c2vette

Yes, it can be a two way street, and when the government tries to interfere with trade it can have bad consequences. Best scenario is that we buy USA whenever possible (at least engineered here!) as an individual decision. Just bought a pair of awesome quality Red Wing workboots!

mistermike

The key to buying American is allowing buyers to have a choice. That choice has effectively been taken away, because it is nearly impossible to determine country of origin before purchase.

I am in favor of what I call the "Freedom of Origin Choice Act"

This would require country of origin to be prominently displayed on the front of a box in type at least a minimum percentage of the largest type used to display the brand. Right now, at Wally World, you have to look on the bottom of the box and get out your magnifying glass to find out it's made in China.

Print and internet ads and catalog pages for individual products would have to have the country of origin clearly displayed for each product offered for sale.

Radio and TV ads would have to state country of origin for individual products where there is an offer to sell made.

Generic image ads, where there is no offer for sale, would be exempt. High ticket items with mixed country of origin would have to have some kind statement of percentage content from the constituant countries.

This is a good alternative to protectionism, which never works, and starts trade wars that can turn into real wars. It simply allows consumers a clear choice, with which they are free to decide for themselves.

Cokeybill

At least the profits return to America.

Cokeybill

Tell that to Japan with their import restrictions.

MindDrive

im glad what i do is made in america and only sold in america--- electricity ^_^ cant box that up and ship it overseas!!! so all you people in north eastern U.S. of A.: Your Welcome, dont worry about the coal dust snot rockets, ill make more ^_^

the thing about 'buy here' 'dont buy there' is that we as a people have pretty high standards for just about everything, if anything falls just a little outside that 'standard' then we are in an uproar, this is not necessarilly a bad thing, but it is quite expencive to have such high standards.... if EVERYTHING we consume, buy, sell, trade etc was made domesticly, then due to our high standards, most simple items would almost tripple or quadrouple in cost on the consumer end in order to support the peoples standards that made the stuff.

This is primarily because of quality of living standards, unions, and our thirst for greatness above all else. take for instance the welding industry--- way back in the day being a welder was one of the highest paying jobs, then big business seen that they could make a better proffit by employing lesser skilled welders instead of journeyman qualified welders... the pay scale is astronomical in difference and not just in the welding industry! Then you have unions that push and strive for employees better compensation-- the company can only withstand so much and then in order for the company to maintain proffit and employees compensation, they shave corners, contract out work, and sell production to the lowest bidder, all the while maintaining X amount of in house union workers, now on the other end of that is the non union working field where almost identical tasks are performed by employees at half if not upto a quarter of their union counterparts (someone that shovels non union is looking at 8-10 bucks an hour where as someone in a union is probably looking at 22-25 an hour)--- do the math at 100K people... adds up quick

thus comes the "overseas" employment, where tainted as it may be, our dollar goes a LOT further than theirs, and what may seem to be underwaged to us, is a whole new lifestyle to them (sometimes this is not the case *coughs air jordans*)

bah anyway, sorry for ranting, but in my opinion, the only way to really honestly and truely keep jobs etc domesticated would be to lower costs across the board: how much we pay, how much we keep and save, how much we make-- all of which are basicly damaged by over borrowing and waistefull spending

not 1 single thing will fix anything, everything must change, and not just here in America.... the world needs an enima

im just happy that the choices ive made are keeping me going... and to think a few years ago i was trying to get into caterpillar ~_~ i would have already had to get rid of my new hhr and get a beater

esmarkey

Good for you and your group C2Vette! If more people would do this, we could turn this recession around!