Thursday, September 6th, 2007

I find myself looking at many of the products I buy to see where they were made.  It's hard to find goods that are Made in America.  But now, more than ever, it's imperative that we start buying goods that we KNOW will exemplify quality. Goods that are made RIGHT HERE in the good 'ol U.S. of A. It's one way to show support of our nation.

Where once we dominated in manufacturing goods of all kinds, other countries have stepped in and produced only sub par quality products. Tainted products are coming out of China, and considering the major recalls by Mattel and the fact that dangerous toothpaste and pet food has made its way to America's shores from China, it's time to get a grip and take a close look at our shopping habits.

Why would companies want to take away American jobs and ship them to China and elsewhere? Is there no pride left in the American worker...no pride in America's ability to churn out quality every time?

Sadly, it's all for the money of course.  Companies will save a pretty penny if they employed cheap labor. But at the cost of what?  We have to look at our trade practices as well.  Americans are put at risk over tainted seafood and toothpaste and shoddy quality from cheap labor is tainting the honor of American companies.

But I think the honor of American companies was shot when these companies made the decision to let foreigners do the job Americans could surely do.  

In the name of "globalization" and greed, Americans have been sold out.  It seems that for some companies, the ingenuity and creativity of the American citizen doesn't account for anything anymore.  It's all about the money.

Considering the massive amounts of recalls affecting goods coming from China, the question remains...

are we as a country going to continue to trade with China on such a level as we are now until every area of the consumer market is affected by tainted products? And at some point, we need to be wiser consumers.

I would hope American companies who allow these products to affect the honor of their good name would be mindful of their fellow Americans and remember who it was in the past that made their companies great. The American worker puts love and hard work into producing goods. The lasting image of a company should be one that shows they exemplify quality...emphasis should NOT be placed on cheapness of goods.

Founders of some well-known established American companies would be alarmed if they knew what was happening today.  Because of what is happening, I wonder how long we are going to last as a world power.  We continue to let shoddy workmanship represent us and allow trade from countries who send us tainted products.

People have GOT to look carefully at the packaging labels on products and make a decision whether they want to buy quality or crap. If it's Made in China...well, fill in the blank.  You know what I'm going to say based on what is going on currently.

Simply put, goods made in the past and present by the American people have always stood the quality test. Outsourcing our jobs to other countries does us no good.

The power IS in the hands of the American public. Simply TRY to set your sights on buying goods made right here in America.  Support your local mom and pop stores.  You KNOW then, you are getting a quality product.

To the American companies who are allowing cheaper labor to do their work....consider relocating jobs back to America and regain some pride.  Your fellow Americans are suffering for it.

What choice will we make?  It's all in your hands America.