Made in America Movement Growing

Since 1979, 19.6 million manufacturing jobs have been lost to outsourcing. The amount of Americans now living below the poverty line is the highest in over 40 years. About 16% of Americans are impoverished, or about 47 million people.  As the number of people who rely on government assistance grows, and those people fall into the lowest tax bracket, the middle class and wealthy are relied on more heavily to help cover the large debt that America has accumulated.  The American landscape is much different today than before outsourcing.  Small business has disappeared and been replaced by mega-corporations that often have one business principle and one alone: massive profits.  And if poorly compensating employees and finding ways to avoid providing benefits helps add to the bottom line, then you can bet that big business is doing it.  The wealthy stock holders are getting wealthier, the poor employees are getting poorer.  In the last 5 years America has lost 6.9 million full time jobs while part time jobs increased by 3.1 million.

Companies like Wal-Mart have become an extreme detriment to American society.  Forget for a minute that they've made profiting at a small business nearly impossible, Wal-Mart is America's largest employer and it's least patriotic.  By the numbers it is clear that Wal-Mart leadership is Anti-American.  The average Wal-Mart employee is so poorly compensated that they require about $2,000 in government assistance for healthcare, foodstamps, and susbsidized housing.  They have a higher percentage of people on government assistance than any other American company.  Clearly Wal-Mart illustrates a total lack of social responsibility.

Not only does the Wal-Mart CEO make more in an hour than his average employee makes in a year, but try finding American products in a Wal-Mart.  I can not name a business that has contributed to sending American manufacturing jobs overseas more than the "high cost of low prices" business model advocated by the anti-American Wal-Mart Corporation.  Even the American flags at Wal-Mart are made in China. 

While companies like Wal-Mart destroy your way of life, Americans have been searching for answers.  A movement is gaining steam, one that is not unknown but has been forgotten for quite a few years.  The "Made in America movement" is slowly forcing business to rethink how it makes it's profit.  Albeit slowly, people all around this beautiful country realize that their collective purchasing power is strong, and we can make an impact simply by diverting some of our purchases of foreign products to American products.  Why buy Chinese clothing when we can buy American clothing?  Why buy foreign import beer when craft breweries here at home will pay taxes here at home?  Why buy foreign TV's when Element Electronics makes TV's here in the United States?  The list goes on and on.

At a time when the American economy needs a boost more than ever before, many incredible American citizens are spending more money on made in America products.  This movement is growing!  Alex Smith and Aaron Lorell are part of the movement.  They are currently on a cross country journey in a firetruck to advertise the need to buy American.  They call it the "Made in America" tour.  AS they travel the country they are advocating for business to make it easier for us to buy American by creating "Patriot Zones" or aisles that sell nothing but products that are made in America. 

I don't think any of us expect the anti-American Wal-Mart to add a "Patriot Zone" but maybe you can play a role in encouraging small businesses near you to help segregate the items made in America.  Tell your local business owners that you want them to purchase more products made in America.  Sign my petition to ask Amazon to make a "Made in USA" search option.

Save the American economy, buy American!