Awesome and agreed. When I go home to watch the Redskins get their buts handed to them today, I'll be drinking American beer. YINGLING!

But will get my mom some local stuff too for X-mass

Yesterday at Trader Joes I couldn't choose between spanish onions and yellow onions.  They were the same price.  I looked at the packages.  One was from Peru, the other said "Product of the USA."  My decision was easy.  I double checked my cheese, it was from Wisconsin.  

I will continue to expand on the first post and the linked page.  I will make it as easy as possible for you.  In terms of clothing, check out American Apparel.  They make everything in the US, employee over 4,000 workers in LA, and export their clothing to foreign nations!

Be warned that some companies will say "of the USA" but it will only be packaged here.

Why buy an American product if the same one has higher quality and a lower price than one produced overseas? Hondas, Nissans, and Toyotas, have all rated near the top in Consumer Reports magazine for many decades. The Treaty Clause in the US Constitution mainly deals with free trade. You can find this in the Federalist Papers and other original documents. Making trade barriers and restrictions actually hurts our economy. When I can purchase a product for less money and receive a higher quality, as an American citizen, I will have more money to buy an American product; assuming it has any quality itself. The problem isn't items we purchase, rather, it is the printing of paper money; making our dollar more worthless; and higher taxation placed upon purchased items. That is the root of the problem. We need to honor the Constitution that requires 'payment of debts in silver and gold coin'. We cannot counterfeit gold or silver, therefore, a fascist government cannot create money out of thin air and have taxation policies, i.e. VAT tax, corporate taxes, etc.; that destroy incentives for quality at the employee level, as there are lower wages as a result. A more restricted Federal Government will then be forced to stay within the bounds of Art.1, Sec.8 of the Constitution that keeps them out of the business world.

This comment has been moved here.

A post objecting to this concept was written and I posted a response.  I thought I would post that here so that more of my stance was understood:

In response to Homoeconomicus. 

I agree with everything you said. I was calling for a balanced approach. You seem to as well. You titled your piece “irrational response” so I imagine you don’t realize that in your article you have summed up my feelings as well. I am not in opposition to you.

I do worry that you put a stress on arguments I’ve now come to believe we give too much blind adherence to. Throughout my life I’ve slowly learned not to look at labels as production moved overseas because I was accepting what the stores were offering me. They have slowly moved to offer me more foreign goods and less American. The consumer is not king, profit for the megacorp has become king. The big box stores squeeze every penny they can out of low cost goods, and we buy it because it’s there. But what if there is a similarly priced American replacement that isn’t in the big box store I do my shopping at?

I am suggesting we heighten our awareness, not eliminate global trade. Last week I was at the grocery store, and had a decision to make when purchasing onions. They had yellow and spanish onions, and it didn’t matter which I used. They were the same price, same weight, I couldn’t decide. I checked the labels. One came from Peru, the other from the US. I bought the American onions. Was that so wrong? I also reduced my carbon footprint with that purchase.

I am not arguing for government protectionism, I don’t want to see tariffs restricting trade, or other barriers and subsidies typically associated with protectionism. I want to encourage people to make informed decisions. There are American products that are made at similar quality and similar price, or higher quality at similar price. Yes these items may have foreign parts… great!

I agree with your message. “Be thoughtful about what you want to buy, and need to buy. I trust you to make your own choices in an open free trade economy.” I only have a small quibble here. I trust myself to make my own choices, but today I realize that I made poor ones in the past. Blind trust in anyone is no good, including blindly trusting myself. There were many times I could have reduced my carbon footprint by buying local and helped my own economy even more. I blindly accepted the notion that I should just buy foreign.

As for the poor countries of the world, Americans have shown that when we have money to give, we will. And we’d have more of it if we just dedicated a little more of our energy to buying homegrown. And I would advocate for the same if you are from a country other than the one I live in. Are we about to go over the fiscal cliff? I’m just trying to do about the only thing I can do to help.

Understood and agreed.  There is a store in New York that actually sells products that are 100% American made.  While I would gladly shop there once or twice, it's not what I'm looking for.  I hope we can simply pay a little more attention to our purchases.  Go from not looking at labels at all to seeking out products that are assembled or made in the USA.  If I'm looking for a blender, instead of just heading to big box store and buying one, I would spend a few minutes researching an American option.  This search yielding American appliances was the second link, and it took me 5 seconds.

I understand this point and this is one reason I don't think we should become so entrenched with buying American that it's all we allow ourselves to buy.  But the alternative arguments to this should be brought up as well.  One of which would be that in some cases the inexpensive import products keep inhumane manufacturing houses up and running.  I know... in some cases these people prefer to work in a sweatshop because it's there or nothing, I'm not sure if that's the best argument for us to support poor working conditions, but I get the argument.  Apple and other tech is made at Foxconn, the workers are just dying to get out of there.

I recently heard of this website for finding products made in the US and don't see it noted above.
http://madeinusaforever.com/

Another reason not to buy things made in China?

http://www.oregonlive.com/happy-valley/index.ssf/2012/12/halloween_decorations_carry_ha.html

I do!

Check this post about the Chinese Halloween Costume.

living in slovakia has really changed my thinking in regard to produce.  they're just now getting to the point here where you can buy almost any produce year-round in the big shops like tesco, but it is still looked on as an obnoxious luxury and unnatural by most people.  in fact, most slovaks don't trust produce from the store period.

the idea of having berries outside of summer for me just sounds gross now.  i know how tasteless store-bought berries are.  we raise most of our vegetables in our garden and what we don't raise, like apples and plums, we get from friends and family.  it's very common for slovaks to make gifts of home-grown produce to each other.

pretty much the only produce we buy are citrus fruits, bananas, avocadoes, lettuce, cabbage (we could grow it but we don't eat enough of it to make it worthwhile), garlic (although we're going to start growing that), and occasionally tomatoes, bell peppers, and green onions out of season.

I cheat - locally, there are many, many farms within anywhere from 10 minutes to however long you want to drive.  During the summer, you can get almost anything as there are berry farms, orchards, herb farms, general fruits and vegetables.  Farmer's markets and fruit stands in many locations.  There are vacant lots the city has dedicated to urban gardens - 3 or 4 within about 1/2 mile of my house.  There are cooperative fruit and vegetable boxes where you can buy in and get a box of produce every month during the summer delivered to your house.  Within 30-40 miles I have a choice of grass fed beef, pork and lamb, chicken, duck, turkey - already slaughtered and packaged.  My yard is tiny so I have a small herb garden instead of flowers.

I won't eat most fruit out of season any more - and my favorite, strawberries, I will only buy a variety called Mt. Hood.  They don't ship, won't keep longer than about 24 hours if that, and only produce in the spring.  I freeze some and make some into preserves and eat myself sick.  Then I do without for the rest of the year. 

Kind of chilly here, so strawberry season is June-ish.

Damn Canadians... always stealing our milk.

Go to 2:07 for the joke.

www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-january-9-2013/bridge-to-canada

I buy whatever tastes best. Often that is local produce, sometimes it isn't. For example, last year we had an absolutely terrible year for growing squash, so if you wanted decent squash it had to but imported. In general, local produce tastes better because it is fresher and isn't as damaged in transit. However, if I decide I want strawberries in December, I don't give a flying fuck if they are from Mexico if they taste good. The only thing that I eat that is almost completely local is my meat because I insist on butchering the animal myself. The only exceptions being lobster, shrimp, oysters and other ocean fish which I only eat occasionally otherwise and are not available here in Ohio and are always overpriced and low quality. (I really miss living on the coast sometimes.)

I really don't see a point to the locavore movement. Eat what you enjoy, if it is local fine, if it is imported, who cares? Anything produced locally is going to usually be higher quality because most food doesn't ship well, but there are always exceptions. And sometimes in December you want a strawberry and don't give a hoot if it is as good as the strawberry you ate in June. The benefit of living in the US is you can buy any fruit or vegetable at any time of year, most people around the world don't enjoy that luxury. I see no logical reason to deprive yourself of it. 

Thought you might find this interesting... I'm not sure about Walmart... I don't shop there because it tends to give me a yucky feeling.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-walmart-us-idUSBRE90E0MB20130115