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Think American
When You Shop for Flags and Christmas
This editorial will make some people feel uncomfortable. Hopefully it will cause many to think of aspects of modern life they never thought of before.
The September 11 attack on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon has been likened over and over to the attack on Pearl Harbor. There are similarities. Both attacks were totally unexpected shocks to most Americans. A renewed and conscious sense of patriotism, selflessness and appreciation of our country swelled across the land and, as today, flags began flying where they had never flown before.
The difference is, in the 1940s American flags were American manufactured.
In 2001 the American thirst to exhibit their country's flag is quenched by Chinese factories operating around the clock to meet the demand.
Pretty sad, isn't it, that the symbol of American freedom and hope is largely provided to us by a Communist country that persecutes and imprisons Christians, peace-loving Tibetans and advocates for free speech and other democratic reforms?
Remember when a visionary guy from Bentonville, Arkansas opened a nearly one-stop-shop called Wal-Mart? From that day on there was no stopping that shopper-friendly outfit that proudly proclaimed "Made in America" from every aisle. It wasn't long before small manufacturers in small towns across the country were making everything from flags, kitchenware, folding chairs and lawn furniture to tools and equipment to be sold at Wal-Mart to their fellow Americans. To many U.S. citizens, until September 11 Wal-Mart, not the Stars and Stripes, symbolized America.
That was then and this is now. The "made in America" claim dissolved in the mists of time and global trade, along with hundreds of small manufacturers and thousands of workers who had been dependent on Wal-Mart and other giants with huge buying power for their existence. In the textile industry alone 60,000 American makers of gloves, carpeting, rugs and other textiles were fired this year.
American shoppers shrugged and bought more, spending $48 billion at Wal-Mart in the first quarter of this year. Three million American manufacturing jobs have vanished in the last couple of years as the giants transferred their buying power to cheap labor countries where American law, labor and cultural standards are bypassed.
Our dependence on China for basic household and shop needs is growing by the month. According to an article in the June 7 Wall Street Journal, our orders of manufactured goods from China increased by $9 billion over the same period last year in the first two months of 2001 alone!
Our increase in machinery and transport equipment from China increased another $5 billion for that period.
In the roaring 1950s, half the output in the world was produced by Americans. In September, 2001 the Seattle Times reported that the U.S. has suffered $3 trillion in trade deficits since the early 1970s. And as industries downsized our corporate tax base was sabotaged, causing the loss of $12 trillion in national income, more than $5 trillion in lost tax revenue (much of it recovered by transferring the tax burden to individual taxpayers) and was the major cause of a $5 trillion increase in the national debt.
In three decades the U.S. went from being the world's largest creditor nation to becoming the world's largest debtor nation.
We have countless politicians and financial gurus telling us that we no longer need to "make" things. We are too rich and progressive. We are our brother's keeper and should help the developing world by allowing them to supply the production and manufacturing needs once filled by Americans. Well, I don't know what la-la world these "experts" live in, but I happen to know plenty of Americans who aren't rich... Americans who should be working in countless little factories making useful things instead of depending on food banks, welfare checks and Medicaid.
As you shop for Christmas, pay attention to where your item is made. Most likely it won't be made in America. Then take some extra steps in your mind. As you gloat over your inexpensive purchase, ask yourself... I wonder what happened to my well-paid countrymen with benefits who used to make this... Do they have a government job? Are they flipping hamburgers, working at a golf course or at Wal-Mart... collecting welfare and desperately trying to keep up with rising rent, utility and insurance costs?
Then politely tell the storekeeper you would like, if possible, to purchase something made in America. All to often it won't be possible.
A wise person once said a healthy economy, one sustainable for the long term, is like a three-legged stool. One leg is production, the ability to produce many raw materials for a civilization's daily needs. The second leg is technology and manufacturing, the ability to constantly improve and implement the methods of converting raw materials into what we need and want. The third leg is service, marketing and delivering the goods. Service, whether it is government, tourism, entertainment or sales, is dependent upon the ongoing support of the first two legs. They create the wealth, and services are the result of that wealth.
America is leaning far too heavily on the service limb these days. Why not take advantage of our current patriotic fervor and bring back some local factories?
We could start with a flag factory. In this climate of national crisis, some little community could win instant national recognition and approbation by turning itself into a center of flagmaking.
What a novel concept "American flags" MADE IN AMERICA.
Production + manufacturing + services =a strong community and a strong America.
As you shop this Christmas, remember those other heroes President Bush forgot to mention when he heaped praise upon our civil servants... those who invest their own money at home and produce goods and services, create jobs and support their communities of fellow Americans
Payson.cc © 2001 Carrol Cox
Payson Arizona Editorial and Opinions on National USA / World / and Local News Issues
