lauren Company to provide the uniforms for the athletes and that is exactly what he done. Ralph Lauren Company is a private company and therefore he can contract with whomever he feels like it, whether we like it or not it is still a

FREE ENTERPRISE

Unless it was specified, chances are that the Flag is Chinese-made too.

People are passionate about the Olympics. It is a big thing to be nationalistic and root for their home country at the Olympics. It is okay to show pride there, even if we had to spend a few extra dollars to ensure we are all-American at the Olympics.

I don't fault Ralph Lauren if American-made wasn't specified in his contract. Isn't he a Frenchman? (Nah, I see he's an American.) We dropped the ball.

People were bitching about his uniforms from previous olympics being foreign-made. And, supposedly this caused a furor.

We had a chance to specify it in this year's contract. Was it a simple oversight or was a conscious decision made because of the cost? Apparently, Lauren can take the heat.

For the first time in my life, I'm proud of harry ried.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/12/reid-calls-for-officials-to-burn-china-made-team-usa-olympic-uniforms/