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Once we were done giving thanks for all that we had and the feeding frenzy came to a close, our families across America parted, drove home and got much needed sleep. Well, most of them did.
People actually camped out last night in front of big box stores and malls for the annual midnight opening of their Black Friday sales bonanza. Walmart, the most egregious of foreign goods proliferation, actually started their holiday sales Thursday evening at 9pm. One incident in California around 10:30 struck me. A woman used pepper-spray on a group of women around an electronics table where she wanted a few items. The security guard called it combat shopping. The women continued shopping refusing to let their impaired sight slow them down.
Meanwhile, the Target located in Ulster, had people camped out for the midnight opening.
I had friends there texting the whole evening while I was feasting with family. (Priorities my friend)
Anyway, she texted me this picture of OWS protesters in the parking lot. They were chanting "Read The Labels, Buy American, Save American Jobs"
I guess they could have added "Shop at locally owned stores" too.
Those of us who harp on the bleeding of manufacturing jobs here in the US usually feel comfort in knowing the big anti-American companies that ship those jobs to third world countries, can't do the same when it comes to municipal repairs throughout the country. Well, guess again.
There are examples cropping up where County Executives are awarding bids to repair bridges and roads to private companies with imported employees. Imported from... China.
That's right, Chinese firms winning bids, bringing in their own workforce while locals are holding their asses trying to keep their homes.
Who here thinks, (with Chinese steel already prohibited because it's below standard quality) that the bridges will meet DOT standards when completed?
The protesters at Target are right. You've seen my rants here about American Made products, American manufacturing jobs and the tax incentives given to large firms who send jobs to Indonesia. There's something very wrong here. Did the folks going into Target look at one label? Sure, the one with the lowest price. What no one realizes is the high cost at home for the low prices on the shelf.
2 comments:
I buy American anytime I can, which is the reason I just had to have a new transmission put in a car with 86k miles (because it wasn't Japanese).
Half of this stuff anymore, you can't buy American because we don't make anything here any more. It just sucks.
Mike I posted this on my Facebook Wall yesterday:
For all of you who are crazy enough to shop on Black Friday please remember to support our local merchants. They are the ones who support charitable work in our communities as well as contribute to our tax base. Please also take the time to look for "Made in Americal" on the label of your purchases. The best way to preserve jobs in our country is to buy American Made Products and Foodstuffs from local merchants and farmers when possible. Please remember that the greatest source of employment in our country comes from small businesses. Major corporations ship their operations overseas for a variety of reasons. Major retailers buy from the lowest bidder regardless of quality and safety for the consumer because most americans just look at the price of the commodity. American consumers all too often don't realize that the money they just saved on that widget from China will be eaten up by the extra burden we carry when we lose businesses and more join the unemployment lines. Government loans and subsidies to big businesses and banks aren't the answer to our employment woes. Neither are stimulus programs targeted at the public sector. We can make a difference just by adjusting our buying habits and supporting small businesses which are the backbone of our economy.
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