The American consumer is currently receiving a heaping windfall, courtesy of Uncle Sam. But the key to making the economic stimulus plan work will be to spend the checks on "Made in the USA" products.

Desperate to jump-start the economy, the powers that be in the U.S. have authorized a fiscal stimulus program. Consumers are now receiving stimulus checks and being encouraged to shop 'til they drop.

It's reminiscent of the days after 9-11, when President Bush and New York Mayor Giuliani urged people to go shopping. You know that you're living in a consumption-based economy when, in times of a national crisis, you're encouraged to go to the mall.

Buying American

Ever since our trade deficit slipped into the hundreds of billions of dollars, consumers have been urged to "Buy American." It began back in the 1980s, when the auto industry lost ground to Japan, and Lee Iaccoca convinced us that buying a Chrysler K-car was more than just a car purchase, it was a patriotic act. Since that time, manufacturing jobs have slowly vanished from our economy, seeping south of the border or across the ocean to the Far East.

The pure-blooded capitalist may cynically assert that this is simply the free market at work. They'll say that Americans will buy American when the quality of a Chrysler matches that of a Honda, or "Made in China" means something other than rock-bottom prices.

Elected officials in Washington D.C. think otherwise. They would like us to jump-start the economy and keep our fellow Americans employed by spending those stimulus checks on homegrown goods. Considering the downward unemployment trends and stagnant growth in the manufacturing sector, they may have a point.

Is it really homegrown?

How do you determine what's truly "Made in America?" It seems like every product these days is a manufacturing melting pot. Cars, for example, may be designed in Japan, have parts made in Europe, and be constructed in America. It's truly an international economy, so how do you determine if your product is homegrown or imported?

The Internet, naturally, has the answers. A number of websites have cropped up that can help you search through different categories to track down a product. MadeInUSA.com, for example, contains nearly thousands of manufacturers based here in the U.S. You can sort by category and state.

You'll probably run into products that are a hodge-podge of international manufacturers. If you can't find a purebred, you might have to settle for a product that's at least a percentage American.

What would the founding fathers have said about the economic stimulus checks? It's hard to say, considering that the global economy has changed rather dramatically during the last 200 years. They may have noted that a stimulus plan may help, but it's only a short-term fix. The truly patriotic act would be to band together as a nation, and figure out the long-term solution for getting our economy back in gear.