Guest Blogged by our friend, Rock Headed Momma:
Some of us were talking not too long ago about Wal-Mart and how so many people feel they have to shop there for the extremely low prices. They want to support the American economy, they realize everything in Wal-Mart is mostly cheap Chinese items, but, they know that most of the stuff in other stores is cheap Chinese stuff too. They wanted to know, what can a person do to help Americans get manufacturing jobs back to the States? What can everyday Americans do to help the American economy and everyday working class people?
1. Evangelize! We should be talking to each other to encourage our families, our neighbors, our co-workers to stop as much spending as possible and save, save, save, save, save our money, until there is a six month living cushion saved up. Stop spending includes cutting waste. Unplug those appliances when they are not being used, turn off lights, plant a veggie garden, buy at resale stores, walk to the store, rinse out the shampoo bottle with a little water for one last wash - be a miser - everyone should be encouraged to have a six month cushion.
No credit cards - None! Never! Credit is debit spending - and, it is BAIT. You cannot borrow your way out of debt - loans are BAIT. What caused our great financial and economic downturn was NOT community reinvestment mortgages or the stock market or companies too big to fail - it was the gaming of our economic system through loans OF ANY KIND. By enticing people to borrow money, financial institutions were able to "make" money out of literally, nothing. It was the "nothing" money, leveraged, bet, bundled, chopped and shopped, that caused the crash. It was our borrowing that gave them the ability to do it. Don't give them that power! Shrink their ability to game the system by never using them to borrow money!
Kill the demand for cheap junk! Insist on quality! Be willing to pay for quality.
Take really good care of your quality stuff.
When you buy at big box stores, your money goes to China mostly. So don't go to big box stores. Duh.
2. THINK and PRIORITIZE who gets the money. Decide, in advance, where the money spent will do the best good. Buy from people instead of stores - Craigslist, Ebay, Etsy, other net shops where people resale or sale things they make. Local artisan shops for things like cheese, farmer's markets, pick your own - it is way healthier food and usually cheaper! Personally, I can recommend The Strawberry Patch there on FM 1301. Patronize only those restaurants that buy and use locally grown foods too! Local franchise stores over national big box stores. Give gifts that utilize local people or national artisans - Surprises has always been one of my favorite stores. Get your oil changed at the locally owned gas station. IOW, we should be keeping the money we spend as close to us as possible. I prefer buying Mexican or Canadian over other countries and I branch out from there, politically. France gets mine way before China does! Small manufacturer's exist all around the Houston area -- there is Hawkins Reclaimed Wood furniture, windows and doors, shirts, barbarque pits are just a small sample.
Remember - "Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." To help the American people, spend money on Americans who labor - give them the first and best consideration.
Some of us were talking not too long ago about Wal-Mart and how so many people feel they have to shop there for the extremely low prices. They want to support the American economy, they realize everything in Wal-Mart is mostly cheap Chinese items, but, they know that most of the stuff in other stores is cheap Chinese stuff too. They wanted to know, what can a person do to help Americans get manufacturing jobs back to the States? What can everyday Americans do to help the American economy and everyday working class people?
1. Evangelize! We should be talking to each other to encourage our families, our neighbors, our co-workers to stop as much spending as possible and save, save, save, save, save our money, until there is a six month living cushion saved up. Stop spending includes cutting waste. Unplug those appliances when they are not being used, turn off lights, plant a veggie garden, buy at resale stores, walk to the store, rinse out the shampoo bottle with a little water for one last wash - be a miser - everyone should be encouraged to have a six month cushion.
No credit cards - None! Never! Credit is debit spending - and, it is BAIT. You cannot borrow your way out of debt - loans are BAIT. What caused our great financial and economic downturn was NOT community reinvestment mortgages or the stock market or companies too big to fail - it was the gaming of our economic system through loans OF ANY KIND. By enticing people to borrow money, financial institutions were able to "make" money out of literally, nothing. It was the "nothing" money, leveraged, bet, bundled, chopped and shopped, that caused the crash. It was our borrowing that gave them the ability to do it. Don't give them that power! Shrink their ability to game the system by never using them to borrow money!
Kill the demand for cheap junk! Insist on quality! Be willing to pay for quality.
Take really good care of your quality stuff.
When you buy at big box stores, your money goes to China mostly. So don't go to big box stores. Duh.
2. THINK and PRIORITIZE who gets the money. Decide, in advance, where the money spent will do the best good. Buy from people instead of stores - Craigslist, Ebay, Etsy, other net shops where people resale or sale things they make. Local artisan shops for things like cheese, farmer's markets, pick your own - it is way healthier food and usually cheaper! Personally, I can recommend The Strawberry Patch there on FM 1301. Patronize only those restaurants that buy and use locally grown foods too! Local franchise stores over national big box stores. Give gifts that utilize local people or national artisans - Surprises has always been one of my favorite stores. Get your oil changed at the locally owned gas station. IOW, we should be keeping the money we spend as close to us as possible. I prefer buying Mexican or Canadian over other countries and I branch out from there, politically. France gets mine way before China does! Small manufacturer's exist all around the Houston area -- there is Hawkins Reclaimed Wood furniture, windows and doors, shirts, barbarque pits are just a small sample.
Remember - "Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." To help the American people, spend money on Americans who labor - give them the first and best consideration.
Zep products are very good at what they are made for. They AREN'T good if you have chemical sensitivities. Just an FYI. Vinegar or baking soda will clean up almost anything. For carpet, poor hydrogen peroxide on it, cover with cloth, and set a pan of boiling water on it... takes out anything!
Time to bring out the old Heloise clips.
carguy, a new garbage disposal would be quite nice, thank you - lol!
Friends don't let friends drink anything made by Anheuser Busch. Especially when Dogfish Head and Anchor and Ommengang and others make such fabulous ale.
Miemaw wrote: I bought some yarn...
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You bought some yarn? YARN? Do you think we're gonna haul our asses out of this recession with YARN?
I don't think so. Look at me...car headers, intake manifold, set of lifters. Heavy stuff. CAR STUFF. MAN STUFF.
We're not gettin' out of this mess with yarn and doilies.
I'm gonna go get me a new double-barrell shotgun for duck season. I challenge you ALL to do the same.....or similar. :-)
Carol, how 'bout a new garbage disposal for you??
On cleaning supplies and canned goods, I shop a lot of places.
There is a "Save A Lot" store not far from me.
Produce is good. Prices are lower than a lot of supermarkets (even with "the card"). And... they stock a lot of "no added salt" canned goods, and especially ketchup... which I'm now using.
And, I discovered an auction site called www. eBid.net.
It's like eBay, except not as big, and more user friendly. Based in Ireland, (I think.) I found a replacement for something I lost, something that one of my kids had given me.... and it was less from there, (even with shipping) than I found it anywhere else.
I bought some yarn on there, from somebody in the U.K., for a project I'm working on. Was the price higher than WalMart? Yes. What with the exchange rate, and stuff. However, I figured the folks in the U.K. can use the money, and WalMart doesn't need it. Besides which -- the seller helped me in getting a partial return of shipping costs. She was extremely nice, very "customer oriented", and I was really happy with the service. The package was on my porch, here in about seven-ten days.
I love thrift stores, used book stores, and of course my local library for reading materials.
I also love Ace Hardware -- much better than the big box stores for the house repair/replace, and lawn kind of stuff. The one I frequent has a friendly staff....and people to load stuff like big bags of mulch, and stuff into my car, without it taking up most of the day.
I use solar lights as much as possible. Had a solar light pumpkin for Halloween. I have even looked at some outdoor Holiday decorations using solar lights. They are a little "pricey" so I may pass on them this year... and hope they come down a little next year.
Garage sales are always worth checking out. One persons trash ( or garage sale - sell ) can become another person's treasure.
It's not too hard.... if you set your mind to it. And, I prefer to think of it as "frugal" or "thrifty." In this economy... you have to be.
Can I still get credit for MY contributions????
Fractional reserve banking wasn't the problem, it was liquidity. And your plan would require not just a freeze on consumer debt but also removing your money from banks in order to deny them its use in lending.
All my porn is from America. None of that "eastern european" stuff. The women all have bad teeth. :-)
I also don't go to foreign movies. Although, admittedly, that's 'cuz I don't read very fast.
I just spent $800 on a new set of "American made" headers for my classic car ('78 Silver Anniversary Vette) and had them ceramic coated in Tempe, Arizona by Jet-Hot Coatings. I also spent $714.00 on a new set of lifters and had my mechanic install them along with a NEW "American made" dual plane intake manifold from Edelbrock. ALL Edelbrock are made in America. Other parts and gaskets from O'Reilly's. ALL AMERICAN PRODUCTS.
I no longer drink ANY Anheuser Busch beers since they are now owned by InBev in Belgium.
Excellent suggestions! I have used newspaper to clean glass for years and it does work really well.
I don't step foot inside WalMart if I can help it. WalMart is known nationally for killing Mom and Pop stores in small towns. WM moves in; the personality and charm of a small town dies. The only people profiting from WM is the Walton family.
As for the cleaning products and other advice, there are some very good suggestionsy'all have made. I have been looking for some farmers' markets close to here. I don't have space for a garden although I am going to try this new upside down tomato grower so I can have a good supply of green tomatoes. For basic cleaning (woodwork, walls, etc.), I have always used vinegar, ammonia and baking soda. Mix these in a bucket of warm water and trust me, it works. (Our grandparents were evidently smarter than we are!)
I hate WalMart - generally refuse to shop there. I've hated the company for years, based on its predatory store location policy, designed to drive other local stores out of business. WalMart is bad for America, but as we see so often, lots of people are unable to grasp what is in their own self interest, so they shop there.
I do purchase one item and one item only at WalMart - their generic insulin, which is half the price charged by any other pharmacy. Somebody find me another supplier and I'll abandon WM in a heartbeat.
Kel, re: cleaning supplies - you might consider Simple Green products. Environmentally friendly, American company, most products made in the USA, so even if a small markup goes the the box store you bought it from most of the profits and the jobs stay here.
http://simplegreen.com/
I've stopped buying some cleaning products. Once I found out what's in fabric softener, I know I didn't want that stuff near my skin ever again. I use vinegar - clothes get stiff because they didn't rinse completely. Vinegar removes the detergent residue and makes your clothes softer. Vinegar and water in place of glass cleaner (and use your old newspapers for mirrors and stuff, I know it sounds counter-intuitive but they really do clean glass streakfree and keeps you from pointlessly using expensive papertowels). Baking soda instead of scouring powders like Comet and as a boost for laundry detergent, which I go half det plus 1/2 cup of baking soda. Just a few thoughts...
Rockheadedmama -- thanks for an excellent blog. While I agree with 90% of what you say, living in a rural area as I do, the only store here is a WalMart - and a nasty one at that. But, in a hurry, I shop there instead of driving 30 - 45 miles to another store. It is the down side of living in the country.
Having said that, thank you for the links that you provided - expecially the "Stawberry Patch" which is apparently just down the road from me.
I grow my own veggies, raise my own beef and eggs, but I will try to do better.
i reject walmart. as to credit cards, i watched an eye opener this morning on cnn money matters about amex and other credit cards keeping tabs on where people shop, lowering your limit if you shop at a dollar store! amex rep said, on camera, when a customer starts shopping at dollar stores or pawn shops we have reason to believe their financial position is compromised. wtf??? i buy vinyls at goodwill and salvation army. i do not use credit cards but do use my visa checkcard from my bofa acct. kinda spooked me about just using cash. about markets, i went to a produce market about a year ago in rice university parking lot, everything was overpriced and mostly rich people buying small amounts of specialty items. my son is planning a community garden with some people he met at kpft. when i was a child, my mom belonged to a co-opt, where people on our street pooled their money and got eggs from one farm, produce from hempstead. and if you shop the cannino market where i've gone since the 70's, the merchants in the back sell their produce at different prices and make cash deals. last summer i bought pineapples for $2 each, watermelons for $4 when out front the prices were almost double. great guest blog, thanks!
There are local grocery stores. Gerland's, Sellers Brothers, Brookshire Brothers, etc - they are more or less locally owned, and have all the canned goods you can think of, as well as cleaning supplies or whatever else you need. If you can't find local retailers, you haven't been looking.
For cleaning supplies I would suggest Zep products. Zep is a Georgia company and the products are found at Home Depot. They are better than anything you will find at the grocery store.
http://www.zep.com/
I haven't set foot inside a Wal-Mart in years. My principal reason for avoiding Wal-Mart has been their unconscionable treatment of employees with respect to health care, forcing their people to go on Medicaid and taxpayers to pick up the tab. Shopping at Wal-Mart is more expensive than we think.
The last one I visited was the Meyer Park location—scary.
Thanks for the links to all the stores!
Discovery Green has a farmers market every Sunday, (I think - you can google it) and I try to support local resale shops.
Answer me this - how does one buy cleaning supplies and/or canned goods from a retailer other than a 'big box' store? I shop at Target weekly, and don't know how or where to get half of that stuff at any local retailer.