I couldn't think of a better title for the Buy American Mention of the Week this week since www.racksandstuff.com happens to be the name of the featured website. On this website, you'll find all kinds of home, office and garden products - all handmade and 100% American made.

What immediately caught my eye on this website - other than the fact all the products are made in America - was the three kinds of bike racks offered. I literally spent hours once day shopping at Home Depot, Lowe's and other home improvement, department stores and bicycle shops for a four-bike bicycle rack only to come up empty. Had I found a bike rack that day, I bet the chances would have been very slim that it would have been made in USA.

You'll find all sorts of unique items on this website you simply won't find anywhere else. And not only are all the products made in America, they are made by a small business in Idaho. Anyone who has read either How Americans Can Buy American or the various articles I have written knows that I simply love to promote small businesses committed to making things right here in the USA.

As large corporations merge and become bigger and more global, it is often the small businesses that offer more unique and specialized products. And when these products are made in America by American-owned small businesses, they deserve our support to encourage diversity in American manufacturing.

The statistic that most Americans are employed by small businesses is true, and this fact is further reinforced with the mass layoffs by global corporations as they seek cheaper labor and regulations overseas.

Many analysts estimate that one day all these merging companies will be de-merging on a wide scale, and when they do, we should be on record as supporting our existing small businesses to give the de-merging companies some real competition when it happens. Then, when the next wave of mergers is about to take place, maybe some of these companies will realize that when and if they end up de-merging, they will likely face both strong and loyal competition from America's prospering small businesses.

Such a deterrent strategy may cause companies seeking to globalize in the future right here in America. But we must act now to enable patriotic companies like racksandstuff.com to compete effectively down the road.

34