Save the USA, Buy 'Made in America’

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What would be the best way to put Americans back to work and ease America’s economic woes? Buy American. 





Recently released figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal what could portend a second Great Depression - a time when millions of hard working Americans are left without work and forced into soup lines.

But the specter of gloom and doom need not be as fatalistic as it sounds. All it takes is the will power and the courage to put an end to waivers and treaties that have degraded areas of manufacturing that were once the mainstay of American life.

Every month the BLS publishes a summary of employment trends, paying close attention to key private and public sectors, such as healthcare, retail trade, manufacturing, mining and government employment.

As of July 2011, though the BLS was reporting non-farming payroll employment had increased by 117,000 jobs, the overall rate of unemployment remains unchanged at 9.1%.

Jobs reflect socio-economic conditions

With a total of 153.2 million workers in the labor force, the 9.1% rate represents little change to the total unemployment figures.

What is reflected in the statistical breakdown is the way in which unemployment is skewed by age and ethnicity - with African Americans experiencing almost double the rates of unemployment compared with Caucasian workers. 

Rates of unemployment are highest for teens, at 25%. However, rates are mostly unaffected by gender, with male unemployment reported at 9%, compared with 7.9% of females reported as unemployed. 

What is further reflected is the continuing decline of government employment, down 37,000. Of that total, the shut down of Minnesota’s state government accounted for 23,000 unemployed persons in the month of July.

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Of the key industries, healthcare experienced the largest gains (31,000), followed by manufacturing (26,000), retail trade (24,000), and mining (9,000). These figures demonstrate what is an aging demographic, as well as an American tendency toward retail therapy. Luckily, it also demonstrates that manufacturing, especially in the automotive sector, is holding its ground.

Rosy picture or rose colored glasses?

Whatever modest gains were achieved in July, mass layoffs in all areas, including the recent reports from Bank of America of anticipated future layoffs, don’t paint a rosy picture for American workers.

One way to tamp the lid on layoffs and start putting Americans back to work, is by re-visiting the value of those things ‘Made in America’. This is where America’s strength lies, in the things that we forge with our own creative spirits and off the sweat of our own brow. 

And this is where our collective future exists - in promoting products made in America over those made in China, Vietnam, the UAE or elsewhere.

The security of future generations cannot be assured without a base of manufacturing, a substantial support for improving infrastructures, and an unwillingness to buy on the cheap. We Americans must be willing to forego the imported products sold by retailers such as Wal-Mart and reinvest in local businesses with product made right here in America. 

But America won’t get there if there isn’t sufficient governmental support and willpower in place to back American workers.

Depression deja vu?

Following the stock crash of 1929 dubbed ‘Black Tuesday', the push to buy American was first made in response to dizzying unemployment rates which surpassed 20% in the mid-1930’s - the height of the Great Depression.

Like today, housing came to a standstill and crop prices fell as much as 60%. Americans, many of whom were still 1st and 2nd generation immigrants, saw their dreams of a better life dashed by a massive economic downturn.

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Caught off guard by so many unemployed Americans, elected officials crafted legislation to put money back in American’s pockets and bread in their stomachs - the Buy American Act.

Re-engineered several times since its passage in 1933, the Act places a priority on buying American. Back in the early 1940’s, the Act (along with WWII) helped to get Americans back to producing and off the government dole.

Public works put many back to work, with housing and community agencies benefitting greatly. Private enterprise and innovation flourished, and Americans were infused with a renewed sense of patriotism. The American ability to work together through the lean times was the catalyst by which collective fortunes expanded in the 1950’s.

As it was back in 1933, America’s future is looking bleak. The next BLS report is due on September 2 - just as American’s are celebrating our Labor Day weekend.

If we Americans want to save America, perhaps it’s time to revisit the ‘Made in America’ logo and turn words into reality.