I think we consumers need to take back our jobs for ourselves

[Ironpost]

I say we stop buying all this stuff made in china I'm sure we could all do without a lot of the things we are buying from china at least long enough for management to realizes that they are not selling these items anymore, then I'll bet they'll start looking for American made products to offer. After all we can make anything that is being made in the world much better than what is being built.

[AP]

1. Refine that sentiment: Don't by anything that isn't made by labor that

is not fairly rewarded for the work they do.

I don't care if the thing I buy is made in Venezuela, so long as the Venezuelan who made it is getting a fair percentage of the wealth they create.

American workers are not getting screwed because some well paid worker somewhere else is making something (American labor can compete with anyone so long as they get paid fair wages). They're getting screwed because some CEO in the US is making a ton of money destroying the value of labor all over the globe, and then charging Americans high retail prices for cheaply-manufactured goods and pocketing the difference.

[sangh0]

6. Yes, we need to connect our policies and positions with our VALUES

It's not enough to say WHAT we are going to do. We also have to explain WHY we are doing, and experience demonstrates that explaining how it benefits our finances is NOT GOOD ENOUGH

[shance]

2. I agree. Our power is based in pulling out of this consumer based market

n/t

[AP]

7. I disagree. Our power is in our ability to participate in an equitable,

wealth maximizing, wealth-distributing economy.

We don't want to destroy the marketplace. We want to create a marketplace which shares its wealthy fairly and which provides a safety net for those who try and fail so that others will be willing to take risks.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. And you are onto something

It is the economy stupid, they will count the dollars even when they don't count the votes'

These days I not only look for the Made in America label but if at all possible the union label.

Oh and here is more

GET OUT OF ALL PERSONAL DEBT... don't play that game, and live within your means. I mean it i

Cancel major credit cards (Keep one from the local credit union for EMERGENCIES... or major purchases if you do not feel like hawling eight hundred dollars to the store... or the checkbook... but make sure you come home and you write that check to the credit company or have your card tied to your check book)

DO NOT under any circumstance, buy at Walmart, or K-Mart... buy under all possible circumstances from local merchants... end of discusion support them, double kudos if they are Democrats. Speakng off, the so called Christian Majority has been doing this for years, having lists of Christian businesses for their members to shop exclusively, they understood this years ago... find out who the local Democrats are and SUPORT THEM... if possible do business ONLY with democrats (they have pushed for thirty years for the contry to get here, well freepers, beware of the winds you sow, for you will not like the whirlwind you reap)

Holidays a time to be with the family and celebrate the miracle of a very special life in the midst of winter... (did I mention gifts anywhere? That is the true spirit of the season, not gifts, Madison Avenue has exploited a small aspect where gifts were sometimes exchanged among the top of the population to celebrate this miracle of life) So this comming Christmas be with family... and give thanks for what you have. If you must give gifts, again find local merchant, and trust me even antiques or second hand stuff can work. As is I think this year it will be lean. Oh and speaking of the holidays, I know how much we all love turkey and them fixings... this year do without and do some CHICKEN... method to this madness, if enough of us do this, guess what turkey will have to go on sale. We do this for BOTH Christmas and THanksgiging somebody may start to ask what is going on?

THINK what I said about debt, aproximately 70% of the nation's GNP is tied into your consumption and debt, which is the nature of capitalism.

Cars, I know we all need to replace them sometime, buy a two year old subcompact, or a hybrid... peak oil is here and none of us truly need them gazz glussling SUVs, UNLESS you work in a farm, then they are justified. And if you must go for the SUV, Ford has finally put out the Escape... when we replace the truck in two to four years, that is what I intend to get... we love our Civic Hybrid.

What yuo are sugesting, by the way, is civil disobedeince. While you are at it find Thoureau's on Civil DIsobedience, MLK books and Ghandi... and get creative. Remember the trick to Civil Disobedience is... it has to be legal... and it does work but it takes a while... a good while. MLK did not start civil rights, but he was succesful becuase he used Ghandian methods to great effect and that is the curse of our lives right now.

[InvisibleTouch]

4. Great post! Check out the "Economic Activism" DU Group...

...if you haven't already done so. This is exactly the type of stuff being discussed there. Maybe you could copy your post over there?

BTW, regarding the Ford SUV hybrid Escape, I looked into this, because I need a large-ish vehicle to haul around my dogs and my stuff for sale, but was told they were impossible to get anywhere other than the west and east coasts (I'm in the Midwest). It's a great idea, but it seems to be more lip service than action from Ford at this point. With enough demand and repeated requests, though, I hope they'll be more widely available.

[Mabel Dodge]

5. Consumerism is a trap!!!!

Great post and good advice nadinbrzezinski.

You have more control over your life if your not tied down to debt. That's a message conservative leadership would rather people not know about.

My Mother taught me an old saying from WWII "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." We live by that saying in my house. We aren't rich but we have no debt.

[Lorien]

8. We need to stop being consumers, and start being citizens

again. Some of us are trying to do just that: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=255

Join us!