[quote=patientrenter]Rt 66, would you say that it’s best to only buy things that the people closest to you make? Should that be people in your township only? Or just your family? Or maybe just you?
Why is it best not to buy things from people in other countries if you like them and they are offering them to you at a good price?[/quote]
If my local manufacturer provided a higher quality product, and was a net benefit to my community because of the jobs it provided to our local residents, I would definitely be willing to pay more in order to support what I believe is right — treating employees fairly; paying a livable, middle-class wage; abiding by regulations that ensured our environment wasn’t being polluted, etc.
Funny anecdote:
When my mother passed away in 2007, I sold her vacuum cleaner at an estate sale. It was the same vacuum cleaner she had for about forty years, and still outperformed new cleaners. She was a neat-freak, and used it often. The same can be said of old TVs, stereos, etc. Try that with today’s plastic crap from overseas.
We used to make GOOD QUALITY products, and even though you might have paid more for it, it could be fixed in a repair shop, if necessary, and would outlast by 4 or 5 times++ the stuff we buy from Wal-Mart today. Our workers were able to live comfortable, middle-class lifestyles, and had job security and medical benefits — which were somehow much more affordable than they are now.
We used fewer resources and created less environmental destruction because we weren’t disposing of our “obsolete” junk every couple of years.
We’ve been lied to about the benefits of globalization. True, it might benefit developing nations, but it does NOT benefit us.
