Store Capitalizes On Patriotism

A new store Elma, New York opened under the name Made in America. Everything in the store is made in the U.S. and many tour bus companies have added it as a stop.
Shop owner Mark Andol climbs aboard a bus and tells the riders that shopping here is a patriotic act.

"When you walk through them doors, I guarantee when you're shopping — the homework's been done — it's 100 percent made-in-America products. Made in this country by American workers, and the money stays in our economy. So, enjoy yourself," he says.

Customers pour into the spacious building, which used to be a Ford dealership. American flags and patriotic quotes adorn the walls.

The store has not yet turned a profit, because Andol is still expanding his line of products. He researches every item to make sure the components are all US-made, including the packaging. http://www.npr.org/2011/06/22/137301881/made-in-america-store-capitalizes-on-patriotism -via Fark

(Image credit: Daniel Robison for NPR)

Even though "buying American" isn't any kind of answer to our problems, I'd still shop there. Maybe not for everyday consumables like paper towels, but durable goods? Why not.
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The idea is built on good intentions, yet thanks to department stores that buy manufatured products over seas so they can sell things cheaper will wipe shops like this out of existance. It's nice to think that a nation could be self sufficent, but with the mindsets of consumers in Canada and in the USA it's more a dream then a reality.
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Gaulder and Ted - also don't forget that even that even if that item you buy was made in China, there are Americans who got paid for getting that product to the shelf for you to buy.

Granted, not everyone involved in said product is American, but some of them are.
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Self-sufficiency is a nice idea, but in reality it's more of a nightmare than a dream. The more you close yourself off to the global economy, the more it works against you.

This idea, called "mercantilism" --choking foreign trade and keeping American goods for Americans-- is actually one of the policies that made the Great Depression much worse than it would have been otherwise.

As good-intentioned as it is, this type of "patriotism" is actually the last thing we need right now as a country.
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