Standing for Something

I got this email with about 400 people on the list of recipients. Some of you know what I mean. You also know there are approximately three groups of people associated with the recipients. Those who are just happy anyone took the time to send a email - regardless of the subject. Some who don't want anyone to comment about the email contents. If someone takes the leap, especially for a email of this type, the labels come out - "I don't thinks this email was meant to be a political debate." Response made to those who actually comment on how we got to this point - Shipping Jobs Overseas: How Real Is the Problem?

One light bulb at a time!

A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one
grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a
billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the
following.............obviously written by a good American.

Check this out. I was in Lowes the other day, and just for the heck of
it I was looking at the hose attachments.. They were all made in China
. The next day I was in Ace Hardware, and just for the heck of it I
checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA ... Got me
thinking. Start looking.

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy, or do,
affects someone else - maybe even their job.

My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I just noticed that it is marked
'made in Mexico ' now. I choose not to buy it any more.
My favorite toothpaste, Colgate, is also 'made in Mexico ' now. I've
switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

This past weekend I was at Kroger. (Can be true for any store.) I
needed 60W light bulbs, and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light
bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy, was an off
brand labeled, "Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and
compared the stats - they were the same, except for the price. The GE
bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand..........but the
thing that surprised me the most, was the fact that GE was 'made in
MEXICO ' and the Everyday Value brand was 'made in (you got it) the USA ',
in a company in Cleveland , Ohio .

So throw out the myth that you cannot find the products you use every
day......made right here!!!!!!!

On I went to another aisle. Those Bounce Dryer Sheets I needed - yep,
you guessed it! Bounce cost more money - and - it's made in Canada .
The Everyday Value brand was less money - and - 'MADE IN THE USA '!
Bye-bye Bounce! I did laundry yesterday, and the dryer sheets performed
just like the Bounce Free I've been using for years...........and at
almost half the price!

My challenge to you is this. Start reading the labels when you shop for
everyday things, and see what you can find that is made in the USA .
The job you save may be your own, or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address
book, so we can all start buying American......one light bulb at a time!

Stop buying from overseas companies and other countries!

(We should have awakened a decade ago . . . . . . . )

Let's get with the program . . . . And help our fellow Americans keep
their jobs, and create even more jobs, right here in the U. S. A.

I went to the source and asked the sender the intent of the email. I've known her since high school, so I felt comfortable asking her. Simple - a call to action. "Stand up for something or fall for everything." We talk everyday so I wasn't surprised by her response. She was surprised I asked for clarification. She's a second generation European-American who still goes to the store looking for imported ingredients for her authentic food dishes.

There will always be complacent people who subscribe to the "don't ask, don't tell, head in the sand, not my problem, and let's not get political." I call them the "yellow brick road people" except we are not in Kansas anymore. We have a trickledown effect. The trickledown effect is a marketing trend that affects many buyer goods. Originally a product may be so expensive that only the wealthy can afford it. A point in time, however, the price will fall until it is economical enough for the general public to purchase. When this happens in the fashion industry, this hypothesis states that when a perceived lower social class, adopts the fashion, it is no longer desirable to the leaders in the highest social class. So fashion goes from couture to Target, Kmart..... Except the outsourcing of jobs during the last administration, has trickledown to shoppers walking up and down store aisles looking for "Made in America" label, and sending emails. Outsourcing is subcontracting a service, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company, contractor or country. Many manufacturers use the Made in the U.S.A. label as a selling point with varying levels of success. This is mostly because, in the view of lowering or eliminating import tariffs, the actual quantity of manufactured goods made in the United States has steadily declined.

So where do you stand......