Comments on: Want to Buy American? http://www.lunacanus.com/2009/11/want-to-buy-american/ World views from a small town. Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:45:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: grantnershttp://www.lunacanus.com/2009/11/want-to-buy-american/#comment-72 grantners Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:44:54 +0000 http://www.lunacanus.com/?p=3267#comment-72 My wife, who is often known for her requirement of "nice things" has through her experience of unemployment gained a new concern of this problem and has made some wise choices during this holiday season. For one, when she shops at our local Ralphs, she refuses to use their new "self-check out" thing where one uses a computer to tally up their bill. I've seen her get in extremely long lines while the self-check out was empty. In her authentic Irish accent, she proudly exclaims that there should be people working where those f---ing computers are. The other thing she's done was refuse to buy our daughter Christmas toys at Wal-mart (even though we're pretty damned broke!) She's been looking at the buy American options more and more. Although some toys were bought at Toys R Us-we're focusing on not contributing to the pattern of buying cheap, imported items. Not only are cheap, imported toys often dangerous for small children, but for each stuffed animal or fire engine that's bought at Wal-mart (AND Target, JC Penney, Toys R Us, pretty much everywhere!), a job is lost here in the US. The cycle has to be broken: Average house holds with children are barely making ends meet, so parents go to these "super" stores to load up on cheap toys so their kids aren't disapointed come Christmas morning. The manufacturers know and exploit this rule: keep the American masses broke enough so they'll have to buy at Wal-mart, etc. Hasn't anyone ever heard of Gerald Ford? On the other side of the world, meanwhile, children as young as our six year old daughter work for eighteen hours a day in sweatshop factories making toy "Elmo's:, clothes, and just about everything America buys. They have no schooling. No electricity, running water, or heat. For them, December 25th is just another day on the factory floor, just so American children can experience the tradition of Christmas morning in front of their parents, who smile at them while worrying about the credit cards they just maxxed out. The truth is-to buy American is to spend a some more money than on an import. That might mean one pair of jeans instead of two. It might mean fewer toys for the kids. It might mean a lot of things, but if it also means an increase in domestic employment and the end of the cycle of sweatshop labor, then I think the one pair of jeans, and the one toy Elmo instead of two is just fine. My wife, who is often known for her requirement of "nice things" has through her experience of unemployment gained a new concern of this problem and has made some wise choices during this holiday season. For one, when she shops at our local Ralphs, she refuses to use their new "self-check out" thing where one uses a computer to tally up their bill. I've seen her get in extremely long lines while the self-check out was empty. In her authentic Irish accent, she proudly exclaims that there should be people working where those f—ing computers are. The other thing she's done was refuse to buy our daughter Christmas toys at Wal-mart (even though we're pretty damned broke!) She's been looking at the buy American options more and more. Although some toys were bought at Toys R Us-we're focusing on not contributing to the pattern of buying cheap, imported items.

Not only are cheap, imported toys often dangerous for small children, but for each stuffed animal or fire engine that's bought at Wal-mart (AND Target, JC Penney, Toys R Us, pretty much everywhere!), a job is lost here in the US. The cycle has to be broken: Average house holds with children are barely making ends meet, so parents go to these "super" stores to load up on cheap toys so their kids aren't disapointed come Christmas morning. The manufacturers know and exploit this rule: keep the American masses broke enough so they'll have to buy at Wal-mart, etc. Hasn't anyone ever heard of Gerald Ford? On the other side of the world, meanwhile, children as young as our six year old daughter work for eighteen hours a day in sweatshop factories making toy "Elmo's:, clothes, and just about everything America buys. They have no schooling. No electricity, running water, or heat. For them, December 25th is just another day on the factory floor, just so American children can experience the tradition of Christmas morning in front of their parents, who smile at them while worrying about the credit cards they just maxxed out.

The truth is-to buy American is to spend a some more money than on an import. That might mean one pair of jeans instead of two. It might mean fewer toys for the kids. It might mean a lot of things, but if it also means an increase in domestic employment and the end of the cycle of sweatshop labor, then I think the one pair of jeans, and the one toy Elmo instead of two is just fine.

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