Reduce the Deficit, Create Jobs - Buy American

I earned a "comp day" at my day job for working on Veteran's Day, so today I am spending the day at home. I have spent it relaxing for the most part - choosing to run a couple of errands, filling the gas tank in my car, and reading highly recommended book written by Leonard Pitts titled Freeman. Coincidently, my timing for reading the book was impeccable because on Sunday I watched Steven Spielberg's movie Lincoln at the local theatre.

After eating a quick lunch of tilapia seasoned with some Old Bay seasoning I turned on CNBC to catch up the financial news for a few minutes. The news is full of fiscal cliff this and stalemate that interrupted every now and then with one guy bad mouthing the other guy....you get the picture.

I've got a suggestion if anyone is listening. Instead of trying to "one up" one another, I think it's time to get back to basics. How do we do that you might ask? Start by buying American.

I heard a statistic the other day cited on a news channel (I don't remember exactly which one, or I would like to it) that individuals  will be spending $431 shopping for Christmas gifts this year. Imagine if that $431 was invested in Made in the USA products.

I don't mean just buying products sold by an American company. That doesn't mean buying groceries from the local supermarket that are imported from Indonesia, Columbia, Bolivia, Peru, China, or Brazil. Genuine American Made products that are actually produced here (not just assembled here or sold by a company that is based here) are what I'm talking about specifically. Doing so creates a multiplier effect in the economy.

I am not an economist and I didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night, so I won't attempt to explain the finite details of what that means, but if you do your own research I am sure you will reach the same conclusion I did. Buying American Made makes sense. ABC News featured a report recently explaining that if Americans spend $64 on holiday gifts that are USA produced, it would create 200,000 jobs in the U.S. economy. Imagine how many jobs would be created if the entire $431 is spent on American Made Products.

I'm in. Are you?

And don't start making excuses about the products being more expensive, harder to find, etc. American Made Products exist. They are high quality. And there are plenty of variety available. It's kind of like prepping. You just need to make it a priority.

I buy small gifts for my employees every year. This year they are getting home made jellies and jams from a local resident that sells them at the farmer's market. The fruit is grown locally on nearby farms. The money I am spending goes to a local resident with a husband who works nearby and whose kids attend local schools.

Are you in yet?