The Made In America Initiative

Fact: The nature of our modern consumer economy is practically designed for chronic un/underemployment. The great population and prosperity booms in our nation's history were built on the back of manufacturing jobs which have been exported to Asia at an alarming rate since at least the 1980s. Today's jobs are fall into supply chain, retail, sales and "information" fields. These fields all have built in limitations that will ultimately stagnate growth since the majority of these jobs ultimately lead to money being sent overseas to our lost manufacturing sector.

Fact: "Buying American" is an effective way to keep your consumer dollars in the United States (at least temporarily).

Fact: It is difficult for an individual consumer to "Buy American"
Go to your typical big box store (Walmart, Target, Sears, etc.) and try to purchase only domestically made goods. Take a look around your home and use only those items made in the united states. Chances are you wouldn't be reading these words if you did.

Now the average consumer does not have the buying power to demand that companies return their manufacturing operations to the United States. The majority of people are so accustomed to relatively low-cost instant gratification that organizing a real movement to really Buy American is destined to failure. I have literally seen people walking out of Walmart wearing "Made in the USA" T-shirts with a cart full of China made electronics and Cambodia made clothing, people do not think about these things.

The government does not have the Authority to require American companies to keep manufacturing operations in the United States. The Government DOES, however, have the power of being one of the largest consumers in the world.

If the Federal Government were to announce that all purchasing contracts moving forward would be given exclusively to companies whose manufacturing operations were located within the United States, there would soon be a massive shift in the corporate world as makers of everything from computers to ball point pens would take action to establish domestic manufacturing operations. State and local governments should, of course, be encouraged to follow suit.

Unemployment goes down, tax revenue goes up. With an increased job pool available, Americans have more income. With families once again having a direct link with where goods come from, consumers take greater pride in buying domestically. We can start using our consumer culture to fuel our own real economy as well as the fictional economy of corporate bottom lines.

It needs to start with manufacturing. And it needs to start with creating demand. As long as the Federal Government is going to continue spending our money, we may as well demand that they spend it here.

Bravo!!! I could not agree more. So every one who reads this start locally, buy food at a farm stand, shop in your town keep your local economy going. Try not to buy online if you can find what your looking for in your own town, you might save your neighbors job and they could save yours. Consumers have the power to change even what the big box stores bring in.

reply to post by RobertAntonWeishaupt


It might be a good idea to find out who started this major trade with China, why, what those deals were and what can be done on the manufacturing side and on the trade agreement side to put more US workers in the place of automation where possible.

Secondly, we don't want to cripple China, they do have the right to compete, but their imports and the prices on those imports cannot monopolize the US markets, nor should ours. The world consumer, along side the US consumer, should continue to have the choice between product, quality, price and item life.

Third, something has to be done about the amount of trash generated by mass manufacturing in the way of the non bio-degradeable and hazardous materials used in the processes. With the world moving toward eco friendly living, it is important to reinforce the need for recycling, proper disposal and energy alternatives in major plants, not only across the US but the rest of the world.

Thanks for this thread.

reply to post by elucidate


Agreed, Elucidate. I kind of skimmed over the importance of individual purchasing since there is are plenty of threads to that effect already floating around. People should buy food locally and durable goods domestically (the more local the better, of course).

However, I think the real tipping point needs to be large entities taking on this initiative: governments, corporations, community organizations etc.

If just one of these newly minted Tea Party Republicans would bring something like this to the house floor, I migth actually begin to take them seriously.

reply to post by RobertAntonWeishaupt


Its a super idea but it would probably start a war. I mean, with a Walmart and Target on every street corner it is obvious that we are making China the financial super power that they are becoming.

We have no one to blame but ourselfs.

reply to post by Tnewguy

We have no one to blame but ourselves.

That is not entirely true. What comes by the mass is served to the masses. That automatically henders your choice as a consumer. We also have to keep in mind that trade and manufacturing aren't like they used to be. It's micro managed. For instance and just as a fictional example, if you bought a solar panel, the frame might be made in taiwan,frame metal from Britain, the cells in America and the diodes in China, conductive metals like copper or silver from a another foreign distributor, and likely manufactured in Germany. Mostly everything is like this now.

reply to post by RobertAntonWeishaupt

Nice post. I am right there with you on this. The question is, how can we as American make this kind of change happen? There seems to be a lot of red tape involved here that would mess with a free trade act of some sort. For example passing legislation that could force the stores to make American made products more visible in some way such as American flag stickers or possibly a whole isle dedicated to only American made products. We need a patriotic spending revolution here. I can see it now, picket lines in Washington D.C. chanting "Buy American, create more jobs" I love the idea but It seems the real problem is that even if we wanted to buy American, the products are non-existent on the shelves. Once we have the ability to choose to buy patriotically we might be able to find leverage for a new manufacturing boom at that point But how do we get the ball rolling? Do we work at the political level or at the business/commercial level? Back in November I decided to send an e-mail to the white house as a shot in the dark to see what kind of response I would get.I asked about passing legislation to make American products more visible in the ways I mentioned above. As I expected I received a very generic response that did not address the actual issue I was speaking of. So I realize that we cant start at the top. But I also realize that starting at the home town level would be too small to make the kind of difference we need here. Get your signs and shout it out folks "Buy American, Save our country".

reply to post by WhatKnot


You raise an excellent point about the how of this thing. Frankly, as much as I dislike the completely bogus Tea Party movement, I think this is a perfect initiative for some freshman legislator to put forward. I don't think it would ultimately conflict with fair trade laws as long as it is worded carefully. Besides, I'm not suggesting the government buy only from American companies. Only that the goods be manufactured in the U.S. This is not about the government forcing corporate behavior at the point of a gun. It's not about taxing them into compliance or bullying them through regulation. It is about leveraging the government's role as a consumer in the international marketplace.

Besides, I couldn't care less if the handful of executives who make money are based in Sweden, China, or Minnesota.

My concern is that purchases made with my tax dollars inject as much money as possible into a wide swath of average Americans. Something that is made, packaged, shipped, marketed and sold by American workers (even if their working for a bunch of Japanese executives) is going to be far more beneficial than something that is only handled on the tail end of the supply chain by American workers (even if the executives are American based).

reply to post by RobertAntonWeishaupt


Well, that said and I'm mostly in agreeance, accept that I don't think it would actually hurt to have a few more small, medium and major companies, even it takes origins of start-up to be purely American. What makes each countries contribution to the world profitable and indeed useful to the global consumer is the ability to say made in the US, made in China, made in Germany ect.. and the evaluation of those produced items. Im fine with each country having a brand, I just fear that we are losing ours. The ability to be recognized for your craftsmanship quality and fair cost is essential in business. Now if we are talking global competition and jobs for US people, then how can we not have an American product or products designed, prototyped, proven and then manufactured by our own people? At the very least for the American people? That's well within our rights both as buyers and sellers in not only the Us market but the global.

Originally posted by RobertAntonWeishaupt

The government does not have the Authority to require American companies to keep manufacturing operations in the United States.

Wrong. Commerce Clause, US Constitution.

The Government used it for centuries to tax imports because other countries currencies/economies were different than ours. How can American laborers compete with people in other countries who will work for a day for a cup of rice?

The reason our Government walked away from that and embraced "free trade" is because our water and soil became heavily polluted. So they decided to have everything made in China and pollute them.

Method of warfare. Sure we can't find jobs but it's war. Plus our rivers and land need a few years (centuries really) without Dioxins and Toxins to give them time to clean themselves out.

That's why it's a National Security policy right now to NOT make it in America or have jobs for us.

reply to post by Pervius

The reason our Government walked away from that and embraced "free trade" is because our water and soil became heavily polluted. So they decided to have everything made in China and pollute them. Method of warfare. Sure we can't find jobs but it's war. Plus our rivers and land need a few years (centuries really) without Dioxins and Toxins to give them time to clean themselves out.

You have got to be kidding me. If that was true then was China investing all of that American money they made from us into their military and research by design too? We are literally paying China to create missiles to sink our carriers, 5 gen fighters to be on par with ours? Putting our children in debt because we cant pay our own Social Security and Taxes? That was all by US Government design so Chinas land could be polluted? We created a mass distribution of wealth to break our own backs? That is the biggest load crap Ive ever heard. I'm sorry, but that claim is very far out there for me to believe.

reply to post by Nephalim


No foreign solar panels for U.S. military

The U.S. military is now required to buy only American-made solar panels, precluding Chinese products just before Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington.The appropriations bill signed Friday contains a "Buy American" clause for Pentagon purchases of solar panels, The New York Times reports.

Source

Gotta start somewhere.