Why ask Amazon to do anything?
The loss of jobs of the American manufacturing class is one of the top reasons of America's decline.
Amazon has an opportunity to help us chose American Made and bring awareness to the importance of a healthy American manufacturing industry. These are some reasons why we think you should care:
Reason #1
Between 2000 and 2010 the US lost one-third of its manufacturing jobs (7.5 million jobs) mostly to Asiatic countries with cheaper labor and less environmental legislation.
Most of the jobs that were lost were in the lower end of production, as opposed to higher skilled jobs. In other words, one of the main routes into the American middle class just got cut off.
Reason #2
Loss of manufacturing jobs and reduction of wages decimated once prosperous cities, mostly in the midwest.
Once the factory that employs a large swath of the population is gone, so are the restaurants, repair shops, grocery stores and thousands of other businesses that depend on the factory as an economic engine.
For every job loss in a factory, between one and three additional job are lost somewhere else in the local economy.
Reason #3
Without a stable job to provide insurance and the absence of a quality universal healthcare option, a lot of working class men and women fall victims of despair.
“Jobs are not just the source of money; they are the basis for the rituals, customs, and routines of working-class life. Destroy work and, in the end, working-class life cannot survive. It is the loss of meaning, of dignity, of pride, and of self-respect […] that brings on despair.”
Anne Case and Angus Deaton – Deaths of despair: the unrecognized tragedy of working class immiseration
Deaths of despair
In numbers
100,000
56
66
Reason #4
COVID-19 revealed the fragility of our complex supply chain logistics.
Our fragile supply chain system immediately left us with rationing of some meats and higher prices at our favorite restaurants. Fewer products ended up on store shelves and heftier price tags appeared on items ranging from diapers to lumber as demand — and some panic buying — overran availability and supply. Customers saw lengthy backorder times on bikes, furniture and more.
Reason #5
From this guy 👇
to everybody is racist 🤔
An NBC News analysis of unemployment and voting data found that Trump’s share of the vote held steady or increased in each of the 20 counties with the highest rise in unemployment from September 2019 to September 2020
Unemployment and the destruction of communities drive radicalization and polarization. Millions of Americans that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 didn’t “become white supremacists” overnight. Their vote reflected their desperation and discontent with the political system.
In Closing
I’m an immigrant from Spain and after living 12 years in this country is hard for me to believe that Americans just DON’T care about other Americans.
While I believe consumerism and convenience are powerful drivers of the American lifestyle, to the detriment of other important metrics, like sourcing and environmental concerns. I’ve also experienced the open, generous and caring spirit of most Americans, and their sense of belonging and pride for our country’s ideals.
The desire to buy cheaper goods is an obvious default move, especially among people struggling financially. However, we haven’t seen a popular movement explaining WHY it’s important to protect American manufacturing.
And while the price of American Made goods is often higher it’s also true that for those of us in the comfortable middle class, sometimes, buying something for $40 versus buying the same thing, with higher quality, for $60, is a trade we would be willing to make. Both are amounts of money we can spend, we just need to:
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Understand the full implications of cheaper goods.
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Be able to easily find American Made products
And since Amazon is where 60% of e-commerce activity is originated, it seems like an easy step to help us make decisions that benefit our economy, our communities and ultimately ourselves.
This petition is NOT about demonizing Amazon, it’s about finding ways that at a relatively low cost, could have an outsized positive impact.
