Hey DU, Buy American

[Fading Captain]

I'm not talking about waving the flag and singing Toby Keith songs.
I am talking about getting the economy up and running. Reduce your spending. Buy what you need. But when you do spend, Buy American-made products.

It's hard to believe, sometimes. But we're all united. We're united by our vote. We're united by our agreement to pay taxes for services, such as schools, fire, roads, defense, human services and more. We need to open our eyes and start spending our money in a way that recognizes that we need each other. We need to keep each other working. We need to keep Americans in their jobs. In their homes. We need property values to stabilize. We need tax bases to stabilize, so that we can continue to fund schools and keep teachers in the classrooms. We need to be able to fund social services.

We also can't have national environmental laws if we're just going to buy products from countries that don't have laws, don't enforce laws, and don't care about the environment.

We can't do this if we keep spending our scarce resources on foreign products.

Wake up, America. Wake up DU. Because I know plenty of you LOVE your foriegn cars. I know people like their foreign wines. Their foreign shoes. Etc.

But at the end of the day, if you don't pay extra to buy American, you're gonna pay with higher taxes, crappier schools, more people thrown off social services and, in general, an uglier, angrier, and more divided country.

[vadawg]

1. like most people, i will buy what is best for my family, whether its american made

or made from the souls of penguins raised in patagonia, im in a lot better shape than most financially but im not going to risk funds so you can feel good. sorry.

[Fading Captain]

5. Risk funds so I can feel good?

If you don't wake up and realize that the American economy is getting wiped out, you're going to be risking more than funds.

[sjdnb]

7. I hope you just forgot to include the dripping in sarcasm smilies

Otherwise, you're either just a troll or starving for any attention you can get.

[vadawg]

8. yeah right because only trolls would put their families finances first

im sorry but when i bought my new vehicle i went with what i wanted and would do what i wanted, not the lable on the vehicle, if im spending my money then i spend it on what i want not what you think i should spend it on.

[sjdnb]

10. You're the one who said, and I quote, that you were in ....

"a lot better shape than most financially" ... so a few dollars more to buy American will wipe you out or leave your family destitute?

Either, you're not in as good of shape as you state you are in or you're just blowing smoke to get attention.

There are great American products available at very reasonable prices - clothes, cars, household products, office products, renewable energy, furniture, art, food, etc. It's only those stuck in the bad old days of the 70's and part of the 80's who refuse to acknowledge it.

[vadawg]

12. as i said its my money and ill buy what is best for my family

why buy american, why not canadian, or mexican, or why not simply from my state, or county, as i said i bought the vcehicle i wanted regardless of were it was made, its about what is best for my needs not what you think i should spend my money on.

[sjdnb]

15. Now you're just babbling

No one cares what car you bought, it was your automatic dismissal of considering buying American that caught my attention - especially, considering your statement indicating you were 'better off' than most.

Now, I believe, you just want to argue or garner attention - not intelligently discuss the merits of American products/buying American. And, that is just a waste of everyone's time.

[vadawg]

17. lol, okay you win, i said im not going to buy american because im told to

i bought toyota because i like their vehicles, always have, finally you do have the ignore function for the use of. enjoy

[Fading Captain]

11. Me. What I want. Me. Me. Me.

Me. Me. Me.

[PBS Poll-435]

2. I LOVE my Toyota built in California by Union workers

:-)

[Betsy Ross]

3. K&R

There is a lot to be said about working on our own economy. Buy less, buy American.

[flvegan]

4. I do LOVE my foreign car. It's a Mazda, built completely in Japan.

However, I bought it barely used. Any profit went to the local American dealership from which I bought it, and the commission went to the local American salesman that was unfortunate enough to take the test drive with me. I'm spending the money I didn't lose in depreciation locally on goods and services.

Yeah, I could have paid extra to buy something American that almost sort of kind of yet failed to compare with what I bought, but I'd rather live with the reality of economics.

Not so cut and dried, but I do see your point and it is valid in many ways, but not every way.

[EndersDame]

6. I bought my used Mazda at an American used car dealership

Do I get off the hook? I can't afford or find alot of Cool American apparel (no i don't like the uber trendy shit from a store with the same phrase even if I did it is beyond my budget) so I shop at Goodwill so I don't support sweatshops. I do understand that we are all in this together it is just sad that it is hard to find American products
When I do buy beer however I go for an American Micros(we all have to have spending priorities. ) The local grocery store has been having Full Sail IPA on sale and it is Employee Owned!

[Fading Captain]

9. That's up for you to decide

Personally, I've made a major shift in my spending. I'm cutting back on a lot of the rubbish I once bought. My groceries, when possible, are produced here in Michigan. My car was built in Wayne, Michigan.
I'm looking real hard for American-made sneakers, but they're getting harder and harder to find.

[EndersDame]

16. Goodwill! Your $$ will go to job training!

My grocery store HEB is a Texas and now Mexico thing. They make it a priority to sell Texan goods. The grocery shopping is the easiest for me

[LeftyMom]

22. New Balance makes sneakers in the US.

Some models are imported but the domestic ones are clearly labeled. I've never had any problem finding them locally but if you have to order online they're much more predictable and less variable in size from style to style than other brands, and come in all sorts of extra-wide to extra-narrow sizes if you need them.

[noamnety]

13. I value local, green and fair trade/wages over "american"

I don't see it as Us vs. Them so much, because the truth is people in those other countries are also hurting economically as bad as we are, or worse, often as a result of our policies.

[vadawg]

14. jeez im going to hate to do this, but i agree with you

i know hell just froze over but i see no difference in giving money to michigan for an auto than to japan, as for food i buy local or grow it myself,

[noamnety]

35. I hate when that happens.

Twice recently I found myself agreeing with a poster I always disagree with. Feels like the universe has come slightly undone. :D

[vadawg]

38. lol it just means that even stepping in dog poop once or twice isnt that bad

im sure you will recover :)

[sjdnb]

18. Green and local is great

I grow organic produce and sell in small quantities at our local market and to area neighbors. I buy from Etsy and other marketplaces like that (when I buy new, I buy a lot at resellers, too).

I keep expanding my garden every year to meet demand. I don't even know if I break even, but, then again, I give a lot away. Many of my neighbors are elderly who used to garden and love getting fresh produce. But, for many of us, on DU, local is a city within a state within the USA within the world. It's not as much locale, as it is principle. And, there are many great producers of small to large scale products and services in the USA that, I for one, feel have been slighted for far too long.

Child/Slave/Unfair labor practices are what cause many of the everyday products people buy to be so inexpensive. That is not right for American workers NOR is it right for any workers in the world. From diamond mines to sewing sweat shops .... do you really want to support that type of greed/inhumanity?

[noamnety]

21. If you look at my subject line

you can see I included fair trade/wages right up front. So I'm a little shocked to see someone implying now that I support sweat shops and inhumanity - I think you should edit that out of your post because it's unfounded and uncalled for.

For some of us, we can buy things grown or produced in another country that is a short hop from where we live (Canada, eh?) and it ends up being far more local and environmentally friendly than getting something shipped from clear on the other side of the country.

That said, I'm doing the organic gardening thing as well, almost entirely with heirloom seeds and heirloom fruit trees, and I give away the excess (extra seedlings to thin went out as a post in the free section of craigslist, I spent a couple days tied to the yard as strangers came by and left with starts for their gardens).

[sjdnb]

43. It was not directed at you ... sorry if you thought it was

it was just a general comment on the thread

[Fading Captain]

19. It's not us vs them. It's us

We are part of the national economy.
I help pay for your roads. And vice versa.
We have a social contract. And we need to start bolstering that contract with smart spending.

[noamnety]

26. Eh.

Given that you are a total stranger to me, I don't feel any sort of social contract with you above what I'd feel with any other individual, regardless of what country they are from.

There's a basic social contract to treat everyone with respect and try to meet their needs where we can and do no harm, fight for human rights and all, but that exists regardless of what country you reside in. I don't see that as I-scratch-your-back, you-scratch-mine, we-have-to-look-out-for-other-Americans-first-and-foremost. That stuff gets a little too Lou Dobbsish for my taste.

[dysfunctional press]

20. i don't buy too many weapons systems or machine tools...

remind me- what else is there that we still make here...?

[spoony]

23. Wow, just feeling all this liberal love for labour.

So many phonies. I guess it's to be expected online.

[dysfunctional press]

30. it's not labour that makes the decisions about what products are made in this country...

if it were, i'm sure that a WHOLE LOT of consumer goods would still be made here. that aren't currently.

[question everything]

24. As I read a washing label on a T-shirt

I noticed that it said: made in LA.

Certainly a change from the usual Paraguay or the Philippines or China.

[LeftyMom]

47. American Apparel?

The owner has a habit of sexually abusing the employees and union-busting, among other unsavory habits, if it's one of theirs. Which is part of why I tried to make the point upthread that there's more to buying ethically than buying domestic.

[Iggo]

25. Hey, America: Make superior products...

...so we can buy American.

[spoony]

29. We do, you just have to be willing to leave Walmart to find them.

:hi:

[dysfunctional press]

33. where can i get some american made home electronics..?

to power my american made vintage Ohm speakers?
info on an american made flat screen tv would be great too.

thanks.

[spoony]

37. Sure thing

Syntax-Brillian's Olevia LCD televisions are designed in Tempe and built in Ontario, California. I'm not a speaker guy, don't know anything about them.

Edit: Apparently Syntax-Brillian went belly up. Don't know the current status of where Olevia products are from.
Edit edit: This site might help you with audio stuff: http://www.madeinusa.org/nav.cgi?data/elec but I have no experience with their linked businesses.

[Iggo]

36. I said superior, not cheap.

WalMart sells crap.

[vadawg]

31. do what i do, go to the amish and mennonites

these dudes make the best furniture and the markets are top notch as well, though im not sure some would class that as even buying american

[LeftyMom]

27. I do when I can.

I'm in the market for a new-to-me car and unfortunately I haven't found a recent domestic model that will adequately replace the one I had (I need a midsize wagon- I had a Saturn SW1 but Saturn discontinued their wagon in '03) so I'll probably be buying an import due to lack of acceptable options. :( But for the very few things I buy new (shoes, food, some clothes) I'm pretty careful to buy ethically produced domestic goods whenever possible and ethically produced imports for things that have to be imported (occasional exotic foods, etc.)

[EndersDame]

34. Same here -I buy used but when I buy new -I try to buy American

And when I eat out it is at a non chain

[Oregone]

28. Because the burden of stimulating the economy rests on the people's shoulders

All things aside, well, I don't know what to say. :)

[saltpoint]

32. In a way, though, 'Buy American' is a kind of market-place nationalism.

I'm seeing huge flags over Chevy dealerships.

Also I'm seeing Planned Obsolescence.

[seabeckind]

39. GM closed because they broke Ford's rule

Old Henry said he wanted to make a car his employee could buy. GM first started closing their parts plants, one near me in Anderson IN. They had to "compete" with other plants that GM built in Mexico. Course the new ones in Mexico had all the new machining so it really wasn't a competition. Didn't matter, it was a lie and a justification. Not many folks could afford a new GM car in Anderson after that.

Then GM started making major components in other third world plants where they didn't have to mess with those pesky unions or the EPA. Then went the assembly plants. Pretty soon there weren't many folks anywhere near those old plants that could afford GM cars.

Quality -- nonsense. Datsun had to change their name cause of quality branding. They might say it was different...but those things were rusting thru the hood. But they were cheap -- at least compared to our cars. Yeah, we had quality problems too, but they were caused by companies not investing in their own factories and people. Cheaper, you know. And it's only the bottom line for the stocholders that matters.

Now add to this the raygun years and the yuppy snobs who said you weren't worth nothin if you didn't have a mcmansion with a beemer in the driveway.

And now everything I see everywhere is made in china... hel, Lowes and Home Depot own factories there.

And that business about being cheaper is bulls--t. The retail cost is real close to what it would be for you if it were made here. But that company makes an extra few cents for their $110 million dollar a year CEO. And another person in the US doesn't have a job -- not even a minimum wage one.

I will never fly an american flag over my house that doesn't say Made in America. I don't care how cheap it is. My uncles bled and died for it. My grandfather organized unions to get workers' rights and dignity. American workers.

F--k that chinese plastic s--t. The only way to get me into a Walmart is unconscious.

Sorry about the rant -- past my bedtime.

[notesdev]

40. Slight flaw in the plan

What American-made products?

We make products? Who knew? Isn't that what China and Indonesia are for?

Americans aren't supposed to have to actually make stuff - our role is to consume, only.

[seabeckind]

41. And an addendum.

Couple weeks ago on vacation I rented an Avalon. Very nice -- that thing had gadgets for its gadgets -- GPS system and such. Really felt nice.

I'd take my old 5.0 Mustang convertible over it any day. My stick shift is real. And that old thing will still lay a nice strip of rubber going into second. It's got the union sticker on it.

And I can still read a 50 cent map.

[spoony]

42. Great posts!

And much love for anyone who appreciates a 'Stang :)

[seabeckind]

44. Thanks...

Now I can't sleep. This business has me all riled up, sorry.

Brought my pony home not quite 15 years ago. My 3rd. First was a 289. This one's got 66k miles on it and I can count the drivers on one hand -- and we all have the same last name.

Heart bypass present to myself. Only mistake was not getting the snake sitting next to it in the showroom. Last 5.0 -- nothing like that small block. Turns the boys green when I go past the high school -- especially when I back off the pipes. Can't imagine what they'd do if it was the old Boss.

Grandkid's 6. It's his in 10 years. DIL says he'll want a civic. Riiiggght.

Thanks again for listening...

[LostInAnomie]

45. How are we honestly supposed to know what's "Made in America" anymore?

Thanks to our friends in congress, it's now possible for 75% of a product to be made outside of the country and still wear the "Made in America" label.

[cornermouse]

46. You can't always find American made.

I do try to buy American when it comes to food. China appears to be determined to poison us. But it hasn't escaped my notice that they're moving toward things like manufactured by "-----" without listing country or origin. And my car? American companies were not offering hybrids and even now, the hybrids they have begun to offer don't have the MPGs that Toyota and Honda have and the cars that are "American made" are basically assembled from foreign parts in America. That's not my idea of American made.

[Sirveri]

48. I got on a buy American kick once.

That kick ended once I found I couldn't buy any underwear at the stores. I found ONE pair of jeans made in America. No socks. I'm pretty sure some or most of the food I buy is American. Other than food and fuel I don't buy all that much. Maybe if we had a list of retailers who actually still made things in America it would be better. This whole service driven economy thing is a joke.