My previous post was also going to be my last, but then I decided I’d better tell you about one more thing: what it’s like to go shopping after a year of buying only American-made goods.
It’s a trip.
I found myself standing in the grocery store, looking at all the things I’d avoided for a year. Olive oil. Avocados. Certain varieties of vegetables and fruits. Junk. Read the rest of this entry »
Limiting consumption. That’s really what buying American is all about. A more conscientious method of buying. Awareness. It ain’t about the economy. It won’t save jobs. Do you realize how impossible it would be to convince someone to pay $8 an hour for American labor instead of 70 cents for that same hour in China? Even if you wanted it seven times as good and were willing to pay that exorbitant premium for higher quality, you’d still be better off paying those inexpensive hands to do it. This is what you learn buying greeting cards, or books, or games. It’s what I know, now, after a year of trying to convince myself otherwise. Read the rest of this entry »
Do you want to see how much stuff I bought this year? I can’t show you the things themselves. Many of them I ate. But I told you about most of the others. And about how I spent so much time limiting my purchases and buying so much less than I usually do. So you might expect the evidence of my year’s purchases to be rather minimal.
A lot of my awareness this year centers around the concept of waste. Namely, we’re a wasteful society. I’m a wasteful guy. Being American is, in many ways, being wasteful.
Buying American, though, is a good way to limit what you buy. A great way to stop being quite so wasteful. Not quite so excessive. And that’s a good thing. Read the rest of this entry »
Did you wonder how many catalogs I received this year? Even if you didn’t, I’m going to tell you. It was this many: Read the rest of this entry »
I’m done.
Time to go buy some junk, just because I can.
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