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Regarding "Buy American"
by Chris
America's economy was founded on Capitalism and its ability to amass wealth quickly. The paradox with the "buy American" movement is that it the concept behind it is entirely un-American when one understands its premise. Capitalism thrives on competition and specialization. Without it, it dies. So, to argue that one should "buy American" simply because it is American is to say, "disregard quality and be patriotic by supporting your local economy". In reality, the very concept erodes the economy because it undermines competition which undermines quality and eventually drives the market into a downward spiral (General Motors 1970's oil crisis, General Motors 2008 bubble crisis, and so on). If you want to represent the economy well when purchasing, purchase because you believe the product is worth what is being asked for it, rather than via the "rally around the flag effect" method. If America cannot produce a product that competes with the Chinese version for the same price or visa-versa then let it figure out how to do so rather than sustaining the production of a less than quality product via the "buy American" movement. GM still hasn't caught up to Japan even after Japan initiated Voluntary Export Restrictions (VER) at the United States' request. Instead of taking the 5 years offered by the Japanese to catch up, U.S. car makers raised the prices of their cars simply because the Japanese counterparts became more expensive because supply dropped due to the VER's. In the 1970's the U.S. had its chance to retool to become competitive. Now, decades later, they still do not have it together because of the "buy American" advertising program. Be good to the economy and yourself. Buy based on value, not origin. Click here to read or post comments. |