Surprising Info About American Prices

The nightly news is a constant reminder that record numbers of homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and the U.S. economy is losing jobs at an alarming rate with companies big and small slashing their work force.  A half-million American jobs disappeared last month, the worst mass layoffs in more than three decades, as the nation spiraled downward in what could be the hardest hit times since the Great Depression. Compound this with the fact that more than 3 million manufacturing jobs have disappeared since 1998, and the Economic Policy Institute estimates 59 percent-or 1.78 million-of these jobs have been lost due to the explosion in the U.S. manufacturing trade deficit over this same period and it is understandable that you and I don’t believe that little things we do can make much of a difference in this financial crisis.  But on my weekly trip to the store, I had an epiphany and began to think differently.This may seem very strange and contradictory to what we have been led to believe, but I was so surprised by what I discovered I had to share it with you. When I think of the job situation in this country I can’t help but think that this might make a difference in job losses and the trade deficit.

As I said, this past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 Watt light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled “Everyday Value”. I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price.  The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA .  So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here - from a company in Cleveland OH !

So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets….Yep, you guessed it. Bounce was more money and made in Canada, the Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA!  Guess which one I purchased?  I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

So my challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!  I don’t know how many households there are in the US but if these were the only things we bought think of the impact….  If you accept this challenge, share this with friends and family members and let’s get everyone we know to look at what they buy and where it is manufactured.  Who knows, maybe if we all start buying American, we can turn this country’s  economy around one light bulb at a time !  Wouldn’t that be something!

And here’s some important information about reading those bar codes that are found on every product.  Make a copy and keep it in your wallet for reference. The first 3 digits of a bar code is the country code wherein the product was made.  

Sample: all bar codes that start with 690, 691, 692 until 695 are Made in China . Hershey’s moved their operation from PA to China, Cadbury is also made in China (and was found to have unacceptable chemical substitutes recently).  China knows consumers are leery of products labeled  ’made in China ‘ so, Chinese products (food, medicine, etc.) generally no longer show the country of manufacture.  Instead the country is only reflected in the bar code and to check, one now must now be knowledgable in reading bar codes.

00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA
30 ~ 37 FRANCE
40 ~ 44 GERMANY
49 ~ JAPAN
50 ~ UK
57 ~ Denmark
64 ~ Finland
76 ~ Switzerland and Liechtenstein
471 ~ Taiwan
480 ~ Philippines
628 ~ Saudi-Arabia
629 ~ United Arab Emirates
690, 691, 692 to 695 ~ China
740 ~ 745 - Central America’; //leave this line

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