Post by doc on Feb 13, 2009 8:25:29 GMT -5
While the world economy became our economic religion, there wasn’t anything more foreign to Americans than the slogan “Buy American.” But this phrase, once dismissed as tired, out-of-touch and archaic, is again slowly gaining some momentum.
Indeed, a “Buy American” campaign has been bubbling just beneath the surface since Barack Obama started talking about the loss of jobs during the presidential campaign. Despite his rhetoric, it is clear he is not entirely comfortable with the “Buy American” message. Just last Tuesday, he said, “We can’t send (the world) a protectionist message.” This was in response to the “Buy American” provision in the economic stimulus package, which would require all manufactured goods purchased for building infrastructure projects to be made in the U.S.
If you’re an American taxpayer this makes sense because the stimulus package will be paid for out of our pockets. Why would we want to go to another country to buy steel for bridges and other major infrastructure projects when we have the capacity to supply it ourselves? On a larger scale why would we want to buy anything made in a foreign plant when it’s clear our manufacturing base is drying up? Lest we forget that, among other debilitating things, Third World countries don’t manufacture goods. And our record of purposely killing manufacturing jobs seems to indicate that we're on a slippery slope towards that end. Since 2000, our manufacturing jobs have decreased from 17.2 million jobs to 12.9 million.
Nonetheless, the opposition to this provision is stiff. Its opponents say that new language could breach U.S. trade commitments and set off trade retaliation. This warning is more of a scare tactic than anything. The “Buy American” provision is a new initiative that isn’t bound by external influence and previous agreements. And even if we were bound by some counterproductive agreement, how would we ever break from it if we don’t take action now? Are we supposed to let other countries dictate and run our economy?
If opponents can’t win by raising doubt on this provision, they will fall back on their tried-and-true cry of protectionism. No doubt that we will hear ad infinitum on the cable talk shows about how protectionism brought on the Great Depression of the 1930s. To a large extent, that is true. But the missing element in the discussion is the fact that President Herbert Hoover levied heavy tax tariffs that virtually shut down all foreign trade. But that’s not even close to what the “Buy American” provision represents. It’s simply a taxpayer-supported provision meant to provide American jobs quickly. And since it’s taxpayers’ money at stake, our government should be obligated to buy American materials to build long overdue infrastructure projects. Buying products from overseas doesn’t lead to creating American jobs – it leads to creating jobs in the countries from which you’re buying. Who’s economy are we trying to build?
The “Buy American” provision in the stimulus bill is just the first concrete step in what could become a “Buy American” movement. There are pockets of evidence that this is happening. Unions are advertising the notion and some gutsy politicians like the mayor of Warren, Mich. are calling for consumers to buy American products as often as possible.
In the next few days, we'll see if our politicians rise to the occasion and stand behind the "Buy American" provision. In the next few years, we’ll see if consumers heed the call to “Buy American.” If we don’t, I wonder if the next slogan we’ll hear is “Bye America.”