Buy American! A conventional, well-intentioned, patriotically affirming sentiment. We’ve heard it all our lives. But unless you crave less competition, fewer choices, and higher prices, it’s also a completely irrational one.
Naturally, then, as we kick off “Recovery Summer! Part Deux,” the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee says that buying homemade cars is a matter of national importance. “If it were up to the candidates for president on the Republican side, we would be driving foreign cars,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz explained while defending the protectionist auto/union bailout. “They would have let the auto industry in America go down the tubes.” (And by “we,” Wasserman Schultz, proud American, is talking about herself and her sweet Japanese-made Infiniti FX35.)
As if that weren’t enough, those who oppose this brand of corporate welfare, according to Wasserman Schultz, also reject the very idea of “American exceptionalism.” Now, one might argue that those who claim we must bankroll a few politically favored companies because an entire manufacturing sector could collapse are the ones skeptical of American ingenuity, perseverance, and exceptionalism.
But God, evidently, loves the Volt and the Volt only. And Americans—people who can do almost anything, including, but not limited to, electing politicians who keep rotten companies buoyant for political gain—have a patriotic duty to buy poorly conceived automobiles. You have an obligation to insulate Washington’s favorite companies from responsibility. For God and for country, taxpayers must purchase cars from corporations that have not come close—despite the contention of the administration—to paying back what they already owe you.
But hey, the car was assembled in Michigan. If that’s not a sign of American exceptionalism, I don’t know what is.
Even if Wasserman Schultz’s “Buy American” rhetoric were genuine, it would be severely misguided. Every time we overpay for an American-made product (whatever it is), don’t we also spend less on an array of other services and products that create jobs at home? Real jobs. Self-sustaining jobs. If we all mechanically bought American, wouldn’t we allow manufacturers to avoid competition and rely on their locations rather than the excellence of their products? Sounds like the opposite of exceptionalism.
Companies on the dole also have incentive to please their benefactors in Washington—a place that has the power to offer more handouts or to stifle competition. Like much of modern liberalism these days, a socially responsible outcome is far more important than a profitable one. Business is for social good, not for profit-mongering. We have no clue what’s good for us, anyway. These companies, though, have less incentive to keep prices low or to innovate or to meet consumer demand.
In the 70s — during the Carter years — the mantra was “look for the union label,” a directive to buy those products that protected American union jobs.
This is but history repeating itself.
Obama: Jimmy Carter with a tan. And a really bad attitude. Who kinda likes the idea of liberal fascism.
The remedy? Well, if history is to be learned from, it ain’t Howard Baker or George HW Bush, but rather some unelectable extremist Visagoth with his or her sights set on raping the vernacular by plainly describing what it is that is destroying this country, however unhelpful is such a description, and however likely it is to force moderates and independents back into the arms of an imperialist progressive administration and its new normal of high-unemployment, no-growth, stagflation, crushing debt, decline in personal wealth and equity, and a constant barrage of bureaucratic rules that serve to rob us of our liberties.
…and however likely it is to force moderates and independents back into the arms of an imperialist progressive administration…
The Powers That Be keep saying this, but I’ve yet to see any evidence to back up the assertion. Could we just pretend that Americans are grownups capable of looking after their own interests, and see how it works? Either we find out that the Beltway crowd is wrong (far be it from me to say ‘lying’), or we find out that we don’t really have a country worth saving.
Either way, the clarity would be good.
You may as well start posting under the name “Alaric”, you reichwing Visigoth, you.
I seek out American made products because I wish to support American companies over Chinese companies. Having spent time in China, I know first hand that the issue of quality control is non-existant. But this is a personal preference and not one I would seek to have the rule of law enforce.
Harsanyi, for what its worth, sharply overstates his case.
Honda’s putting 1000 jobs up the road from me in Indiana. Fuck you GM.
From what I’m seeing, Harsanyi’s addressing politicians and other self-appointed opinion leaders of trying to impose their preference — that everybody buy American regardless of price or quality — through social pressure.
Nothing there about enforcing that by rule of law.
Wait, if you buy just American aren’t you engaging in nationalistic, jingoistic, xenophobic and/or whatever other type of “fear of the other” behavior one can think of? This is the disconnect with the blue collar unionistas and their reflexive anti-war one world regressive comrades. They should get their shit together.
And as LMC states, it’s kind of hard to differentiate between American made and not. At least as it pertains to cars.
I’m a knuckledragging Visigoth. I only buy things that are made in Taiwan.
With 1,000 hires planned, carmaker can again expect a deluge of applications to fill second shift at Greensburg plant
Here’s the info, apply on-line.
I kinda like P.J. O’Rourke’s take (from his book on Adam Smith’s Wealth, I think): We get goods to consume from China, and what do the Chinese get in return? Paper!
And then there’s that Ned Beatty line from Network: The Japanse have taken a lot of money out of this country. It’s only natural that they’d want to put some of it back.
I have yet to look up the definition of “Visigoth” because I hope to eventually figure it out from context. No luck so far.
Visigoth is the name of the eyedrops used by Vandals after a hard day’s ride.
So even Rep. Schultz doesn’t pass the Wasserman test?
Rep. Schulz couldn’t beat a chicken at tic-tac-toe.
That’s my point McGehee.
Although I work hard to buy American, I disapprove of politicians using muscle and legislation to force purchases of US made products, or restrict options to foreign ones.
As for Haranyi, he was on deadline and I get what he was trying to do. Plain fact of the matter is that the Wal-Mart/Target peddled China stuff is cheaper because it is crappier and–even if carries a label from a major US brand–almost certainly has been made with sharply lower quality products than what the brand carried when it was made in the US. A few tours of Chinese factories reveals this and much, much more. China is one of the larger frauds in history, root and branch. I’ve written about the Wall Street end of it extensively on my blog.
The Congresswoman is a dope but those are the facts on the ground.
I’m sorry Roddy, I don’t see where you made any point about what Harsanyi wrote.
ok then.
It’s a West Coast — East Coast rivalry thing.
Like with with rap musicians, only everybody’s too moody and maudlin to be bustin caps in asses.
I’m not trying to be insulting to anyone, but while the foreign car factories here in the USA do provide jobs, which is good, there is one vital difference between one of their factories and, say, a Ford plant.
Regardless of whether every Honda/Toyota/Nissan/BMW/VW/Mercedes/etc. sold in America is built here by US workers, the profit always goes home to another country.
Which, you know, I’d prefer to see stay here.
The same can be said to apply to all goods bought; which is why my wife and I drive US cars and buy US goods whenever possible. I’d rather spend the extra money to keep jobs here.
Of course, I’d never look to impose my preference on others, but would hope to be able to convince those able to afford it to see it as I do.
Well, I bought a Saturn because it was a good, affordable car… now, I’ll just have to look for a good, affordable car – and be damned if I care where it was made, UAW made, etc. You want my custom….earn it.
force moderates and independents back into the arms of an imperialist progressive administration and its new normal of high-unemployment, no-growth, stagflation
That’s not even a real world! There you go again you Vandals!
I own a 23yo Cadillac DeVille, a 17yo Dodge Ram, and a 7yo Chevy Silverado. 650,000 miles between the three of them, and running strong. I have no plans to buy a new vehicle, I’ll replace an engine if I have to first, but I’m not even worried about that.
There’s a drawback to building good cars.
Also, Wal-Mart rocks.