TAP AMERICA PROVIDES NEXT STEPS FOR OCCUPY MOVEMENT

87 Percent of Americans Blame Washington Over Wall Street for

Poor U.S. Economy

SEATTLE, WASH. - October 19, 2011 - TAP America, a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening America and its citizens, today announced suggested next steps for all Americans and supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Since the beginning of the worldwide Occupy protests last month, citizens in major cities have taken to the streets in order to communicate their frustration with the U.S. economy by sending a clear message to Wall Street. Since the protests began last month, over 1000 Occupy events have taken place in 82 countries around the world, with over 100 events occurring across the United States.

Majority of Americans Blame Government Over Wall Street

In a new USA Today/Gallup survey, 78 percent of those surveyed said Wall Street deserves "a great deal" or a "fair amount" of blame for the poor economy, but even more - 87% - said the same about Washington. On who is more to blame for the weak state of the economy, 64 percent of people chose the federal government, while just 30 percent said it was fair while 44 percent said it was not.

"TAP America does not believe that the Federal Government nor Wall Street is solely responsible for the present problem," said TAP America Founder Mark Bloome. "The deficit came due to members of both parties supporting spending over a balanced budget. Elected officials are more concerned about their next election than keeping the country strong. In essence, we have bought our prosperity through decades of deficit spending, now we are paying the price."

Next Steps for the Occupy Movement

TAP America asks that citizens take the following steps in order to send a message to Wall Street and to our decision-makers to make to bring jobs and hope back to America:

1. Pledge to Buy American - If each citizen spent an additional dollar per day on American-made goods, this alone would create an additional million jobs in America. By taking individual action we can enact social change that will send a message that we want quality goods made by our own-two hands rather than those made in China.

2. Support Local American Merchants - By agreeing to support local businesses, we are keeping money in our local communities and keeping jobs local. TAP America believes in keeping our communities stable and healthy by supporting local farmers and merchants who are in our own backyard.

3. Understand Why People are Fed-Up - The bailouts of the large businesses and big banks are due to these institutions' reckless practices of taking very high risks. According to Bloomberg News, over twelve trillion dollars were used either to prop up or lend to banks and other businesses such as AIG. Perhaps the Occupy Wall Street should consider having government break up these large institutions so that should they fail, the losses will be borne by the stockholders, not the tax payers.

4.   Consider China's Role in Our Economic Decline - The Chinese Communist Government has enacted several tactics and policies to attempt to gut out the American economy. By devaluing their currency, they are enticing businesses in the U.S. and other countries to send manufacturing jobs to China. As a result, America no longer has the same manufacturing base as a decade ago. Send a message to both businesses choosing to send American jobs overseas and the Chinese government by buying American made goods whenever possible. 

Citizens Unite To Enact Change

"We believe that our nation is at a crossroads," said Richard Tso, executive director of TAP America. "With the Occupy Wall Street protests, people are beginning to unite to take a stand for what they believe in and this is to be commended, although the Occupy Movement needs a clear plan for next steps. Indeed, action needs to start at the citizen-level in order to get our country moving again and this can be achieved by people taking individual responsibility to buy American and practice tolerance."  

TAP America recently announced their TAP Certified Merchant program to encourage stores to stock at least 20% of U.S. goods and to increase their American made inventories by just 1% per month. As incentive, businesses who sign up are featured in news articles, included in the TAP online business directory, and are featured in a Groupon-like service called AmeriCoupon that helps people find deals on products made in America.

Since launching in January of 2011, TAP has created several national awareness campaigns aimed at promoting tolerance, encouraging people to stay physically active, and to purchase products made in America. For more information about TAP America, to volunteer or to make a donation, please visit www.tapamerica.org.

About TAP America

TAP America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing and strengthening America and its citizens. Founded in 2011 TAP embodies what it means to be American by promoting patriotism, tolerance and Americanism through education and multimedia educational programs. The tenets of TAP encourage people to be physically active, embrace equality and support the American economy by purchasing products made in America. TAP America Founder Mark Bloome created the organization out of love for his country and its people and a desire to promote patriotism, free from political and economic self-interest. For more information about TAP America or to volunteer please visit www.tapamerica.org.

BLACK FRIDAY MARKS START OF "BUY AMERICAN MONTH"      

TAP America Urges Citizens to Purchase Domestically Made Goods, Experiential Gifts & Boycott China This Holiday Season

SEATTLE, WASH. - November 22, 2011 - TAP America, a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening America and its citizens, today declared December 2011 as "Buy American Month," just in time for the holiday shopping season. TAP America believes that the United States economy is suffering at the hands of the Chinese government due to their aggressive policies. To avoid the long lines on Black Friday, TAP America is asking for American citizens to buy American, give service-oriented gifts, and boycott products made in China, thereby sending a message to corporations and manufacturers that people value American workers, jobs and innovation.

TAP America Newsletter        Nov 2011

Greetings! 

Patriotic Purchasing

From Oct 2011 | By Fiona Soltes

For more than 65 years, the family that founded Sub-Zero has believed that consumers purchase the company's premium products because of their quality. But recently, with a groundswell of support for American-made items, the Madison, Wis.-based manufacturer of built-in home refrigeration has found it important to tell that story, too.

"We're not waving flags and saying that should be the sole decision-maker," Sub-Zero corporate marketing manager Paul Leuthe says. "But there is a heritage there, and we're proud of it."

U.S. consumers don't have to look far these days to hear encouragement for buying American. Moved by the sluggish economy, bloggers and pundits have touted the link between U.S. manufacturing and U.S. jobs. But complex issues rarely have simple solutions: Are consumers willing to pay more for a made-in-the-U.S.A. label? If so, how much? Are margins already too tight for retailers to eat additional costs? Has too much infrastructure moved offshore for the opening of another mill to make a difference? Would it help if American manufacturing concentrated on the industries they do best and let the rest go?

"We've been sticking to our knitting, and that's what has led to us being a brand leader in the marketplace," Leuthe says. The company is more than just surviving: Sub-Zero - which acquired Wolf cooking appliances in 2000 - recently outgrew its Phoenix production facilities and purchased a 440,000-sq.-ft. building for developing new products. And though it had to let some employees go when the recession was at its worst, many already have been hired back.

"There is an optimism in the company," Leuthe says. "With the new facility, it would have been easy to go south of the border, but our owner said, 'No, I'm going to keep it here.' We have a number of competitors out there, but we feel like we do it better than anyone else due to our components, systems and work ethic. We're only going after our niche, and that's one of the reasons we haven't migrated offshore with our production."

A 'til-death kind of loyalty 

"Just highlight the products made in the U.S.A," he urges. "Promote them. ... Am I going to spend an hour just to find one thing that's not imported? No. I'm going to go find it online instead."

Conversely, he says, when he finds a retailer that promotes the country of origin on products - and trains employees to know the difference, "I evangelize them. They will have that 'til-death kind of loyalty from people like me."

Consumers like Kaplan often see the issue as more patriotic than political, and organizations are stepping up to connect those "patriots" to companies. TAP America - TAP being an acronym for tolerance, Americanism and patriotism - introduced its TAP Certified Merchant program in July to support small businesses and educate consumers. Members agree to stock at least 20 percent American-made goods in their stores, as well as to increase those levels by 1 percentage point a month. In return, those members receive a listing in the TAP business directory, as well as decals to promote the idea to customers.

TAP America founder Mark Bloome - an investor, philanthropist, community activist and former retailer - hopes the program will catch on like consumer review-driven organization Yelp.

"We may look simple," Bloome says, "but this is not simplistic. We've just got to start somewhere ... we're not going to be able to get anywhere until we get our economy together."

Bloome began studying global systems after selling his business 30 years ago. "It became clear to me, looking at the present situation, that the key to any retail business is local employment." He cites subsidies of business through low-cost land, currency manipulation and other methods of gaining competitive advantage over U.S. manufacturers, and others back him up.

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