The U.S trade deficit is becoming or least turning to a bigger challenge to the domestic economy, even more than the federal budget deficit or consumer debt posing a political turmoil. As at now, the rest of the world owns up to $3trillion more than the United States.
As we watch our country teeter back and forth, holding up on numerous false promises and consistent inflation, the question remains, “how long are we going to continue producing nothing at all?” well, I’m afraid for a very short time. Now, our American factories keep closing day by day and we seem not to do anything!!! We pay less or even no attention to where our products are made. All we do is give an excuse to cover up our nonchalant attitude to American made products.
Let’s date back to history, since far back as the 1960s, we import more goods than we export. The 1980s featured a drastic increment and in 2010, we estimated a trade deficit of about $500 billion! Alas, we imported $500 billion more worth of goods than we exported. The question is what role will you and I need to play to help the community as well as American job market grow?
I realize that there is more to this than just a question. We really need to trade neutrally. There is a need to increase exports, tariffs, taxes, free trades, shipping costs and lot more. We need to incur the habit of self-sufficiency, use more USA made goods, and as well increase our exports.
As sellers of American products, we can’t just throw money at customers and say, “buy more” hoping that somehow, the economy will be rejuvenated. We need to educate buyers on trade and make them understand that we are the architect of our debt to countries like china. We need to make them know that our act of greediness in importing goods to make short run profits without caring about the long term effect (trade deficit) has led us into this mess.
For buyers, our role is to be informed. Spend a little more moment the next time you make a purchase, check out where your purchase product was made, and compare it to American made product similar to it. You can as well write to your favorite retail store informing them of the need to start carrying products made in the US only. You can as well search online for your products.
I believe in American made product and I think every American when going for a product should try and spend an extra minute(s) to check if it is “Made in the USA” before purchasing. By doing this, you are equally playing a great role in helping the American job market grow.
References
http://madeinusaforever.com/toptenreasons.html
https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/made-in-america-matters.html
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/02/made-in-america/index.htm