This morning in the New York Times, Warren Buffett makes the case for investing now in American stocks.
A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.
…
To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.
Buying American takes some doing these days. Just last weekend, I wove through the road construction and asphalt trucks of l’il ol’ Park Rapids, Minnesota for a rare visit to the local Wal-Mart in search of something I knew I couldn’t find in the other smaller stores of the community.
While there, I decided to look for a new juice container.
I’m pragmatic about my fears. I don’t worry about boogey-men popping out from behind the tall timbers. The only orange alert is the color of the tamaracks.
I don’t shy away from paying my taxes….just how do folks think that road construction and those asphalt trucks get paid for, anyway? I just want to be sure that when I do pay those taxes, the money’s spent responsibly, wisely and prudently. So reading that one of John McCain’s chief fundraisers is under investigation for war profiteering…now that’s something I fear. And that’s something I expect the government I’m paying for to do something about…to protect this country and to protect my family.
And when I see economist Joseph Stiglitz telling Colbert about how global corporations have figured out how to bill bilk the American taxpayer out of gazillions of dollars doing things like truckin’ sand from Kuwait to Iraq. What, said Colbert, they don’t have enough sand in Iraq?
Yeah, sometimes I wonder if we should be learning from history not just by reading Orwell’s 1984, but we should also be reconnecting with Milo Minderbender in Catch-22.
But back to storing stuff in plastic made in China. You see, I worry about that. Plastic, any plastic, gives me pause. And, yes, I did see The Graduate in original release. But sorry, plastic don’t float my boat. So there I was in Wal-Mart. Looking for a glass juice container. Not made in China.
And I found it. Anchor-Hocking, said the label. Made in America. By a good ol’ American company that’s been around since long before I was writing ad copy for the housewares sales at the regional hardware and sports chain where I started biz writing.
Nice to see an old friend.
So there’s a couple of new glass carafe-shaped pitchers ready for juice and iced tea in the tall timber now.
And if you are willing to do a little extra work, make a little extra effort, you, too, can "buy American" and invest in putting this country back on its feet.
.
crossposted at homeblog Prairie Sun Rising
7 Comments
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The reason it’s tough to “buy american” is the fact that there are very few things we still make
in addition, we subsidize slave and child labor, we subsidize corporations that are allowed to pollute when we import most of these products
we need to add a tariff to any product that is produced by labor not allowed to have collective bargaining, not payed enough to take vacations and educate their children and not payed enough to retire
once we add the proper tariffs America will again be a country that actually produces products of value
Hopefully the problem will lessen once we get tired of buying products very cheap that kill our pets and children! There is nothing so starkly revealing as the death of something or someone we love because we were trying to save a few pennies.
The Locavore movement and the wonderful farmers’ markets that we can frequent seasonally are a model worth emulating.
More quality, less quantity… a little bit o’extra cash for organic products and not so much super-sizing of the foods we eat would lead to an all-around healthier self… whether the self is moi or the nation.
The whole culture of greed and gluttony is a cancer in a whole lotta ways.
I agree about how difficult it is to actually find “made in the USA.” At the supermarket now that the farmers’ markets are winding down, I look at the teeny tiny tomato labels and opt for the Canadian over the Mexican ones. Food scares are national security, too.
I look all year to buy American things to give as gifts at the holidays. We also have an arts fair that draws vendors from all over the country — great ceramics and glass are sold at affordable prices. We buy our milk and butter from this Ohio daily, sold in our local grocery:
http://www.hartzlerfamilydairy.com/
I’m trying!
oops, dairy!
As the wonderful writer Anne LaMott would say, bird by bird, gift by gift, dairy by dairy…
We will restore….
Didn’t you see the documentary on Wall-Mart and how they put small business owners in your community out of business, how they pay so little to their “associates” or employees that those employees are eligible for food stamps and government funded housing? How they bully and fire anyone who even smells of labor unions who want to garner benefits for Wal-Mart associatses? I used to always shop at Wal-Mart and search for the Made in America brands that are so difficult to find until I saw this documentary on HBO. I’m glad you found your Anchor Hocking glass container but by buying it at Wal-Mart, you are supporting thier efforts to eliminate all competition in your community and effectively doing so, supporting thier unacceptable employer practices, supporting the surviving family owners of Walmart who make billions but give less than .5% of their wealth back to the community in philanthropic support. I just felt too guilty to support such a demon organization to save a few pennies and save alot of time by buying everything one needs in one store. My community just passed an ordinance prohibiting Wal-Mart from returning and rebuilding after it was flooded due to Hurricane Katrina. Our community saw all the long standing businesses that went out of business when Wal-Mart originally came to our city. We are hoping this move creates an encouraging business climate for those small businesses to return and rebuild. Our small businesses want to sell made in America if given the chance. Check out how many business are now out of business in your area after Wal-Mart came. Good luck on your future searches for quality and safe products made in American. It will take a little more effort to find them if you don’t shop at the Monster-Mart but they’re out there. Try looking online.