A New Year’s Resolution Worth Making: Commit to Buying American

Two years ago I made a New Year’s resolution.  I had been thinking about the high rate of unemployment in this country and how our economic troubles are made so much worse by the enormous number of goods we import each year.  We would be so much better off if we created jobs by making those goods here in America.  We just need more Americans to demand goods made in the USA.

So I said to myself, I might not be able to change the way Americans shop, but I can certainly change the way I shop, and I refuse to continue to contribute to a problem that is causing so much economic pain for so many. From now on I’m buying American!

That was the New Year’s resolution I made to myself two years ago.  I originally set out to do it for one year, but once I completed the first year, I didn’t even consider stopping there. I found out that once you buy American for a few months it becomes second nature.

While this experience hasn’t been easy, it has been very rewarding.  I feel good knowing I am doing my part to create jobs when I buy the things I need.  From shoes, to clothes, to furniture, to cars, practically everything I buy is made in USA.  Those purchases are creating jobs in Virginia where I live and in places across the country.  Looking back, deciding to buy American is one of the best decisions I have made.  I do not regret it at all.

My New Year’s resolution this year is to make a concerted effort to get more people to commit to buying American.  I know there are millions of Americans that are willing to do it.  We just need to find those people and ask them to join our growing buy American movement.  If we get enough people to do it, we can make a real difference by creating jobs at a time that so many Americans need work.

I may have already asked you in the past, but if you are reading this I am asking you again right now.

Please consider taking the buy American challenge.  Buying American is the one thing you can do every day to help create jobs for Americans.  What better time to begin than at the start of a new year?

If you will do it, you will be doing your part to get our country back on the right track.

Commit to buying American this New Year.  It is a resolution you won’t regret making.

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

Buying American When Gift-giving

(This is a repost from an article I wrote several months back, but since Christmas is around the corner, I thought it would be a good idea to repost it.)

Buying American when gift-giving presents an interesting dilemma.  A person may be passionate about buying American when purchasing items for their own use, but how does that apply when buying gifts for others?

I have been in this place many times in the last year, and my advice is to use your best judgment and err on the side of buying gifts that the gift-recipient(s) will actually enjoy above gifts you might buy because they are made in the U.S.A. 

The guidelines of the Buy American Challenge say that buying American only applies to you.  It does not apply to friends and family you might be buying gifts for.  So, if your nephew asks for certain pair of imported sneakers for his birthday, just get them and don’t even worry about it.  Refusing to buy gifts that are not made in the U.S.A. has the potential to anger people who do not particularly care where the things they want are made.  Although I do not share that point of view, I respect people who have it, even if they are a brother, daughter, or significant other.

This changes when the gifts are intended for you.  If you would only buy goods made in the U.S.A. for yourself, why shouldn’t you ask the same of people buying gifts for you?  When I have a birthday coming up, and I know people will be shopping for me, I always circulate a list (electronic list with links) of American-made things I would like to receive as gifts.  Not only does this make things much easier for friends and family buying gifts for you, but it also ensures you will get the American-made things you really want.  It also allows you to price-shop online ahead of time to save those buying gifts for you some cash.  Most importantly, it is a great opportunity to educate the people in your life about all the great things that are made in the U.S.A.  In my experience, people are generally happy to buy gifts that you have suggested for them to buy, and they are generally pleasantly surprised at all the high-quality, reasonably-priced, American-made things on the list. 

Actually, regardless of whether you buy American or not, I suggest sending gift wish-lists out. Putting out a list of potential gifts is a win-win for everyone.  Nobody likes to wander through the mall, picking things up, and trying to find something you think a person might like.  A list takes all the guesswork out of it.  Just be sure that it is clear your list is of options for potential gifts, and not a list of all the things you expect to get for the occasion.   My first list I sent to my family raised eyebrows when they thought I expected to get every gift on the list, and I had listed about 20 things listed. 

One important thing to keep in mind is that American-made goods sometimes cost more than imported goods.  You may have received a $30 pair of jeans in years past from a certain person.  If you send them a list of American-made gifts, make sure the list consists of items in the $30 price-range.  Don’t send them a link to $100 American-made jeans and expect them to buy those for you.  By the way, this is just an example of the kind of predicament you might discover.  In fact, American-made jeans can be found for $30.  Here is a link to beautiful pair from a great company called All American Clothing: http://www.allamericanclothing.com/products/AA301.html

One time you should go ahead and buy a gift made in the U.S.A. for someone else is when no specific gift has been requested and you are reasonably sure that an American-made gift will be liked just as much as an imported good.  I don’t think my dad particularly cares what brand of jeans he gets as a gift.  So if I know he wants jeans, I would absolutely buy a pair of American-made jeans for him.  This is another great opportunity to show those around you what great American-made products there are available.  Maybe some of these gifts will turn into brand loyalty and/or increased interest in buying American.  Don’t miss the opportunity to give American-made gifts when the chance presents itself.

Here is one final thought on buying American with regard to friends and family.  Sometimes those close to me buy imported things that they are very excited about, especially if they spent a good deal of money on the item, like a fancy jacket or watch.  When this happens, I make it a point to show exactly the same enthusiasm I would have shown if I didn’t care about buying American.  Remember, buying American only applies to you.  That means not judging others when they get things they want.  Show those around you the respect of sharing in their excitement as you would if buying American was not a priority of yours.  It will be appreciated. 

I hope you will find this gift-giving advice useful.  I would love to hear what you all think about these guidelines for American-made gift-giving.  Have you ever been in one of these gift-giving scenarios?  What did you choose to do?  Were you pleased with your choice afterward?

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

P.S. If you are looking for a great American made clothing brand, check out Made in USA Threads!

In the Spirit of Christmas, Buy American

Christmas is just around the corner, and every day millions of Americans are hitting the malls, shops, and websites searching for gifts to give friends and family. Even if this Christmas is leaner than some in years past, for many it will still be a time of much celebration.

But for many of the millions of unemployed or underemployed this season, Christmas will not be a time for celebration at all. In fact, Christmas is the hardest time of year to be unemployed because it is the time when financial obligations are the greatest.

When I’m shopping this Christmas season, I am doing everything I can to make sure the things I buy are made in USA, and I’m letting those around me know if they are buying me gifts, to please make sure they are American made.

That’s not to say every gift you buy for ever person should be American made, because sometimes a person wants a very specific item, or sometimes an American made version of what you want to get for someone is simply not available.  Check out my advice for buying American while gift-giving.

Here are a few examples of the things you can do to buy American this Christmas season: 

Buy a real Christmas tree. The fake ones are usually made overseas while the real ones are almost always grown right here in the USA.  I have always insisted on real Christmas trees because I love the smell of a real tree, but they are also a great way to buy American and create jobs. If you do prefer an artificial tree, a company called Christmas in America makes theirs in the USA.

Buy American made candles. People tend to buy a lot of candles around the holidays, and generally American-made candles can be found very easily at retail stores near you.  But the imported ones are on the shelf right next to the American-made ones.  The imports generally aren’t any better or cheaper.  Make the right choice. 

Buy American wine.  People buy more wine around Christmas than any other time of year.  Thankfully some of the greatest wine in the world is made right here in states like California, Washington, and New York.  Don’t feel the need to buy an imported wine for a gift because it might look it like a better wine.  The comparably priced American wine is probably better, and you’ll be helping create jobs here in the USA if you buy American.

Buy American clothing.  We buy lots of clothes around Christmas time, and there are lots of great options that are American made.  Check out the Made in USA Clothing Company for a great American brand of polo shirts and sweatshirts for men and women.  Check out All American Clothing for some more great clothing options including jeans.  Check out Todd Shelton for a true American made designer brand. 

Finally, check out www.AmericansWorking.com for a great directory of American made products.

Every time we buy American made we are doing something – our small part – to create jobs for Americans. This is so important when millions of Americans are out of work. 

This year, in the spirit of Christmas, please buy American.  I am.

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

Made in USA Threads: A Clothing Brand for the Buy American Movement

You can’t have an effective buy American movement if the movement is not visible.  With this brand of clothing, Made in USA Threads, now it can be.

I’ve been advocating the buy American movement for over a year and a half now.  One thing I have been frustrated with is the lack of visibility the movement has.  Livestrong has those yellow bracelets you see everywhere.  The breast cancer group has pink ribbons on everything from neckties to linebackers.  But where is the visibility of the buy American movement? 

I’ve spent the last several months building this brand so that finally the buy American movement can have the visibility it needs to thrive.  This brand is about quality American-made clothing at reasonable prices, and it says “Made in USA” right on the chest where everyone can see it.

Let me ask you, what does the logo on your shirt stand for?  If you own a polo shirt, what does that little man on horse carrying a polo stick, or practically any other widely recognizable garment industry brand image, really stand for?

To me, it is a symbol of a clothing industry that once thrived in America that has now been outsourced to the lowest bidder in a global race to the bottom.  It is a symbol of the underlying cause of a $500 billion annual trade deficit the U.S. incurs each year and the 9%-plus unemployment rate that comes with that enormous trade deficit.

I, personally, don’t care to wear that kind of symbol on the clothing I wear every day.  I prefer to wear a shirt that says “Made in USA” on it!

What does that stand for?  It stands for American jobs.  It stands for investing in the future of our country and our communities.  It stands for turning around a disturbing outsourcing trend that has slowly chiseled away at the foundation of our economy for decades.  Finally, it stands for protecting the few remaining garment manufacturers left in this country before they too become the victim of outsourcing. 

Made in USA Threads is a brand that is made in USA and is proud to show it.   When I wear these clothes, I wear them proudly.  So can you!

Visit www.MadeinUSAThreads.com today. 

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

Five Keys to Convincing Others to Buy American

If there’s one thing Americans do very well it’s consume. We like shopping.  We like going to the mall or Target and coming home with whatever our hearts desire, regardless of where it was made. Although this kind of buying behavior can be damaging to our economy and our country, changing this behavior is easier said than done.

In the last year and a half of actively living and advocating a buy American lifestyle, I have learned a lot about what to do, and what not to do, in persuading those around me, like friends and family, to buy American.  Here are a few key tips:

1)  Never make others feel guilty about their current buying habits.  Whether it’s friends, family, coworkers, or anyone else, the key is to talk about the reasons you buy American with no judgment on others who currently don’t. Others will be much more receptive to the concept of buying American when using this approach.

2)  Be as committed as possible to buying American yourself.  When those around you see that you are genuinely committed to buying American they will begin to take the idea more seriously.  Few will be moved to consider a commitment to buying American if they think your commitment to buying American is a passing fad.  It’s got to be perceived as permanent to have an impact on those around you.

3) Blog, tweet, or make Facebook posts about buy American topics.  Social media are great tools to put out useful information about the topic of buying American.  These messages can reinforce other messages your friends and family are already hearing about buying American.  It is also a no-judgment way to talk about the personal and societal benefits of buying American.  The buy American movement depends on effective communication, and new media, like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, are the key to effective communication today and for the foreseeable future. Embrace these tools.

4) Let others bring up the topic of buying American with you.  When I first started strictly buying American and blogging about it, I told all my friends and family about what I was doing.  I asked them to follow my blog, follow my tweets, become a Facebook fan of Buy American Challenge, and that sort of thing.  After that, I backed off on bringing the topic of buying American up for discussion.  I found that friends and family started asking me about buying American instead of me having to bring it up with them.  If you want buying American to spread, my advice is let people know why you are buying American initially, then back off.  However, continue to keep the topic visible if you can.  I drive an American car, wear Made in USA clothing, and blog about buying American regularly.  Those who want to talk about buying American know they can bring it up with me anytime, and they frequently do.

5) Be a resource for those who have questions about buying American.  When folks first start to think about buying American, they have lots of questions.  Where can they find American-made products they need?  What about products not found made in USA anymore?  What about imported products they just can’t even think about giving up?  A good place to start in addressing these concerns is to give people the guidelines of the Buy American Challenge.  This is an easy-to-follow buy American program that anyone can follow.  I suggest printing out a copy and giving it to people who are showing interest as a suggestion of where to start if they decide to give buying American a try.  Additionally, offer to be available for advice on hard-to-find items.  If you ever get stumped, and can’t find a particular item made in USA, contact me and I’ll help you out.  Believe it or not, almost all products can still be found made in USA, you just need to know where and how to look for them.

Follow these five tips and you will be well on your way to spreading buy American through your social network.  Remember, for buying American to have a really meaningful impact on job creation in this country, we need to grow the movement. One person’s decision to buy American, though admirable for the principle of it, doesn’t mean much in terms of job creation.  It’s not going to create millions of jobs like we want it to.  But when thousands or even millions of people start demanding American-made products it will have a major impact on job creation. 

If you are committed to buying American yourself, commit to doing what you can to grow the movement as well.

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

Politics and Buy American Advocacy Don’t Mix

I have tremendous respect for everyone in the buy American community.  Anyone willing to spend time promoting the practice of buying made in USA out of a hope for a better future of our country is aces in my book.  I only wish we had more people willing to take the charge. But as buy American advocates, we need to be very cautious not to let the ugliness of politics seep into – and frankly, infect – our buy American message.  Because every time it happens, another person who would be a new buy American advocate gets alienated.

Let’s face it, Americans are passionate about politics, and while 10-20% percent of Americans may be on the fence on Election Day, the other 80% are pretty firmly entrenched in one camp or the other.  Those that do have strong political leanings generally do not like to hear or read about the political leaders and organizations they support being spoken about in a negative light.  Nor do they typically like to hear about the leaders and groups they do not agree with spoken about in a favorable light (although favorable discussion of any kind is more tolerable).  Discussing politics in any capacity simply has the potential to rub a lot of people the wrong way.  It is unavoidable.

That is precisely why it is best not to mix messages about politics and buying American.  The buy American message resonates with people of all different backgrounds and persuasions.  Individual Americans choosing to buy American is not a Republican or Democratic issue; it’s an American issue.  Buying American creates jobs and helps our economy.  Anybody should be able to agree with that, and the overwhelming majority of Americans do.  So why mix that buy American message that so many are receptive to with a political message that is certain to alienate many? If you genuinely want the buy American message to carry through, it’s just not a good idea to mix messages.

I believe one major reason that politics and buy American messages often get intertwined is that those who are passionate about buying American also tend to be fervent about politics, so it’s only natural for messages about the two subjects to get interconnected.  Once again, I believe one must make every effort to keep these the two separate.  The buy American movement needs to grow if it is ever going to be the force in this country that it could be.  As advocates, we cannot afford to be turning away support because of politics creeping into our message.

Let me make one thing clear: I am not saying that buy American advocates should avoid being vocal about politics.  Far from it.  What I am saying is that as a buy American advocate, you should do your best not to mix political and buy American messages at the same time or in the same venue.  What does that mean in practice? If you have a blog, website, or facebook page about buying American, don’t post political messages on there, and do your best to keep the political messages others post there to a minimum.  Try to be sensitive to the fact that your buy American supporters may lean opposite you politically.  If you want to talk politics, do it on a personal facebook page or on a separate blog.  You get the picture. 

My interest is the success of the buy American movement.  We only have so many real leaders out there, and we will all have more success if we can stay focused on communicating our buy American message free of politics. 

In a time of incredible political division in this country, buying American is one thing that still genuinely unites people of all different backgrounds and beliefs.  Whether you identify as a Tea Partier or a labor activist, there is a good chance you support buying American.  You’d be hard-pressed to find an area where you’ll find more common ground among staunchly opposed political groups and individuals. 

The truth is, when it comes to buying American, politics doesn’t matter, so let’s not let it get in the way.  Politics has ruined enough in this country; let’s not let it ruin our buy American movement as well.

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

Sorry Cars.com, Explorer Most American-made for 2011

2011 Ford Explorer

Cars.com is misleading the American public again with their conceptually faulty “American-made Index” that was just recently published by the website for 2011 model cars. 

These rankings, which Cars.com promotes as the most American-made cars on the market, lists the Toyota Camry the #1 most American-made car for the second year in a row.  That distinction should have rightly gone to the Ford Explorer.  The Ford Explorer is made in Chicago, Illinois and has more domestic parts content than the Camry.  In fact, the Explorer has the highest domestic parts content of any vehicle currently in production  which is still being sold through 2011 .  That means it beats the Camry on this website’s list of most American-made vehicles.  (Point of Clarification: the Ford Sport Trac has 90 percent domestic content, but was discontinued after production of model year 2010 was complete; however, it is reportedly still being sold in Ford dealerships through calendar year 2011.)

Please don’t misunderstand me; I am extremely pleased that Toyota chooses to produce many of their automobiles in the U.S., thereby creating American jobs.  But putting the Camry on top of a rating called the “American-Made Index,” is simply wrong.

Not only is Cars.com is using questionable methodology to reach their conclusion, they do not publish the methodology they use in developing the rankings.  If these rankings are going to be cited all over the place and regarded by many to be the list of the most American-made cars, the methodology should absolutely be made public.

According to Cars.com, the three factors that were considered to create this American-made index were: country of final assembly, American-made parts content, and volume of sales.

Wait a minute! What does volume of sales have to do with anything?  If I’m going to use the “American-Made Index,” I am going to use it to buy a car that is going to be the most American-made per car. The Toyota Camry doesn’t move ahead of other cars with higher American-made parts content, like many cars produced by Ford and Chrysler because more Toyotas are sold. 

The Camry is made with 80% domestic parts content.  That’s not bad at all.  But there are several other American-made cars with higher American parts content that got skipped on this list.  These are the cars that should be making headlines for being the most American-made.  In fact, two cars with higher domestic parts content that got skipped on this list compete directly with the Camry and the Honda Accord (which Cars.com dubiously ranked second on their list). 

The Chrysler 200 Sedan (remember the “Imported From Detroit” Super Bowl commercial with Eminem) has more American-made content than either the Camry or the Accord.  So does the dodge Avenger Sedan. Both are made in Michigan.

I don’t know what Cars.com’s motivation is in creating this misleading index, but it is very counterproductive to efforts to increase consumer patriotism in this country.  Stories like these create consumer confusion, which causes many people to just give up on buying American altogether. 

If you have some time, please let Cars.com know that their index should leave sales volume out of their methodology.  They should also publish precisely how their rankings are determined. 

Here is the email address of Patrick Olsen, editor in chief at Cars.com: polsen@cars.com

American consumers could really benefit from an American-made index that doesn’t “cook the books” for certain cars.  To be acknowledged as most American-made car, you should have to actually be the most American-made car. 

Once again, here is the full list of vehicles and their domestic parts content as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/Part+583+American+Automobile+Labeling+Act+%28AALA%29+Reports

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

If You Only Buy One Thing Made in U.S.A., Make it Your Car

The Ford Sport Trac is made in Louisville, Kentucky and has the highest percentage of domestic parts content - 90% - of all vehicles being sold in the U.S.

Without question, the most important time you can buy American is when you are purchasing a car.  The reason for this is simple.  A new car is second only to a home as the most expensive purchase many consumers make. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the average price of a new car sold in the United States is $28,400. That is a whole lot of money to be spent at one time on a single purchase. Choosing to buy American in this one critical instance has the same impact as buying hundreds of less expensive goods that are American-made.  In short, when buying a car, this is the time when you can do the very most to help create American jobs by buying made in U.S.A. 

Another reason it is great to buy American when buying a car is that our country makes many of the best cars in the world.  Whether it’s a car, truck, SUV, hybrid, you name it, many of the very highest rated and best-selling vehicles in the world are made right here in the U.S.A.  Regardless of what kind of vehicle you are looking for, you will likely find one that fits your needs that is made in America.

Buying American is a little more complicated for cars than most other goods though.  There are lots of foreign sounding cars, like some Toyotas and Hondas, that are actually now made in the U.S.A., and there are some traditional American car brands that are now made in other countries.  So when buying a car, we really can’t just assume based on the brand name where the car was made.  We really have to do a little more homework to make sure the car we are buying is made in the U.S.A. 

Another important consideration when car buying is the percentage of U.S. domestic parts content used to make the vehicle.  We can’t get parts content information for most goods we buy, but with cars we have access to a great deal of information.  Not only can we identify where every vehicle had its final assembly, but every car manufacturer publishes the percentage of domestic parts content used in making their vehicles.  This allows us to differentiate between the cars that have 0% domestic parts content and those that have a much higher percentage of U.S.-made content.

The parts content is important because when you buy a car, you aren’t just creating jobs for the people working in the final assembly plant; you are creating jobs for workers all the way up through the supply chain – like the person who built the transmission or the person who sewed the seats together.  Cars create lots of jobs for workers that never actually see the final product being made.  That is why it is critical to consider the percentage of domestic parts content when purchasing a car.

One thing to consider about parts content is that no car is made with 100% American-made parts anymore.  One main reason for that is every car built today has a computer chip and complex electrical system built into it.  Some of this parts content simply cannot be sourced in the U.S.A.  But we shouldn’t let that discourage us from buying an American-made car with as high a percentage of domestic parts content as possible.  Thankfully, we have over 100 cars and trucks to choose from that have 50% or more of their parts content made in the U.S.A.

If you are wondering what the most American-made car on the market is; it is the Ford Sport Trac, made by Ford Motor Company.  The Sport Trac is made in Ford’s Louisville, Kentucky plant that has been in operation since 1955.  There are 2,100 workers employed at that plant.  In addition to the Sport Trac, this plant also makes the Ford Explorer and the Mercury Mountaineer, both of which have 85% domestic parts content. 

For a full list of cars (years 2005-2011) and their percentage of U.S. parts content, go here: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/Part+583+American+Automobile+Labeling+Act+%28AALA%29+Reports

Remember, there is no more important time to buy American than when you are buying a car.  And don’t forget, the higher percentage of domestic parts content the car has, the more American jobs you are creating when you buy it. 

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

For Me, One Year Buying American is Just the Beginning

Randy Erwin has been buying American strictly for over a year as part of the Buy American Challenge. Over the last year, a couple hundred people have contacted Randy and pledged to take the Buy American Challenge as well.

A year ago, I made a decision to start buying American.  I don’t mean casually buying things made in the America from time to time, I mean buying nothing but goods made in the U.S.A.

I decided to do this because I was concerned about the impact my purchasing decisions have on my neighbors, my community, and our country.  I believe there is a strong connection between the general decline in access to good American jobs – as well as the decline of the American economy as a whole – and the purchasing decisions we each make every day.  I figured, while I couldn’t turn the economy around all by myself, I could at least make sure I was doing my part to create jobs and get the economy going by buying American.  

When I decided to embark on this little journey, I had no idea what to expect.  I knew that finding the things I needed made in the U.S.A. would be a challenge, but I didn’t really know if being strict about buying American was actually possible to do.  Would the deprivation be too great?  Would it simply become too expensive to be sustained for a long period of time?  How big a sacrifice was I really willing to make to commit myself to buying American? 

Originally, I set out to buy American for just one year.  While I thought it would be nice if this became a permanent change, at the start of it all I was sure to give my Buy American Challenge an end-date.  That way if the challenge became too difficult, I could tough it out for a year and be done with it.  At least I gave it a try, right? 

But before I got very far into the challenge I discovered that buying American would be nothing like the difficult experience I had anticipated.  After a couple weeks it became very easy to do.  I found many of the American-made products I was looking for in stores locally, and the things I could not find in stores I was almost always able to find online.  I also found that while some individual items cost more when they are made in America, as a whole, buying American-made absolutely saves money.  I have saved hundreds of dollars in my estimation since I began strictly buying American.

More importantly, I have found buying American to be an amazingly rewarding, and actually fun, thing to do.  It’s rewarding because I know that with every purchase I make, I am helping to create American jobs when people need them the most.  In the last year, I have purchased a car (Ford Escape hybrid), furniture, clothes, shoes, a mattress, all kinds of consumables, a flashlight, office supplies, pet supplies, and numerous other items.  With very few exceptions (for prescriptions and the like), everything that I have purchased has been made in the U.S.A., and I know I was creating American jobs when I made those purchases. 

I find buying American fun because on the rare occasion I have trouble finding a particular good made it the U.S.A., it becomes an entertaining challenge to find it.  Learning how to hunt these products down became a thrill.  After a little while, there was practically nothing I couldn’t find made in U.S.A. online in less than five minutes.

One thing that I have found a little frustrating is that even with a great commitment to buying American, it rare that you get to see the job you helped create by buying American.  The car I purchased was assembled at the Ford plant in Kansas City, Missouri.  Maybe I helped create a new job there.  The New Balance running shoes I bought were made in one of the company’s five New England facilities.  Maybe I helped create a job there.  While I probably will never be able to identify the job that was created or meet the person who is now working that job, I know that I have done my part to create it.  It feels great to know that! 

When so many people are out there pointing fingers at who is to blame for the jobs crisis we are all experiencing, very few are actually doing something about it themselves to help fix the problem.  Those committed to buying American are doing something.

The best part about this whole experience is that I have not been doing this Buy American Challenge alone.  In the year since I started this challenge, I have had a couple hundred people contact me and say that they have committed themselves to taking the Buy American Challenge as well.  While I may not be sure if my own purchases over the last year created an American job somewhere, I am positive that the thousands and thousands of purchases made by those taking the Buy American Challenge is creating lots of jobs for Americans that need work so badly right now.  Knowing that feels amazing!

I want to thank everyone who is participating in the Buy American Challenge.  Thank you all for your selfless commitment.

Now the goal is to take this Buy American Challenge to the next level.  Sadly, we have unemployment back on the rise and a serious threat of a double-dip recession looming.  We don’t need just a couple hundred people committing themselves to buying American; we need millions of people committing themselves to it.  There are people who want to do this out there waiting to be asked.  Many are already committed to buying American in some form.  Others simply need a little education, guidance, and encouragement to start doing it. 

Imagine what 30 million people – about 10% of the American population – being committed to buying American would do for American businesses, the American worker, and the American economy.  A successful buy American movement is an economic X-factor that could completely turn our floundering economy around, and ensure our country’s long-term economic stability.  I know of no other factor that could have such a positive impact on our economic future.

We don’t have to wait around and hope Washington will fix our economic troubles.  We can fix our economic problems ourselves by buying American today.  If we wait around for the politicians to get it figured out, I believe we’ll be waiting a very long time.  I, for one, am committed to moving on and doing what I can with my own hard-earned dollars today.

A year ago I set out to go one year buying American.  Well, one year has come and gone, and I am more committed to buying American today than I ever was.  I thought that the Buy American Challenge might be just a temporaryendeavor, but having completed this year, I now know that the Buy American Challenge will be a permanent fixture in my life. 

If you believe buying American can make difference, as I do, I challenge you to take the Buy American Challenge today.  Our future depends on it.

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy

Columnist Challenges Readers to Take Buy American Challenge

Last week, Julie Seedorf, a columnist with the Albert Lea Tribune in Minnesota wrote a column called “Support Businesses that Support USA.”  In her column, Seedorf referenced a number of plant closings that have occurred recently in southeastern Minnesota due to off-shoring, and called on the members of her community to buy American instead of resigning to the apathetic conclusion that each of us is powerless to keep jobs here in the U.S.A. 

“Let’s join together as Americans and make a commitment to our American workers,” says Seedorf. 

Read the entire column here: http://www.albertleatribune.com/2011/03/14/support-businesses-that-support-usa/

The specific recommendation Seedorf makes to her community is to go to the Buy American Challenge blog and take the Buy American Challenge.

“I found a blog by Randy in Arlington, VA. It is called buyamericanchallenge,” says Seedorf.  “He is challenging all of us to buy ‘Made in the USA’ products. I am going to join his challenge… I believe if we stick together and support our workers we can effect a change. Take the challenge. Challenge your friends and neighbors to do the same. And don’t give up. If it doesn’t work in a year, keep it going for two, three, four or however long it takes…”

Seedorf is right.  We can make a difference and keep Americans employed if we will make a commitment to buy more things that are made in the U.S.A.  It might take a few years, but if we will each make a personal commitment to do it, and be willing talk about it with those who are closest to us, we can put millions of Americans back to work and lead our country back to prosperity. 

Thank you, Julie, for challenging your community to take the Buy American Challenge, and thank you for walking-the-walk and taking the Buy American Challenge yourself.

We need more people like you willing to challenge people to make this important life change.

Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.

Randy