So, with the toys, the dog food and the toothpaste, the number one problem with importing goods from China without protective tariffs is no longer just the fact that it is squashing the manufacturing jobs of Americans who have worked hard, paid their union dues, and tried to raise their families. And you wonder why I don’t shop at Wal-Mart?
I don’t mind paying a few cents or a few dollars more if it means my fellow Americans can go home at night with a little more job security. Now-a-days, I am very, very glad to pay more for products manufactured in America because I don’t want lead in my GI Joe, and I don’t want to brush my teeth with anti-freeze. ‘Nuff said.
Along the same line of socially conscious shopping, I and fellow employees where I work visited different businesses on Placerville Drive (Placerville, Ca) to see if these business would put a National Night Out flyer in their windows or their community bulletin boards. I am pleased to report that many companies put the flyer in their front windows, and a few that didn’t allow flyers in their front window, had community boards near or at the front of their stores. Unfortunately, a few could only agree to put the flyer up in their break-rooms, where only a handful of tired, hungry workers would glance at the flyer before returning to their minimum wage jobs.
I understand that in a large city, a community message board could be overwhelming and it would just be a nuisance to keep it up and maintain it. But folks, this is Placerville. Never heard of it? Of course not. It’s about 10,000 strong as far as population. A small community where a bulletin board would completely fit the slow, small town pace. And so, I’ve compiled a list of those that have agreed to post flyers in their window or message board, and a list of those that cared too much about the image of their windows to recognize the community that makes them successful:
Thank you to these companies for your support of National Night Out 2007:
Del Taco
Donut Factory
Papa Murphey’s Take n Bake
Clean n Save Cleaners
Pizza Pro’s
Sears
Rocky’s Art and Framing
Clifton and Warren Feed Store
Walkers Document Services
Foster’s Freezes (who will also add the date to their marque)
Noah’s Ark Organic Food Store
And the companies I will no longer be visiting:
Office Max
Raley’s
Wells Fargo
El Dorado Savings
Blockbuster
California Check Cashing
Home Depot (not only that, they say they are environmentally friendly, but they are oh-so-friendly to Fox News, a channel that constantly disputes climate change and global warming).
