t on the tracks. The penny would be flattened paper thin while the engineer driving the locomotive had no idea he had just distorted Abraham Lincoln’s head.While one penny set on a railroad track would have no effect on the speed of a train, a few million pennies would. With that thought in mind, read the following, sent to me by a business associate with a very unusual grandmother. (Note: I added links to clarify some things he wrote.)
Hi Tom,
I was in Lowes the other day to pick up a new faucet for the kitchen sink. Since I was there anyway, I thought I would look at the attachments for garden hoses. They were all made in China.
The next day I was in Ace Hardware to pick up some pipe sealant (which I forgot while at Lowes) and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA .
Which made me start thinking, and probably explains why I was so impressed with my 84 year old grandmother’s email. Here’s what she wrote.“My great grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked “Made in Mexico” now. I do not buy it any more.
“My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico ... so I have
switched to Crest. It’s getting to where I have to read the labels on everything.
“Why just this past weekend I was at Kroger. I had a small shopping list (don’t need a lot at my age) which included 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand, which I normally buy, was an off-brand labeled "Everyday Value."
“I picked up both packages of bulbs, put on my fine print reading glasses, and compared the labels. They appeared the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand, which I would expect for an American company like GE. But then I got a real surprise. The GE light bulbs were made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - in Cleveland, Ohio, in the good ole USA.
“So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets. Yep, you guessed it, bounce cost more money and is made in Canada. The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA!
“I was tired after shopping, but I did one load of laundry anyway (it is true that old people don’t have the stamina we used to … but we do have fond memories of when we could …). The USA made dryer sheets performed just like the Canadian Bounce I have been using for years and at almost half the price!
“I learned something that day. (Anybody who tells you that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, has never been old.) I had to discard the myth that American products I used for years … are still being made in America. Yet, equally good products are still being made in America. However, you have to read the labels.
“Here’s a challenge to my five children, fourteen grandchildren, and three great grand children. Start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see if you can find some that are made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
“As for me, I am embarrassed because I should have started doing this decades ago. But, even at 84 and living on a fixed income, it is not too late to help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the good ole USA.”
Apparently this Texas acorn (me) did not fall far from the ancestral Oak tree (my grandmother) because I have been financially supporting American workers for nearly two decades by buying almost all my household “stuff” from one American based manufacturing and distribution company. The fifty year old company has over 21 Private Label brands, making up over 450+ consumable products, covering most of my daily needs, all in one place, on line, with cost effective shipping charges (free with orders of $75 or more).
And, as if that were not enough, they are also the only American company to receive the coveted United Nations Environmental Award. This is one American company that has never put profit ahead of the environment or ethics. (In the past decade, at least twenty distributors, each with a six figure income, have been expelled for questionable ethics.)
Not only am I buying quality products made in American, but I have also been creating a small supplementary income stream for myself (as a financial planner, I encourage my clients to create an assortment of income streams). Like thousands of other hard working Americans who have discovered what every store owner has always known: repetitive consumption creates repetitive income. (http://gr8team-tnt.info/TNT/Residual.htm )
Just out of curiosity, how much of your disposable income (what is left after paying taxes, housing, and transportation) did you spent on “repetitive consumption” last year, causing a secondary income stream for someone else?
According to the last census, the average American household has $750 a month, or $9,000 a year, of disposable income. Suppose the average family could get back just 10% of the money they spend, would $900 be of any benefit to anyone you know?
( http://symbiosis4u.us/Info/Basics.htm )
Because numbers are important to a financial planner like me, I have to clarify that the average family who shops were I shop, only spends between $300 and $400 a month on selective quality products. Last year, the average family received an average secondary income stream of $1,380, which is actually closer to a 25% return of the money they spent.
Unlike most American companies who only share profits with stock holders (if the company even makes a profit), for five decades this company has been sharing their profits with those of us that shop and share the concept! Last year, this fifty year old company showed a 15% increase in sales … in the midst of a recession ( http://gr8team-tnt.info/TNT/AGnews.htm ). Makes one wonder if our penny wise and dollar foolish shopping habits could be a factor in sustaining the recession?
I close with this thought. “A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.”
See you soon,
Michael
If the economy is like a powerful locomotive speeding down the railroad tracks toward some indistinct future, and my buying power is like a penny on the tracks, then my penny will not have any effect on that speeding train.
However, if the fifty million Americans who are currently unemployed, or under employed, or struggling to recover from a bout with unemployment … if just those fifty million Americans would place their pennies on the tracks … it just might be enough to slow down the train … at least until the other two hundred and fifty million Americans realize how valuable their pennies are. Like pennies on a railroad track, we can choose to support America, one penny at a time.
Next time you reach in your pocket for a penny, may the penny remind you to be one of the new breed of Americans who evaluates both the “out of pocket” pennies AND “out of country” production. When counting pennies, remember to financially choose you, your family and friends, at the same time!
Can our nation’s economy be revived … One Penny At A Time … around such mundane things as: Tooth Paste, Cookies, Detergents, Lipstick, Coffee, Peanut Butter, or Whatever… with a penny from one American … paid to another American … for a quality product … made with pride … in America.
If so, then you will say, like Paul Harvey said for years, “Now you know the rest of the story.” http://gr8team-tnt.info/TNT/PaulHarvey.htm
