I will absolutely concur with American products getting far worse. Everything is cost cut to the bone.

It's not so much that it is cost cut to the bone, but that the expertise is being lost.

I can tell you with a straight face that american manufacturing is being held up right now by grey beards pushing back retirement because young people have zero interest in manufacturing boiler conduit fittings. You can crash course an IT cert and come out making more money than you would ever make pressing steel couplers.

No, a lot of it really is just obvious cost cutting. Things like replacing metal fasteners with plastic ones that break or strip easily.

With few exceptions.

In general, if I’m going to buy something that’s going to last 2 uses, I might as well just buy the cheapest one.