According to consumer polls, most Americans don't know or care where products are made, and if asked will say only that they would buy American-made products if the cost were the same or nearly the same as the imported versions. With our single-minded pursuit of low prices, we have attained unprecedented levels of material possessions, but what have we given up? We'll find the answers with our guest Stephanie Sanzone, site author of Made In The U.S.A. on Across America Radio Program. Click past the jump to hear what's going on right here, right now! Thanks for listening!

 

 

(Courtesy Stephanie Sanzon)
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Stephanie Sanzone is the author and webmaster of www.stillmadeinusa.com. Her enthusiasm about American made products has been spreading like wildfire as more and more Americans are seeking to buy American made products.

The loss of American manufacturing jobs is more than a trend line on a graph. It has meant hardship for families and entire communities. Closed and abandoned buildings, lost retirement pensions, lost hope. Domestic companies that seek to keep production in the U.S. face daily battles against lower cost production in other parts of the world. Some U.S.-based manufacturers win out because they can deliver product more quickly to a changing market, their reputation for quality or company ethic creates loyal customers, and/or they have innovated to keep costs down. Many, however, are barely hanging on, and unless consumers make an effort to support them, the choice to buy American-made will be gone.

Some widgets are just widgets, and we don't really care where they are made. Other products, however, are part of our cultural identify, representing regional history, craftsmanship, and pride. The closing of Camillus Cutlery, the end of Fenton Art Glass (or maybe not!), the loss of a furniture-making tradition, the closure of textile factories. True, times and economies change, but the accumulating closures and outsourcing have left us poorer in ways that are deeply felt but hard to quantify.

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