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Spartan
December 9th, 2009, 9:07 PM
I received this e-mail today. It makes good sense to me.

This article will make you think before you make a purchase.

"A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would . With that thought in mind, read the following... obviously written by a good American.

(I think this lady's on the right track)

Check this out. I was in Lowes the other day, and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China. The next day I was in Ace Hardware, and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Got me thinking. Start looking.

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy, or do, affects someone else - maybe even their job. My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I just noticed that it is marked 'made in Mexico ' now. I choose not to buy it any more.

My favorite toothpaste, Colgate, is also 'made in Mexico ' now. I've switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

This past weekend I was at Kroger. (Can be true for any store.) I needed 60W light bulbs, and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy, was an off brand labeled, "Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same, except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand... but the thing that surprised me the most, was the fact that GE was 'made in MEXICO' and the Everyday Value brand was 'made in (you got it) the USA', in a company in Cleveland, Ohio..

So throw out the myth that you cannot find the products you use every day... made right here!

On I went to another aisle. Those Bounce Dryer Sheets I needed - yep, you guessed it! Bounce cost more money - and - it's made in Canada. The Everyday Value brand was less money - and - 'MADE IN THE USA'! Bye-bye Bounce! I did laundry yesterday, and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I've been using for years... and at almost half the price!

My challenge to you is this. Start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things, and see what you can find that is made in the USA . The job you save may be your own, or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book, so we can all start buying American... one light bulb at a time!

Stop buying from overseas companies and other countries!

We should have awakened a decade ago. Longer than that, over 30 years ago it was already happening.

Let's get with the program and help our fellow Americans keep their jobs, and create even more jobs, right here in the U. S. A."

JoAnn Purser
December 10th, 2009, 8:27 AM
I will do that this weekend shopping.

Thanks for the reminder.

joehenry
December 12th, 2009, 10:55 AM
TWO THUMBS UP!!!
This is a mental programming change for everyone, we all loves a bargain but at what price? There are short and long term considerations . . . if we all start thinking and ACTING long term (much of the rest of the world does think long term), oh what a better place we will live in (home, city, county, state, country and world). for those that dont think one person's decision (or purchases) matters, go ahead and cheat, you'll be following along with human nature but know you are contributing to a losing strategy.

beaver
December 12th, 2009, 12:02 PM
Let's go one step further and buy only products made in Texas. Keep all of our money in state. Better yet, buy only products made in Bell County and keep the money even closer to home. Support Central Texas' manufacturers!

Spartan
December 13th, 2009, 2:24 PM
Let's go one step further and buy only products made in Texas. Keep all of our money in state. Better yet, buy only products made in Bell County and keep the money even closer to home. Support Central Texas' manufacturers!

Other than Wilsonart, who are the Central Texas' manufacturers?

beaver
December 13th, 2009, 7:36 PM
Other than Wilsonart, who are the Central Texas' manufacturers? SNickers bars are made in Central Texas.(Waco)

Spartan
December 13th, 2009, 9:17 PM
SNickers bars are made in Central Texas.(Waco)

The only candy bar that I and my spouse eat. Glad to hear that it's Texan.

beaver
December 17th, 2009, 9:07 PM
The only candy bar that I and my spouse eat. Glad to hear that it's Texan.Do you drink beer?
Coors Brewing Co.= Canadian
Budweiser=Belgian
Miller=British
Shaefer, Schlitz, Pabst, Rolling Rock=ALL foreign-owned

CenTexDave
December 18th, 2009, 4:42 AM
True, but at least they're still brewed in the USA.

Spartan
December 19th, 2009, 10:39 AM
Sheiner! Texas

Msradar
December 19th, 2009, 10:32 PM
Don't buy a dell...They are built overseas now. Laptops come from Malaysia. Desktops, some models come from Mexico or in Asia somewhere

FieryPrincess
December 20th, 2009, 9:46 PM
So we should all start to live on Snickers and Dr Pepper.

Good to know! I could live with that until they had to roll me away.

Spartan
December 21st, 2009, 11:05 AM
But you'll have a smile on your face.

CenTexDave
December 21st, 2009, 2:48 PM
Just a quick note. I've seen the email that Spartan posted a while ago.
Yesterday went shopping and needed toothpaste. I checked Colgate. It is made in the USA.

MikePearce
January 7th, 2010, 10:35 AM
Do you want to know who would hate this whole "Buy American" craze?

ADAM SMITH, the father of capitalism.

The whole concept of capitalism is that we do NOT embrace a nativist approach to trade; that we beat the competition either in quality or price, whether competition is domestic or foreign. But certain factors have made that impossible for many companies. I am actually somewhat sympathetic to companies that feel that they HAVE to move in order to make a profit. There is so much government regulation and union crap in place that running a business is more of a headache than it is worth! I do not think that they move because they want to betray America... but because they have been betrayed by an America that no longer embraces a free market.

Just food for thought... I know I'm going to upset a lot of folks. Watch yesterday's Glenn Beck show- he sort of covers this, though he focuses on the green jobs debate.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=317Yvp80MiI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=317Yvp80MiI

Mestral
January 9th, 2010, 8:49 AM
Not interested in the "green jobs" debate, but am interested in the larger issue of buying American vs the pure capitalism idea of buying the lowest price. Since the scales are rigged in favor of the foreign producers, I am willing to shell out a little more (within reason) for the U.S. made products. And always have.

MikePearce
January 9th, 2010, 2:33 PM
I am for Free Trade... but you are correct, we do NOT have it. We can call trade with Mexico and other countries"free", but as long as those countries are not on a level playing field with us (in terms of regulations, unions, etc), it is NOT free. My hope is that when ordinary Americans buy "the best deal" rather than the "American deal" no matter what its price or quality, then Washington will wake up. Although I pointed out that Adam Smith would have hated the "buy American" principle, he would have also hated what the government has done to business in the US. They have destroyed the "free" market he theorized about.

I think there are some things you and I might agree on in principle. Ultimately, the reason people do not "buy American" is because of government intrusion into the market through regulation (EPA, OSHA, etc.), corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, creating laws that require businesses to bow to union demands, etc. It's not that we do not make great products or do not have the potential to make better products... but entrepreneurism and innovation is sqaushed by government. To me, "buying American" purely for the sake of it, rewards the government and tells them "pile on all you want and keep causing prices to skyrocket... we'll still keep buying no matter what you do." Well, I want businesses to stay in the US, and that was the point of my putting up the Beck video. It shows WHY American companies struggle.