25 years ago, Sam Walton launched a new campaign – the “Buy American” campaign to help keep American jobs in America.
As part of the campaign, Walton said: “We cannot continue to be a solvent nation as long as we pursue this current accelerating direction. Our company is firmly committed to the philosophy by buying everything possible from suppliers who manufacture their products in the United States.”
I can still remember seeing the signs displayed in the local Wal-Mart stores promoting how many jobs had be saved by Buying American and the running total that stood in the front of the store tauting the program’s total impact.
As our gov’t leaders (Gov. Nixon and President Obama included) talk about the economic woes we face and work to create jobs and reduce unemployment, I’d encourage them to take another look at the plan Mr. Sam had 25 years ago. It seems like a good place to start.
I must be mistaken because I thought you, Richard, got a lot of your business from imported Chinese products....
ReplyDeleteI, too, would like to see a return to American manufacturing....shirt factories, carpet factories, appliances manufacturing, electronic manufacturing, dishware, sporting equipment, shoes, etc.
there will have to be many changes to ever see this work return to American soil and put in the hands of American workers.
You are not mistaken. I do purchase goods from China that I then repackage and warehouse in the US. The business does create/maintain jobs, but not as many as it could. At least today, there is no desire to purchase those goods domestically (at a higher price) and therefore, I make the best of a less-than-perfect situation.
ReplyDeleteWhat I haven't done is purposely take goods I make in Neosho to China to save money. We work hard to stay competitive and keep those jobs here. But if you look around your home, you'll find fewer and fewer goods that have the 'Made in the USA' stamp on them.
Countries around the world will always import and export goods. Trade has been around as long as there was a way to get it from point A to point B, but a country cannot survive without a stable domestic manufacturing base.