The Perfect Holiday for Combining Patriotism and Economics

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday. As far as I'm concerned you can have Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween. Just give me plenty of warm weather, cold beer, food off of the grill, and fireworks. And as for independence…I'm especially for more of that.

So allow me to celebrate this occasion by independently blogging about a combination of two of my favorite topics: economics and patriotism. Specifically, I want to address a topic from an article I recently read that stated that Americans are more loyal to their pocketbooks than they are to their country.

This is a topic that has vexed domestic manufacturers for more than a decade now. And if you look at the retail sales data or the trade data, especially the trade data that measures the imports of manufactured goods from countries like China, it is reasonable to conclude that for most types of consumer products Americans are more likely to choose "everyday low prices" rather than "made in the USA" when making a purchase.

However, I do not believe that this is a question of loyalty, but rather a question of ignorance. You see I do not believe that Americans are intentionally being disloyal to their country when they make a purchase based only on price. They simply do not know any better. They are the victims of highly financed and deviously constructed marketing campaigns.

To those of us who study this topic for a living, it is clear that everyday low prices also lead to everyday low wages (or no wages), as well as diminished national independence. The problem is that the vast majority of Americans do not study this topic for a living. That is the root of the problem. It is not a lack of loyalty, but rather it is a lack of knowledge.

The good news is that the tide is slowly turning. It is not yet turning fast enough, but it is turning. In the second half of this year, I am resolved to make an even greater effort toward this end. I hope to use this blog to report on my progress in the coming weeks.

My goal is to strengthen our democracy by promoting and practicing an enlightened form of capitalism. That is what I mean by combining patriotism with economics. If you have any ideas to contribute to this effort please let me know.