This diary (or post, as it were) is an extension, more or less, to a comment I made about where to find USA-made goods in Delawareliberal's diary about Steve Jobs' emphasis on appealing to emotion rather than reason and facts, and how it works often in favor of Republicans at the voting booth.
Though tangential to Delawareliberal's excellent diary the subject may be, I made the comment in response to another Kossack's request for a list of USA-made goods, as they are understandably difficult to find in big-box stores, but not so much online. In fact, USA-made goods, I'm finding, are everywhere, and in my experience, it's easier than ever to find them via the magic of the Internets.
Until recently, "Buying American" had often seemed, to me, to be the province of only right-wingers not wanting to buy "foreign-made" goods out of a xenophobic or even racist aversion to seeing MADE IN CHINA labels stamped prominently on or in almost everything you find at Target, Wal-Mart, or even "liberal" Costco these days. How very wrong I was. There is very much a liberal case to be made for buying American-made goods--in fact, it is very important that, from an economic, environmental, and human-rights perspective, we do so as much as we can.
More at the jump.
I will state upfront that, in the past, I have fallen prey to the allure of cheap goods from Target, TJ Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, and other retailers who sell discounted merchandise made in other countries with near-slave labor. I've also long believed the myth that foreign-made cars must be "better-quality" than their American-made counterparts, and have long driven Hondas and Subarus as an alternative.
However, after reading Todd Lipscomb's Re-Made in the USA, it couldn't be clearer to me as an American--and as a labor/union-supporting liberal--why buying American-made products from the most menial to the most costly better supports our economy, our labor force, our unions, our middle- and working classes, and the environment.
Lipscomb's book, as well as the testimony of other outspoken labor supporters as Ed Schultz and Thom Hartmann, has me convinced; I'm a believer. From a purely economic standpoint alone, buying goods made in our borders, with our struggling workforce, simply makes more sense than funnelling money to giant corporations who think nothing of taking a sledgehammer to unions (via their bought-and-paid-for Republican, and some "Democratic," shills in our state and federal legislatures) and shipping jobs overseas to workers in Third World countries who make next-to-nothing for their labor, and who get treated horribly and work in atrocious conditions as well.
Todd Lipscomb is a small business owner who puts it plainly in his book why buying American-manufactured goods helps build our economy, fund our government via an increased tax base (because more Americans are hired to manufacture these goods, and so have jobs to pay taxes), and contribute more to environmental and human-rights concerns. On his Made in USA Forever merchant site, Lipscomb lists the top ten reasons for buying American--he puts it more succinctly than I can (but I've bolded some of his points for emphasis below):
10) Foreign labor standards allow unsafe worker conditions in many countries. When you buy American you support not only American manufacturers but also American workers, safe working conditions, and child labor laws.
9) Jobs shipped abroad almost never return. When you buy goods made in the USA, you help keep the American economy growing.
8) US manufacturing processes are much cleaner for the environment than many other countries; many brands sold here are produced in countries using dangerous, heavily polluting processes. When you purchase American-made product, you know that you're helping to keep the world a little cleaner for your children.
7) Many countries have no minimum wage restrictions, or the minimum wage is outrageously low. When you choose products made in the USA, you contribute to the payment of an honest day's wages for an honest day's work.
6) The growing lack of USA ability to manufacture many products is strategically unsound. When you seek out American-made goods, you foster American independence.
5) The huge US trade deficit leads to massive, unsustainable borrowing from other countries. Debt isn't good for you and it isn't good for America.
4) Foreign product safety standards are low. For example, poisonous levels of lead are in tens of millions of toys shipped to the USA. When you buy toys and other goods made in the USA, you can be confident that American consumer protection laws and safety standards are in place to protect your family.
3) Lack of minimum wage, worker safety, or environmental pollution controls in many countries undermines the concept of "fair and free trade". No Western nation can ultimately compete on price with a country willing to massively exploit and pollute its own people. When you buy only American-made products, you insist on a higher standard.
2) Factories and money are shifting to countries not friendly to the USA or democracy. When you avoid imported goods in favor of American-made items, you help ensure that the United States doesn't find its access to vital goods impacted by political conflict.
1) As the US manufacturing ability fades, future generations of US citizens will be unable to find relevant jobs. Buy American and help keep your friends and neighbors-and even yourself-earning a living wage.
Buying American-made goods, I might add, is also a practical and tangible activist solution that makes a difference for a meaningful change in how our economy works for us. It goes without saying that corporate greed responds most to the dollar bill and how we use it. The more we, as consumers, demand goods that are made in our country, with our hands and our workforce, the less corporations will be likely to send our jobs, our resources, and our business overseas when they see they aren't turning a profit from trying to sell us cheap goods made from next-to-slave labor. Corporations will notice--and so will their politicians.
Switching my family's and my own buying habits as much as possible to USA-only goods has been an adjustment; I won't lie. As a typical instant-gratification American, I find it a lot easier to hop in my car, drive two miles up the street to the Super Target, and buy what I want or need instantly at a discount price, rather than pay a somewhat higher price online for a USA-made product and wait for several days to several weeks for said product to arrive on our doorstep. However, the quality and durability I get in return, as well as the positive feelings of knowing I made even a small impact on our economy, is well worth the extra effort.
I get that a lot of people are hurting in our economy now and may not have the money to invest in the shipping costs and slight increase in price of durable USA-made goods. My husband and I ourselves are not wealthy or even "affluent" people, and there are some items we simply can't afford to "buy American." It's times like these that I look on Craigslist or in resale shops like Goodwill or local thrift shops to buy pre-owned items. Lipscomb even mentions this suggestion in his book, that it's better to keep the money flowing between American buyers and sellers in the long run. When I'm looking to watch every penny when money gets tight, there's no shame in my game--I'll go to the Goodwill to buy some quality goods that one of my neighbors might have given away. In fact, I'm wearing a shirt I got at Goodwill not too long ago.
Also, don't forget that, although not all American manufacturers are union-based, I can guarantee that all union-based manufacturers in our country are American. What better way to help our union brothers and sisters fighting on the frontlines in Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and other states than to support their workers and buy what they make?
Buying American might be kind of an addiction for me, now. I look for reasons to buy a US-made product, whether it is for a birthday gift for a family member or a get-well gift for a co-worker who just had surgery. I figure that, if I can help spread the word about the importance of buying American, it's more effective to demonstrate the example of good-quality, American-made via a gift to someone who might have thought there was nothing left that we made anymore. But there is--plenty, in fact.
Check out my brief list of USA-made sellers. As I said in the comment, this list is definitely a brief list, for starters. Google "usa made" or "made in the usa", and you'll be amazed at everything, small and large, utilitarian and fancy, you can find online that is made right here in the States.
Being liberal, I feel, is all about helping to lift people up from their struggles. What an effective way to really help our fellow Americans by supporting their labor, industry, creativity, and entrepreneurialship through our support of what they make, with their own hands.