Although once famed for having fell asleep in the front row of High School Economics, I have developed some ideas about the current economic crisis. And, while I am no economic genius, my ideas are simply good for America. The best part is these are not dependent upon any politician—they are behaviors that we can adopt that will be good for ourselves, and other Americans.
Stop Buying Chinese-made Products: Buy American
I don’t mean to seem prejudicial. Personally, I think China is an amazing country. The reality is that China’s unprecedented growth has caused a lack of oversight that is dangerous. This is similar to the turn of the last century for the United States where people were literally dying in the gears of industry, factories were producing food without any food safety and oversight, and, of course, the lack of the economic oversight on Wall Street led to the First Great Depression.
The recent melamine findings are very troubling in China. According to the articles, a single food producer was angry because of a government-related legislation change. In order to recover the money that he lost, he began putting melamine into his milk. The chemical is used in creating plastic and simulates high levels of nitrogen which is a by-product of protein rich milk—and, how the Chinese government officials test to ensure that the milk was not watered down. The melamine enabled him to water down the milk and sell a larger volume than he had produced, and fool the Chinese officials.
The downside, which he either did not know or did not care, is that it is deadly. There are more than 54,000 babies that have become sick from the melamine and several have died from kidney stones. Adults can ingest more than children, but it is not good for us either. In China, certain brands of baby formula used the tainted milk. Some brands of powdered milk have melamine in them—which means that they have the tainted milk in their product. Cadbury, the British candy manufacturer has recalled bunches of their chocolate because there are exceedingly high levels of melamine, and quite possibly, the kidney stone-producing medical affects in their candy bars. US manufacturers are concerned and have begun testing their products for traces of the poison.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. People were being poisoned by tainted tubes of toothpaste made in China as recently as last year. Over 1400 people were sick from salmonella on tomatoes from a farm in Mexico as recently as May of 2008, and there are plenty of other examples.
My point is not to describe the business sector of China and their struggles as they globalize, but rather to focus on home. Turn to the labels of your t-shirts—even the ones with American Flags on them. Do they say Made in China? Hecho en Mexico? Made in Bangladesh? Or Made in America?
One part of the solution to American economic crisis is about trade—it is a long-range solution (although we might see the direct effects SOONER than we see any of that off-shore oil). Buy American made products. The corporations that buy globally do so for one reason: price. There are few places on earth that can surpass the quality of American-made products. Price-wise, we are beaten by third-world countries every time, but the by-products of this are clear.
American-made Products may be More Expensive
American-made products cost more in-part because of American minimum wage laws, the expectations of high standards of living, and America has a high level of oversight in most industries. The good news is that our milk is NOT getting past the FDA and causing 50,000+ babies to have kidney stones. Not to say that our record is completely unblemished, but in general, our inspection procedures and safety standards allow for a reasonable level of comfort with the quality and safety of American-made and American-grown products
While your safety may be one good reason for you to buy American-made/grown things, the effects on the economy are quite clear. Your purchase of an American-made T-shirt, for example, will pay American shirt makers, the cotton growers, the teamsters who transported both the cotton and the finished shirts, and either the delivery drivers if the final printed shirt was shipped to you, or the retailer (and all the Sales Associates, Janitors, the local electric company, etc.) if you bought it at a store.
Talk with your dollars. All of those Americans that you have touched with your dollars will have a little bit more money to feed their families (or, their companies will stay in business longer and can continue to provide health insurance for their employees and their families). This is undulterated Keynesian Economics (I must have woken up for that part of my High School Economics course).
For example, there is a direct connection between the closing of American car factories, and you purchasing a Honda or Toyota. The auto industry is a bit more slippery because many of the car companies have manufacturing plants in America (Honda, and Daimler-Chrysler, for example), but ultimately, the owners of those companies buy their groceries in another country.
Don’t give the profits to foreign companies—let’s spread the dollars around here. We could use them right now. And, this is my first step toward recovery from the American Economic Crisis (the politician-free method).
More on my Economic Recovery Plan tomorrow . . . .
