Reduce US Imports by Buying American Made ProductsAs America watched its manufacturing sector gutted under the guise of supposed free trade policies and a lack of commitment to US workers on behalf of corporations as well as our government, pleas to buy American filled the airwaves. At the same time, quality was sacrificed and far more jobs were outsourced despite a commitment by many. Beyond this Great Betrayal to America, more and more companies are not recognizing the benefits of producing their products in America.
That said, buying America is once again a practical option. Even Walmart, which helped lead the retail revolution against US producers, has decided it must carry better products and many of those come from America. In the fervor to take advantage of cheap labor, many corporations failed to recognize third world production methods have hidden costs. We feel these costs when a product is an inferior copy of the original or breaks within a few uses. Meanwhile, mounting recalls over toxic impurities have spiked, thus cheap products cannot be as trusted. With America beginning to rebuild its once mammoth industry, fundamental changes make the US more competitive. First, quality is returning at a lower cost. Second, much of our industries focus on products that need a high degree of skill to produce. Third, shipping costs have skyrocketed. Fourth, others can now afford to buy American. In fact, many booming third world economies are pushing for higher standards of living, thus America is becoming more competitive as wages rise around the world. Although we should show no ill will toward third world workers as they are often victims of unimaginable poverty and worker abuse, third world production methods can be quite problematic. True, they offer large quantities of products at cheaper prices while many are high quality products, but political instability or government corruption can lead manufactures to lose more than what they gain. With these factors in tow, the buy American campaign finally has the potential to makeup for the cost savings associated with outsourcing, especially in the face of an unstable energy market. Reducing US imports is a necessary step in ensuring America's economy can once again be successful. Sadly, we have become a nation of debtors versus producers. Meanwhile, our economy is two-thirds consumer spending and the median income is shrinking. Beyond our needs, America subsidizes the world's security, fights against human rights violations, and determines if the environment is saved. It is, therefore, in the interests of the entire world for America to strengthen our economy by reducing imports and buying American. |
|
