I think its stupid. I'm going to purchase the best product I can afford. If thats not american product so be it.
I believe that the Buy American Clause is only about what the US governments and it's contractors buy with funds from the stimulus bill. Even that small step may be GATT illegal. The world's governments might not be so cooperative with the US in the future if the foreign steel mills complain to the foreign governments.
Protectionism hurts all consumers in exchange for protecting a few inefficient special interest groups. It is Mercantilism in the guise of patriotism.
you need to look real close at where something is made. Just because it has a good old US company name doesn't mean it's made in the US anymore
Not necessarily. Go to a department/parts store and price a set of wrenches that are made in China/Taiwan, then go to Sears and price an identical set of Craftsman wrenches that are made in the USA. You'll notice a substantial price difference (i.e. a higher one) from the cheap foreign tools and the Craftsman. Aside from automobiles, I'd rather have/buy products made in the U.S.
However, some Cratsman power tools are actually only assembled in the USA and manufactured elsewhere.
Not wrenches and sockets, as you don't assemble those, you cast mold them. And...if they are indeed what you say they are, they will note it on the package. If it says: Made in the USA, then that's where it was assembled and manufactured.
I recall a lawsuit involving Craftsman powertools, precisely because they labeled it Made in the USA, but it was only assembled here. But you are right, hand tools are not assembled and most likely (depending on whether the issue has been resolved by now) they may have removed the Made in the USA label by now.
They settled the lawsuit, I think. edit: nope, no information available. Though I did find the lawsuit info http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/sears_craftsman.html
I don't care where it's from, I want things that hold up. Power tools, electronics, appliances, automobiles, it's fcking disposable nowadays. It's all plastic or cheap ass metal that breaks within a few uses. I'm so fed up with it that I don't throw away a single reciept. I'll take the garbage back and chew a cashier up one side and down the other. Oh, it's imported? Well Stop carrying it! it's garbage! Oh, you only work here? Well stop! This place sells fucking garbage! And yeah, Ill pay a little more for American products. It's easier to find them to bitch about their GARBAGE. As for the "clause" I think Americans have picked up on the fact that our buying habbits are putting us out of work. Most people don't shop at wall mart because they want to, they can't afford to go elsewhere after being raped on taxes and trying to pay for a over priced, oversized home that is constructed of and filled with... you guessed it, CHEAP FUCKING GARBAGE!
I think the EU also has threatened to put their own "tariffs" up (I know this clause isn't really a tariff, right?). Ironically enough my history teacher was just talking about the Holly Smoot Tariff Act. People today are so crazy.
Actually I did realize that most of the stuff here (in the US) is pretty cheaply made. What I do find astonishing though, is that in Germany I had less problems with things breaking down than here only for a slightly higher price. Maybe Americans tend to put up with garbage more easily?
It is not just “buy American” that has Indians (especially IT workers) upset: “US Senators had put forward stricter conditions on hiring on H-1B visas by firms receiving federal bailout money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. These firms will not be able to hire workers under H1-B visas for the next two years.” From: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/uk-europe-protectionist-steps-to-make-bpo-pie-sour/423922/ which is a little funny as India is at the forefront of protectionism and to some extent xenophobia. Xenophobia and protectionism are on the rise globally. British workers are striking as “foreigners” (other European Union citizens) are taking THEIR jobs. France has increasingly frequent riots and up-rising with the “non French” but French citizens (many with French passports from when French pride made France claim Algeria was Part of France, not just a colony.) Germany is turning against the Turks who have done the undesirable jobs for generations, and now the Polls who also work for less in Germany but more than they can get in Poland. Probably much of the above is known by some here, but here is news for them too: 180 thousand Brazilians (but ethnic Japanese) have been forced to return to Brazil. Some of the 320,000 more still there are making street parades in Tokyo as they are being selectively fired. These Japanese BRAZILIANS went to work in Japan as salaries were 3 or 4 times higher than they could get in Brazil. A few years ago there was sever labor shortage in Japan. Few know that Sao Paulo* is a city second only to Tokyo in population speaking Japanese. Recently the 100 year anniversary of the first boat load of Japanese immigrants to Brazil was celebrated. There has been until Japan’s economy boomed after WWII, a steady stream of Japanese migrating to Brazil, especially heavy when the military took power before WWII. In the Liberdade district of Sao Paulo, all the signs are in Japanese. There my English is more useful than my poor Portuguese. ------------- *World's third of fourth largest city. (Mexico City is the other and no one is sure which is bigger.)
Yeah, the most interesting area to watch the current protectionist surge is the EU. This is the first real stress-test of their idea of a united economy with political autonomy.
It's not necessary. Americans can offer services which cannot be produced by anyone other than Americans. Then Americans can charge a whole lot for those services (just like how the finance industry did), and reward each other with inflated salaries, generating inflation. This is the only way. The problem is with how the global economy is structured, the USA doesn't produce a lot of stuff in the USA so what is there left to buy? And with everyone in debt, nobody can afford to start businesses.
Thats irrational. Economy is autonomy. If you are in debt you aren't going to have political autonomy. The USA has to go to a service economy, services like prostitution and marijuana have to be legalized in my opinion because these are jobs uneducated people can do and make good money doing it. If it's kept illegal then we will just have millions of prisoners and have to pay for them, only increasing the burden on tax payers.
