On Aug 13, 2009, at 11:32 AM, Fred B. Ellison wrote:
> --- On Thu, 8/13/09, Dan Dunaway wrote: > > > I think "Buy American" and "Buy Locally" is a good idea, but what we > often think of as American companies is now deceptive (just like our > politicians). > > We have a GE washer/dryer combination that is trash and defective > (yet surprisingly not a manufacturer problem). We will never buy one > of their products again. > > We don't buy Mexican produce. We don't buy Chinese goods if we can > help it. We no longer go to dollar stores. One easy way to tell: if the product is from your local growers-only farmers' markets, its locally grown. If, instead of buying a chinese tool or appliance, you have your old one fixed by your local handyman, then it is made-in-the-USA. If you must buy foreign, buy TOOLS that will help you replace their products. That is what they did to us. We have a neighbor who repairs CBs. Instead of buying new radios, we bought used ones that he refurbished. As an added bonus, when they were new they were American made. We had him fix our used US made generator instead of buying a new one. I had a froe (a tool used for splitting out boards) that was made out of an old, worn-out wood rasp. I finally snapped the tang on the thing a bit ago and I traded it to a local blacksmith who is making a new knife for my wife out of it for a wool scarf I am making. One tool, three separate lives over several decades. I have an old file sitting in a scrap bin that will be made into a new tool once I figure out what I need. I recently bought a used American-made rifle for hunting. Between our tools and the neighbors', we will know our ammunition will be made-in- the-USA because WE will be making it (and finding more US-made components than you would think). Instead of buying a new foreign-made hay bailer, our tenant bought two old American-made ones and got one working between the parts. Now he is hiring out locally to bail hay. Some things we still have trouble working out. We ended up buying an Ashford (Australian) spinning wheel for our business because there are no production wheels made here anymore and we could not make or find parts for one we have. But we are working on changing that, working with a struggling steel fabrication and some local machinists to potentially get parts made HERE. Instead of buying foreign tack and harness for our horse, we bought leather locally and are making much of what we need. We need a new saddle, and that we will try to buy from someone local because it is a touch beyond our skills so far. We buy a portion of our clothes and items at the DAV thrift store. We sew some of our own new clothes. Old cloths get donated or turned into rags and reused. You do not have to go completely nuts and make everything yourself, but you would be surprised how far you can go, especially if you are a bit handy and you barter with other such people around you. This rebuilds the local economy. It does not matter whether you buy something new, made-in-the-USA or used or refurbished. Either way you are giving locals business. And by promoting those craftspeople, you know exactly who to turn to if the trucks stop rolling for some reason. We butchered our own sheep today (had to put down a ram that had turned mean and had killed another sheep). For customers, we typically contract out to someone certified (can't do anything else, legally) and we could do that for ourselves, probably will often enough, but it gives us a chance to develop the skill. We know we can do it if and when we need to. This way as well, we will be able to make neat's foot oil which we use in making our saddle soap and is getting hard to find, we will get the suet to make tallow for our soap and candle line, we will get the horns for sale and the skin will become a rug (I have tanned hides here and there). That is less we have to buy elsewhere. We have bees now, so between our own wax and our own tallow, we are buying a lot less wax from outside and when we do, we give preference to local beekeepers and a local family butcher shop. The surplus honey and the fact that it keeps one of our neighbors off the property :-) is just gravy. Again, *we* take things a bit overboard since our business is both farm and craft related and you do not need to go that far. But, can you learn to knit or sew while watching the news in the evenings? Can you learn to change and turn your own brake calipers (please have someone more experienced help you the first time--- brakes are important to get right)? Get a replacement part from your local scrap yard? Help your neighbor re-deck his roof or plant yourself a garden? Every bit helps. Every skill you learn makes you more capable of surviving a down turn. Every tradable product you can make is something you can use to get something you need. Bust cycles in the economy are a cue to let failing businesses die and be reabsorbed into the local economy. It is the time that their resources (tools, equipment, labor, capital) get turned to local use. It is time for people to pay down debts (or file and write them off if necessary), to save up for the next boom cycle. Our wonderful government has worked hard to make this system stop working by injecting even MORE capital into a hurting economy and forcing many separate bubbles to burst at the same time (real estate, telecom, commercial real estate, automotive, etc), but we still have to get to the bottom of the cycle before we can even *start* the climb back up. > Boy, my world is getting smaller all the time. I need an end of life > counselor to get me out of this. > and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you > save may be your own or your neighbors! OUR world is getting bigger as we do this: as we meet new people, learn new skills, and develop new business relationships. Everybody has a skill, you just have to find it and figure out what to trade for it. Sincerely, Eric Vought "Faith does not absolve us from trying to understand our world and make moral distinctions with the eyes and brain given us. Religion is as much responsibility as direction: Duty not Distinction." --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ This is a Free Speech forum. The owner of this list assumes no responsibility for the intellectual or emotional maturity of its members. If you do not like what is being said here, filter it to trash, ignore it or leave. If you leave, learn how to do this for yourself. If you do not, you will be here forever. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
