It's a matter of lowering the nation's trade deficit

By THEA LEE
KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON -- Should Americans buy American?
In the holiday shopping season and throughout the year, consumers should take the responsibility to be informed and aware of basic facts about what they are buying -- how and where the goods they buy are produced.
Furthermore, they should give some thought to the impact of their purchases on the U.S. and global economy, on decent jobs and on the environment.
That isn't to say, however, that consumers can bear the entire burden of social responsibility: governments must set and enforce appropriate rules to protect workers, public health and the environment; and corporations have a responsibility to obey the laws and be socially and environmentally responsible.
But consumers can and do make a difference, and they should welcome the power they hold at the cash register. Deliberate and thoughtful consumer purchases can help strengthen the bargaining power of workers fighting for decent and humane working conditions, and send a powerful message to corporate headquarters about the standards consumers expect for the goods and services they buy.
Good jobs
When consumers choose American-made products, they are supporting good jobs in their communities, as well as an expanded tax base that can fund schools, roads, research and social programs.
Manufacturing jobs have traditionally been the backbone of the American middle class, providing decent wages and benefits, but also a ripple effect in job creation throughout the economy. Each manufacturing job, it turns out, is associated with two to three times as many secondary jobs as those in services or retail.
Faster productivity growth in the manufacturing sector, relative to the rest of the economy, is the foundation for non-inflationary wage growth over time.
In addition, buying American is one way consumers can help stem our national borrowing binge. This year, our trade deficit -- the annual excess of imports over exports -- will be well over half a trillion dollars, or more than $1 million a minute.
The October trade deficit hit an all-time high of $55.5 billion.
We fund these expenditures by borrowing from abroad, and our national debt is now close to three trillion dollars.
These enormous and unsustainable deficits will eventually cause the dollar to fall relative to other currencies, which will make American products more competitive, but will also likely lead to higher inflation and higher interest rates. By choosing American-made products, especially big-ticket items like cars or appliances, American consumers can help reduce our need to borrow from abroad.
In addition to seeking out American-made items, consumers should look for products and services made by union workers. The union label denotes high-quality products and services made by skilled workers who are treated fairly and decently by their employers.
A useful guide to union-made businesses is at www.shopunionmade.org. Union workers earn more money, have better benefits, are more productive and have greater job security than nonunion workers. The pay differential is 27 percent for all workers, and this difference is even greater for women, African-Americans and Latinos. So when you buy a union-made product or service, you know the workers were treated right.
Working conditions
It isn't always possible to buy American-made goods, even with the best of intentions. When buying goods made in other countries, consumers should also try to stay informed about working conditions, labor laws and corporate practices.
Information about workers' rights in different countries is available through several sources: The U.S. State Department publishes annual reports on human rights conditions around the world, and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the International Labor Organization provide detailed information on labor rights.
Watchdog groups -- including the Worker Rights Consortium, Students Against Sweatshops, the Campaign for Labor Rights, the National Labor Committee and the International Labor Rights Fund, among others -- monitor corporate practices and expose egregious violations.
At the end of the day, governments, corporations and consumers all have a role to play in improving working conditions here and around the world, and in making responsible economic decisions.
When you go to the mall with your credit card, get into the true holiday spirit, and make your dollars count toward a fairer and more humane world.
X Thea Lee is assistant director for international economics at the AFL-CIO. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.