The Season is come...How to support your community and Nation

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide
Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods --merchandise that
has been produced at the expense of American labor. This Year can be different. This year Americans
can give the gift of genuineconcern for other Americans. There is no longer
an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands.
 Yes there is!
It's time to think outside the box. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon
or barber?Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some
health improvement. Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small,
American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a
book of gift certificates. Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing
of plonking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen?
 Perhaps that grateful giftceiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer,
 or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.
There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants --
 all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint.

This isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting
your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their
doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?
Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day or some other personal service. My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.
OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and
knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes. Locally crafted soaps, coffee, art works or books form local authors are another idea.
Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theater.
Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.
How about local bakeries that make specialty breads and  cakes?
Honestly do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those
kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.
Or how about taking that money you were going to spend on each other and "Donate It" to that
Fund Raiser they are having in your neighborhood for that child who is fighting Cancer (or whatever the fight for their life is) ! You don't have to send money overseas in order to help somebody, there are plenty of people needing help right here in America !!
You see,
Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Lets take Christmas back to Caring !! Christmas is about caring about each other, and encouraging Americans to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our
communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.
These are only a few ideas. Be creative, go
American.

The following is some commentary on this blog post that I placed on another forum;

I prefer to care about the entire world not just Americans.

 "I agree, but one step at a time...we need to focus on healing our own state of affairs to

truly be effective in helping other countries...This post isn't saying hault all humanitarian aid


 to nations in need. Simply buy local to help a neighbor, a friend, pretty much any local ma
'
 n pa' shop so more of them don't close down because Walmart (i.e.) has the latest in crap


 toys made in China that will probably be re-called anyways due to high levels of lead. We


 need to support local economies and stand on our own two feet as a nation instead of


 relying/suckling on the teat of some other country that provides the US with (more often


 than not) useless, cheaply made yet expensive foreign goods




 If we begin to focus on our local and then National economy, we help out our country and citizens, US companies not Multinational corporations, and help stimulate our economy, which by improving circulation of our currency, strengthens it in the world market, and then we can look to imports. WE MUST once again become a Nation of PRODUCERS, not just CONSUMERS. 100 years ago, we produced over 80% of our consumption, now we import over 70% of those consumer goods, yet export raw materials to other countries so that we may buy good from them. This is a cycle we have to end!

Shopping at Walmart helps American and Chinese employees receive paychecks.

 ---- has a point... If we wait until our country/state/city is perfect before helping another country... it'll never happen

  Perfection is not attainable; this is America, NOT Utopia. Sarcasm aside, if we constantly look outside our country

 to help; when are we going to focus on our country, and who is going to do it? We have to begin, and soon. And since this is a

 composite problem, then there are multiple solutions that can be applied. And since the current government has no clue on how to fix it, then we

 must stand up and try to do our best at resolving what we can, when we can, and how we can. Focusing on our local economy, local business and then to

state and national economic flows, we can do a lot. Multinational companies and mega corporations do supply many jobs, I agree, but

most of the revenue does not recycle into the local economies, but goes out of country. Wal-Mart, although a US owned and 'operated

' company, service and sells many things, yet it's bulk consists of international and or foreign products. Yes they are cheaper to buy, and

 I do on occasion shop there, but that revenue looses a lot as far as stimulating the US economy. We need a long term solution of

 economic flow, not a stimulus that actually costs us more 6 months down the road, nor a stimulus that we spend on foreign national

products essentially sending that money out of country. Again, this is just a small part of our current National troubles, but one we, as

citizens, can do something about. Much like moving our money from multinational banks to local credit unions, if we support our local or

 at least National business and their products and services, we support our Nation, not China, Japan, or wherever.

I support the world economy... I don't understand why people are so insistent on this "buy American" crap. Seriously, we don't have the resources or workforce to make everything in America that we use here. And it's not like America doesn't make money off foreign imports. Ever hear of tariffs? We probably make more money off merchandise that is made in China than we would if we make the same item in America. Plus, we can buy it for half the cost!

  The difference is, the tariffs do not constitute but a 8% income of the cost/money leaving the country. The difference is, 50 years ago we were PRODUCING over 80% of our consumer goods, and now import over 75% of these same goods. The difference is, we are supporting foreign national companies by buying their goods and keeping them employed as we have a growing unemployment situation due to the outsourcing to these countries. The difference is that we no longer have a growing economy that can keep up with, nor able to catch up with, our currently growing population of our Nation yet are supplying more benefits to not only foreign national corporations but also to illegal aliens in country than to the growing mass of population of unemployed and underemployed citizens. The difference my friend, is that our country has slipped down the ladder of education levels, economic growth, civil support and limits to our freedoms compared to other world countries. These, again, are just a part of the issues that we need to address.