Monday, July 5, 2010

July Fourth, Independence Day...Is it time yet to go and buy American?

It would be appropriate for me to post something about our nation's Independence Day, which was yesterday, but it largely being celebrated by most American's today, a day off, July 5th.

I know that most if not all of the fireworks took place yesterday, as I even saw some.

However, too many of us simply have forgotten the actual story of our nation's independence,
and I think, that it has some meaning today, in our world.

When our forefathers decided that they wanted to be ruled by their own government, not one
thousands of miles away, but I think the main issue is that people want to feel as though they are involved in their government, but better put, in how their lives are lived out.

True, being ruled and subject to taxes that are taken to another place and not used to make
your home or area better, is surely one that is relevant today, with all of the issues of pork by our politicians, and just this past week, the oldest and longest member of our Senate, Senator Bird, was laid to rest, at age 91 I think. He was famous for bring the most pork to his home state of Virginia, or West Virginia. I think they used to congratulate him on bringing more money to his state than it paid, surely a good deal for them.

But as everyone knows, one person's good deal, is another's bad deal......and like our revolution for independence, it was a great deal for American and for all of us who came here for a better life. I am a first generation American, as my parents were immigrants, naturalized citizens who came to this country to escape the horrors of the Holocaust in Europe.

The parallel I draw today is that we need a different revolution today, an economic one. I say,
we should all go American, which is generic, until you look below the surface. Most of American
Business, and by business, I mean large multi national concerns, have taken their business of making things, buying ingredients and putting together products by moving this business to China and other offshore nations.

Nations like India, where 30-40% of all of the impoverished children live, or in China, where they put phone chemicals into products that are unsafe so that they can make a few more pennies. Shame on our Congress for selling out American Businesses. All of this talk of a global
economy is a snow job to maximize profits at the expense of the American Worker.

I know we all had a hand in this result, but my God, I am so sick and tired of hearing that it costs less there, as no one firm ever gave us a choice on the ingredients in pill, or in dog food--both of these are examples of Chinese manufacturers who were used by American firms to lower their cost of goods made---but no one asked me if I wanted to pay more for a better product.

Ask me, if most American's were educated about this, and were told that they can pay 5-10% more for an item made here, how come we do not get this chance? Why and how is this fair.

Likewise, how do we have laws that allow foreign firms to come over here, taken money out of
our economy, and send it back to places like England, Russia or China.

We compete in a service business and now we have all of these English firms, who claim to know
how to move furniture and fine arts better, since they come from Europe. I have heard that before, but why would Americans spend their money with firms who only want to take that money and not put it back into the American Communities they work in?

Is this not a parallel to the original story of this blog entry, that the forefathers of this nation fought to get fair taxation for the purpose of building up their own communities and nation.
This is no different now, we should strongly push to buy American, as everyone who is not in Congress and who is not a lobbyist knows that no one in Europe or India, or Russia or China
gives a damn about how many of our people are hurting. They are all jealous of what makes this nation great and for which, we are always the target. They all want what we have and if we let
the multi national firms continue to move Congress the way they have, these firms will have sold
us out for this quarter's profit numbers, and then they will claim someone else did it.

Lets all just buy American, and keep the business local and in doing this, we will have taken a step that will help us all in the long run. Don't let anyone tell you different, as we have to go back to the point where we support ourselves first in order to do any other good in the world. And we have to do this intelligently, and without those self serving firms who helped bring this about in the first place.

Happy Independence Day, not lets get back to work and right this ship.

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