"'Buy American' Gets New Emphasis" (USA Today)
Roger Simmermaker walks the walk when it comes to buying U.S.-made products, and that walk often is made in New Balance shoes.

New Balance is one of the few American manufacturers of athletic shoes, so it only makes sense that Simmermaker, 46, author of "How Americans Can Buy American," wears that brand.

With Monday being Labor Day, a U.S. unemployment rate of 9.1% and a creeping dread about the economy, Simmermaker is part of a renewed movement to persuade American consumers to buy products made in the U.S. to advance economic growth and keep people working.

For too long, movement leaders say, consumers have ignored where products are made and simply chased what they believe is the most inexpensive price — ultimately enriching countries like China and keeping workers there employed.

"It's important to understand that workers in China don't pay taxes to America," Simmermaker said "Only American workers do. And American companies typically pay twice as much in taxes to the U.S. Treasury compared with foreign-owned companies."