Reclaim American Jobs - America - It is the Little Things - Click Your Heals for Jobs in the USA

Oh, I remember it well, the ruby red slippers that Lyman Frank Baum (an American writer, May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) wrote about for the now world famous book and screenplay Wizard of Oz, the end of the story showcased the power within each and every one of us. Alas, in the book written by Baum, the slippers were not red but silver. Yet, the moral of the story remains true to Baum's original vision - we all have the power within us. For us individually this has always been the case, for a group as large as the United States - multiply that power by our population - . As we face these difficult trails with the Chinese owning 46% of our debt, as we look at the real cost of our public services and pensions, we also must realize, we have the ability to change the course.

We changed course, when we as Americans were enticed by cheap goods and a grandeur and more luxurious lifestyle with products manufactured from China.

And now look who owns our debt. Not Americans, not Europeans, we gave our greatest power - our consumer American dollar to the Chinese.

The good news is the United States Gross Domestic Product GDP remains the highest in the world - giving the United States the ability to readily change our economic circumstances. Read on to learn specifically how each one of us can contribute.

"6,671,226,000 July 1, 2007 100% UN estimate

1 People's Republic of China^[3] 1,324,947,000 July 15, 2008 19.86% Chinese Population clock

2 India 1,135,399,700 July 15, 2008 17.02% [ Indian Population clock]

3 United States 304,601,000 July 15, 2008 4.57% Official USA Population clock"

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/The_US_population_compared_to_the_world's_population#ixzz1UTnQtAsv

The current American debt crisis should make every American stand up and be counted. Check your own families check book and see where you spend your hard earned money. Are those cheap Chinese goods helping your neighbors with much needed jobs? Could the foreclosure next door have been thwarted IF the family had good paying jobs?

The squeeze we Americans feel is not from the Chinese, it is from ourselves. We have put ourselves in the vice.

Americans have not just purchased, we have vigorously purchased foreign goods. Let's admit it, we have purchased goods to the excess. Take a look at the extensive holiday decorations. In purchasing in this gluttonous manner, we have shipped our American jobs overseas, have taken our neighbor's job away from them and have started down the road where our children and grandchildren will be forced to live overseas to earn a living.

Is the cost savings of the goods we have in household worth the cost of our future?

I would gladly return the majority of my items and buy one American item IF I could end the hurt of the families and the unemployed.

After 911, a wise man shared with me he was going to purchase an American car, start shopping for American goods and change his lifestyle as a tribute to our service men and women who have given their lives for freedom.

If you know your world history, you will recall that Rome was once invincible. Rome was the eptitome of civilization, the center of commerce, the center of the arts, an advanced government with all of the comforts afforded its citizens. Yet on August 24th, 410, the glory of Rome was gone forever, the Dark Ages began on that very day in history. Many call that day the date that the Mother of the Earth died. A very appropriate analogy. Let's review history that touches each and every one of us. The interesting fact is Rome fell because of starvation, and internal strife.

Education is a wonderful thing. History is not dead, it is alive because it repeats itself. Humans do not change, events created by humans are duplicated throughout the ages over and over again. The fall of Rome, the Sack of the greatest nation in the world at that point in our history has been labelled the Death of the Mother of the Earth. Rome fell to outsiders because of starvation. An interesting point that every nation in the world must note. A great community leader always seeks to have their community be self sufficient. Having food is a life's essential.

Our food industry must be protected. The movement that is currently underway where small farmers are replaced by large enterprises and where small food processing manufacturers are replaced by large privately owned companies should be an antitrust concern. More importantly, it should be a concern of every American for basic survival.

Buying foreign goods is only made worst by buying foreign food. The next time you are shopping, read the labels and you will be surprised. YOu currently have a choice - you CAN buy pasta made in the USA or in Italy. The $3 bottle of wine could be either a foreign wine or it could be a California wine.

Do the little purchases matter? Most certainly. It is the little purchases that have power when done in volume.

Don't believe me that the power is within our hands? Take a look at the email I received about light bulbs. It details the very fact that we have been discussing on this blog. We, as Americans, must take note of what we are purchasing. Our purchasing power is one of the greatest in the world and yet we are giving that power away every time we purchase an item - even a light bulb counts.

"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, but a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following.

This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W 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 - get ready for this - the USA in company in Cleveland, Ohio.

So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets ... . . Yep, you guessed it, bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

I was in Lowes the other day for some reason 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 . Start looking.

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

My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now.

I do not buy it any more.

My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico ... Now I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

My challenge to you is to 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!

(We should have awakened a decade a go.)

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!

Let's get with the program .. Help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A. ..

I Passed this on ......... Will you ???????"

Buy American made. When shopping take the time to buy American. Don't stop reading labels at the grocery store - many basics such as pasta are made overseas. California wine is now just as competitively priced as some foreign wines and just as good IF not better. Share with your store manager your concern. Remember the store manager is working for you - they need to hear what you want to buy.

When the United State's economy sank, so did the jobs and the profits of steel companies. Listen to Leslie Stahl and hear what happened to the steel workers.

Cheap imports, unsustainable pension benefits, 32 steel companies went out of business. The industry bounced back because of automation, consolidation and China. Steel is once again at the mercy of government. Buy America steel but buy America - it is a trade war around the world that the United States has not shown up for. Is he a protectionist? Free trade or protectionism?

However, what would happen IF government weren't involved? What would happen if the American consumer demanded American made? Would the grasshoppers on the train track would emerge?

75% of Catapillar steel is American made. If the world takes the "Buy American" as a hostile act, would it cost more American jobs?

We have purchased goods from overseas, we have allowed services to be handled overseas and we are now allowing our mega giants such as Google and Accenture and Walmart to incorporate overseas and pay much needed taxes overseas.

America - the game of commerce is now global. Learn the rules and respond or be prepared to take the consequences.

"G.E. is so good at avoiding taxes that some people consider its tax department to be the best in the world, even better than any law firm’s. One common strategy is maximizing the amount of profit that is officially earned in countries with low tax rates."

"Google, the owner of the world’s most popular search engine, uses a strategy that has gained favor among such companies as Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The method takes advantage of Irish tax law to legally shuttle profits into and out of subsidiaries there, largely escaping the country’s 12.5 percent income tax".

America, the power is within you - click your heels, buy American.

Ask for American made products.

Celebrate those who spend the extra time, effort and hard earned dollars to buy American made products and services.

Share these stories of the light bulb and of the grass hopper with your friends and family - America - let's put Americans back to work!

Yes, the final image is from a company in China - they are celebrating the movie the Wizard of Oz - which truly is American made but the photo itself is from a Chinese company. NOTE: I gave then credit where credit is due but no link. This image will probably be pulled IF they read the message I have given to you.