At one point a year or two ago (still may be true, too lazy to verify), of the 4 models raced in NASCAR, only the Toyota was manufactured in the US. The domestics were made in Canada or Mexico.
Things are not always as they appear.
The Stupidity of "Buy American:" The Case Against Economic Protectionism
- Thread starter Dave70968
- Start Date
At one point a year or two ago (still may be true, too lazy to verify), of the 4 models raced in NASCAR, only the Toyota was manufactured in the US. The domestics were made in Canada or Mexico.
Things are not always as they appear.
This... *sigh*
But where do the profits from said vehicles go?
I can try to understand that logic, but it is not as clear as one would assume. Are my Levi's cheaper because they are made oversea's? My ford truck was assembly in Canada, but my Hayabusa was made in Japan, (Yes I ride rice) and if you Harley riders would check to see where your parts come from you would be surprised(dont want to start a debate but it was brought up). If US companies would be given incentives to bring back factory work to the US, then how could that not create jobs? Try to find a flat panel TV that is still made in the US. All of this makes my head hurt. All I know is the cost of living continues to climb and my pay does not seem to stay in step with rising costs of this ecomomy. So I do what most others do, whatever I can to raise 4 kids and put my daughter through college. As stated earlier, buying made in the USA is not the end all be all, this is not 1956, the economy good or bad is now global and we must find a way to make it work.
For the Big Three, apparently to fat cats who *still* can't keep the company profitable, so they have to rob the public's purse. And for the "foreign" cars, apparently to building *NEW* plants and providing more jobs to Americans.
Does it really matter? If a "foreign" owned company is spending profits building infrastructure in the U.S.? Global "U.S." companies often spend more money developing infrastucture overseas than they do renewing U.S. infrastucture. If you're a shareholder in a foreign company, your dividend checks will help create U.S. wealth just as well as stock in a U.S. company. I don't see this as an real issue anymore. Our real issue is the trade imbalance. When we import more than we export, we cause our own problems. It's ok to import cars or clothing or anything else, but what are we in turn exporting to cover the difference? For many years now, the answer is "not nearly enough".
Truth is, in a global economy those with the lower standard of living get to move up, while the ones with the higher standard of living generally move down. Developing nations get to move up easier. Developed nations have to raise the ceiling to have anywhere to go.
I don't agree with this article at all. We should be buying American made products. We should have Americans working in factories here.
I don't agree on most of his points. In my opinion it was an attempt to justify this game we are loosing in international trade. There is no justification for sweat shops. The American company (Nike or Carhart or Ralph Lauren) still sell their products at a premium yet rely on cheap foreign labor. Wrangler jeans haven't gotten any cheaper since they moved from Oklahoma to Mexico. At least when they were here they were supplying Oklahoman's with jobs. I want to know the person that makes the goods I purchase did it with pride and is being compensated with American dollars that they will spend back in America.
The problem isn't the workers, it's the environment the companies are forced to do business in. Has anyone else noticed a great many of the factories that have closed in America were Union factories? As I said earlier, there is no justification of not taking care of the worker, but in many cases the unions have been the driving force of this movement to foreign labor.
I don't agree on most of his points. In my opinion it was an attempt to justify this game we are loosing in international trade. There is no justification for sweat shops. The American company (Nike or Carhart or Ralph Lauren) still sell their products at a premium yet rely on cheap foreign labor. Wrangler jeans haven't gotten any cheaper since they moved from Oklahoma to Mexico. At least when they were here they were supplying Oklahoman's with jobs. I want to know the person that makes the goods I purchase did it with pride and is being compensated with American dollars that they will spend back in America.
The problem isn't the workers, it's the environment the companies are forced to do business in. Has anyone else noticed a great many of the factories that have closed in America were Union factories? As I said earlier, there is no justification of not taking care of the worker, but in many cases the unions have been the driving force of this movement to foreign labor.
over the last few years of driving I've seen some factory's go south. one big one in Tulsa the ovens couldn't pass the EPA test so they shut them down and moved to oven's south of the border . I was a at plant in Cleveland OH that made brake part's that the union priced the plant out of work. sure makes it hard to keep things equal on the trade import balance .
. I was a at plant in Cleveland OH that made brake part's that the union priced the plant out of work. sure makes it hard to keep things equal on the trade import balance . But you can only build as many plants as is profitable. After that, the profits go overseas. As far as I can tell, it's just two of the big three that is struggling. I'm not trying to start an arguement, just looking at it objectively from all sides. I think you should drive what you like, until JB has us thrown into camps, anyway.
Similar threads
