  
 Supporting American-Made Products and Services from American-Owned Companies 
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Effort Without Spending Another Dime by Roger Simmermaker October 12, 2001
As we Americans struggle to understand and absorb what occurred
September 11 and what unfolded in the weeks that followed, many have looked
for ways to show their patriotic support for their country.
Many have donated their blood, their time, their services, and their
money to help our nation recover both emotionally and economically.
When the stock market reopened on September 17, calls were made for
patriotic investing. But how can those of us without diverse stock
portfolios invest in America as well? The good news is that it doesn't
matter what your stock portfolio looks like or even if you have one. All
Americans can donate more money to support our government, our military, and
the relief effort without spending an extra dime. Truly American investment,
buying the products of American companies, provides our government with more
tax dollars since American companies pay three times the taxes to our
government than comparable foreign-owned firms. Foreign companies, even the
ones that produce here, pay an average of less than 1% of their profits in
taxes to America. The rest are sent back home to pay taxes to foreign
governments. So buying American made is not the only litmus test here. We
have to buy American owned as well.
Our country loses at least $30 billion a year in tax revenue by
supporting foreign companies instead of American companies. And since we are
already in danger of losing our national surplus, that same $30 billion
could be what keeps us from running a deficit.
Buying American owned doesn't mean we are anti-anybody. It means we
are pro-American. It means we want to give our country what it needs to best
defend America from our enemies - both foreign and domestic. And by
investing in America, we are ultimately investing in ourselves.
Roger Simmermaker is the author of How Americans Can Buy American -
www.howtobuyamerican.com
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