Letter to the Editor: American Consumer Missing in Action

I’d ask them, “What if we started a company called MIA,” a play on the words Made in America, as well as Missing in Action. The premise would be to only sell goods that were at least 80% (or some %) made of parts produced in the good ol’ USA. The Grateful Dead’s U S Blues would be piped in the sound system to increase the customers patriotism. “Wave that flag, wave it wide and high.”

My thought would be to open such stores adjacent to one of the “Big Box” outlets. This would highlight the conundrum of buying cheaper goods, yet eliminating American manufacturing jobs as a result. (the missing in action angle).

Obviously, there would have to be an educational aspect (re: expensive advertising) to make buyers consider the ramifications of saving $3.00 on a Little Red Wagon by shopping at one of the Big Box stores instead of buying American made goods at MIA. Could we get the paying public to consider that saving $3.00 on a wagon that you most likely will have for life, is not worth eliminating 100 US manufacturing jobs?

I never did get anyone to partner up with me on this project; not once, although that could be because I told them they would have to finance my cockamamie idea. To a T, almost everyone I questioned said the shopper would always go for the better deal. I thought about how my wife knows a $0.50 difference in cereal pricing at different grocery stores, realizing they are probably right. If I did the shopping, we’d most likely end up adding 20% to our cost of living.

Conversations like these made me think though; that the inability to find anything made in America at a Wal Mart these days is clearly consumer driven. Until the mindset of the consumer is changed, we will continue to swim against the tide of foreign goods.

It all boils down to our wives are just too good at shopping!

P.S. – There is still room for you to get in on the ground floor of MIA, if you have a couple of million dollars laying around!

Rich Lindbloom
Cragin Metals