If you came of age in the 80’s, like I did, you probably remember Bruce Springsteen’s iconic album, Born In The U.S.A., and irritated your parents by loudly singing along to cuts like “Dancing In The Dark,” “I’m On Fire”, “Glory Days,” “My Hometown,” and of course the title track.  Many of the songs referenced small town life and America’s manufacturing roots.  It seemed to be a simpler time then.

This was before the proliferation of the big box stores that sent stateside businesses scrambling for a way to compete with the volume pricing of the mega vendors.  It was inevitable that American manufacturers were going to have to cut costs to compete. Thus followed an outsourcing of labor that downsized the manufacturers, closed plants and left a swath of unemployment in its wake; much like a line from “My Hometown:”  “Foreman says ‘these jobs are going boys, and they ain’t coming back.'”

30 years later, we need to realize that imported products and outsourced labor come at the cost of American jobs. If we make an effort to buy American, more jobs will be required to supply that demand.  More jobs result in more spending by those newly employed. If they buy American, the upward spiral continues.  To keep the American economy strong we need the American manufacturer, the American product, and the American consumer.

Bruce Springsteen recognized that manufacturing was the backbone of America back in 1984.  It’s time for us to acknowledge our roots once again.  Buy American.

And then sing at the top of your lungs and embarrass  your kids: “I’m a cool rockin’ daddy in the U.S.A.”