You might see the price tag on a product and say, “Wow, what a steal,” and rightfully so. The low prices offered in stores today are very enticing, but as the old adage goes: “you get what you pay for.” These low price tags you see promulgated in shopping venues are attached to low-quality products.

According to Froma Harrop, “In most Americans’ shopping experience, colors change and styles come and go, but there’s one constant–low quality and a [different country’s] label.” The outsourcing of labor has left store shelves littered with cheap, and in some cases, toxic merchandise. We tacitly accept these poorly made products and disregard the fact that there is an abundance of quality American manufactured goods waiting to be obtained. American-made products offer a higher quality and give Americans the opportunity to reinvest in our country. Therefore, the questions remains–are Americans willing to pay for that quality and investment, or will they settle? Is cheaper better?

Recently, there has been talk about American-made apparel making a major comeback. Many major companies are making the effort to support, sell, and advertise American-made. With the help of companies like L.L. Bean, Wal-Mart, and New Balance, “Made in the U.S.A” will have a larger presence in our stores and shopping centers. A recent poll discovered that 45 percent of Americans have made a concerted effort to “Buy American,” and more than half of Americans are willing to pay more for a product that is made in America.

Yes, the sun is beginning to shine bright on the Made in America movement, but there are those who still remain skeptical. Marvin Greenberg, who worked many years in the garment industry, believes due to high pricing, only a small minority of Americans will buy Made in the U.S.A. Meanwhile, John Stossel, host of Stossel, believes the concept of “Buying American” is as he put it a “Dumb Idea.”

As Americans, we need to disregard the incredulity of naysayers and be open to the notion of “Buying American.” When we support American manufacturing, we support American jobs, labor laws, and high quality merchandise. It is one thing to settle for lower quality to save a few dollars, but have you considered the economic turmoil and high unemployment rates associated with high volume consumption of foreign products?

While you might see the price tag on a product and say, “Wow, what a steal,” and rightfully so. The low prices offered in stores today are very enticing, but as the old adage goes: “you get what you pay for.” The outsourcing of labor has left store shelves littered with cheaper, foreign-imported merchandise of inferior quality. We tacitly accept these poorly made products and disregard the fact that there is an abundance of quality American manufactured goods waiting to be obtained. American-made products offer a higher quality and give Americans the opportunity to reinvest in our country. Therefore, the questions remains: are Americans willing to pay for that quality and investment, or will they settle? Is cheaper better?

The movement to bring American-made quality and companies back to the forefront is already going strong. All it takes is for Americans to understand the importance of buying “Made in U.S.A” and putting the concept into action. If Americans allocated just $64.00 a year to American-made products, it would create over 200,000 jobs in the U.S. labor force.

Blog by Terron Johnsonn