| Author | Message | ||
     Orangeokie |
Back in 1979, in the aftermath of the Iranian embassy fiasco, the birth of Ted Koppel and Nightline, and the United States embroiled in an Oil Crisis with gasoline breaking the $1.00 per gallon for the first time in history . . . President Carter came on the TV for a fireside chat. He said Americans were going to have to tighten their belts. He also admonished all Americans to "Buy American." With the coming of one of America's greatest Presidents, Ronald Reagan, the patriotic "Buy American" mantra skyrocketed, along with the U.S. economy, bringing the big 3 car manufactureres out of the doldrums, and Chrysler in particualr, back from the brink of bankruptcy. The Japanese created clearly superior cars to those of the U.S. but Americans continued to buy American, and the economy grew. Now, 25 years later, we need to once again . . . "Buy American" . . . and Buy Buell. Here is an original American sportbike manufacturer with a quality product and an affordable price. Regardless of what the Japanese or Europeans are putting out there, we need to support America and buy these motorcycles. I have come to the conclusion I am going to do my part, and buy a new XB12R this December, for Christmas, just as soon as I complete my job on a new gas pipeline . . . thank you Lord for the work! When you buy Buell you are helping to support American families, instead of sending your hard earned money over seas to a bunch of ungrateful foreigners. | ||
| Jim_witt |
Phil mentioned: ...... with the coming of one of America's greatest Presidents, Ronald Reagan ......  -JW:>  | ||
| Dynarider |
When you buy Buell you are helping to support American families, instead of sending your hard earned money over seas to a bunch of ungrateful foreigners I have no problem with the ideology of buying american, but where do you draw the line? Are you using an american built computer to surf the web? If you buy a Honda or Kawasaki that is built here in the USA by US citizens, are you not helping out those workers & their families? If you buy parts from your local Honda dealer are you not helping out the shopowner, the people who work at the shop, the UPS guy who delivers the parts to the shop, etc? These are all US citizens that need jobs just as much as the fine folks at Harley or Buell do. As far as the money going overseas, what difference does it really make where the profit goes? Do you get the profits from Buell or Harley? What if a person who resides in Japan or Canada or whereever is a big stockholder in Harley? Hmm all the profits still go out of country in that case. What if an american is big shareholder in Honda & the profits end up coming back here? You realize that by buying Buell you are helping to support the Italians who built the lovely frame dont you? The buy american is a nice phrase, but in todays world economy it really isnt practical. | ||
| Roc |
"Chrysler in particualr, back from the brink of bankruptcy." - so they could be bought by Daimler? http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/index_e.htm?/products/products_e.htm If you have broadband you might like to watch their "Infinite Possibilities" movie - kind of funny. I am totally behind your sentiment though. | ||
| Jim_witt |
You might take a few minutes of your busy life and read this. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something you didn't know. Buy American ...... It is sometimes more easily said than done. Many patriotic Americans have the best of intentions, but buying American made products these days can be an especially difficult task. Even though American consumers still buy about half of the goods produced by other Americans, it seems that the made in China label is increasingly more prevalent. But before we enter into a discussion of "Buying American" and how to do it, we must first establish the term as used in this chapter and define exactly what it really means. First of all, the term "Buy American" is not synonymous with the term "Made in USA." If it was, we would all be happy patriotic consumers if the only brands we ever bought were Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Hitachi and Sony products as long as the Japanese, in this example, decided to employ Americans to manufacture or assemble the product for us. I don't believe that any consumer who seriously intends to buy American would subscribe to such a scenario. Also, many of the bigger-ticket items such as automobiles have calculated percentages of domestic parts content, so it is likely that even an American made product could be assembled with a high percentage of imported parts. So it follows then that buying American is a term that goes much deeper than looking for the "Made in USA" label. Buying an American made product is part of the larger "Buy American" picture, of which there are three distinct parts. Two have already been mentioned - which I will from this point forward refer to as "made" and "parts" or "parts content." The part of the "Buy American" picture that is most overlooked, but is actually the most important, is ownership. Ownership equals control, and control equals independence. America simply is not independent to control its own destiny if its factories are owned by foreign companies and their overseas investors. When we buy products from foreign owned companies such as Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, etc., we may support some jobs here in the United States, but we lose in the long run since the profits are siphoned out of the country, and the taxes on those profits are paid to foreign governments - not the American government. So next time you hear about the fact that there isn't enough money for social security, the health care system is in crisis, or that we are now running a national deficit to increase military spending to fund the war on terrorism, part of the reason is that we have failed to fund the necessary costs of government by making our nation poorer as a result of our everyday consumer purchases. Current U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has publicly stated that the Social Security Trust Fund he is responsible for managing has "no assets," and politicians now publicly admit that only unacceptable tax hikes on voters can allow them to keep social security pension promises to future retirees of the baby boomer generation and their children. Regardless of our good intentions to buy American made products, we often contribute to the demise of our own financial well-being by buying them from foreign-owned companies. So if we look to buy not only American made products, but also those made by American owned companies, not only do we support more American jobs, but we also fund such important programs and benefits such as educating our children, paying the salaries of our policemen and firemen, and of the members of our military who are fighting to keep America free. We also support our veterans who gave us the freedom we now enjoy and who may be disabled and unable to work or need medical assistance from our government through Medicare or Medicaid. All these programs are funded only by American workers and American companies. Foreign workers, and to a large extent, foreign companies, don't pay a dime towards funding the cost of government. Foreign companies pay less than 1% of their total profits in taxes to America, where U.S.-based companies pay over 3%. Also, U.S. companies' earnings and profits are distributed to American stockholders. The shares of these companies make up many of our retirement funds, and American companies are more likely to donate to charities for the benefit of this country. The most recent example of this was the large donations made by American companies in the wake of the September 11 tragedy. American companies such as Ford and General Motors gave millions of dollars and donated several of their trucks for the rescue effort, while Honda and Toyota, despite record profits, donated nothing. According to Gus Stelzer, retired Senior Executive of General Motors and author of The Nightmare of Camelot, there are many other features obtained only by buying American made products from American owned companies. Mr. Stelzer commented that "These quality features are made possible only by taxes paid by American companies and American workers. Foreign companies and foreign workers don't pay taxes in America." Real Deficit Reduction Public Colleges Public Libraries Public Hospitals NASA Space Program Sanitation Services Aid to Minorities Aid to Disadvantaged Food Stamps Parks and Recreation Grants to the Arts and Humanities Construction and Maintenance of Roads, Streets and Bridges The fact that American companies are taxed to support these obligations and foreign companies are not also means that foreign producers usually have enormous production cost advantages over American producers. For example, we spend over $1,000 per American citizen for military defense, where China spends about $30 per Chinese citizen. Congress has imposed literally thousands of government mandates and regulations on domestic producers while at the same time offering to exempt those same producers if they will fire their American workers and reopen new factories in China where they would be exempt from such costly mandates and regulations. These production cost burdens include but are certainly not limited to a mandated minimum wage, unemployment compensation, workmen's compensation, health and safety regulations (OSHA), environmental protection regulations (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), civil rights laws, and other labor laws and other tax laws. American companies often have no choice but to gradually move some of their factories overseas, given the lack of support from their own government that often prevents them from employing their own people. It is unfair to penalize domestic producers if they are required to charge higher prices than foreign producers simply because of the laws that "We, The People" have advocated that they be taxed to pay for. The most recent reality check on the importance of American ownership surfaced when Stanley Tools Co. announced they were moving their headquarters from Connecticut, where they have been for over 150 years, to Bermuda. The reason: To avoid paying U.S. taxes. Stanley has shown their true colors, and they are obviously not red, white and blue. Fruit of the Loom, formerly based in Chicago, had the same tax-evasion scheme in mind when they reincorporated in the Cayman Islands in 1999. This paperwork scheme is further brought to light when we realize that many of the foreign companies we have been supporting for years, such as Michelin, Firestone, Holiday Inn, Dunkin' Donuts, Citgo and 7-Eleven have also enjoyed this nearly tax-free status since they are not American-based companies either. By changing just a few simple buying habits, usually at little or no cost or inconvenience to the consumer, we can re-direct literally thousands of dollars out of hands of foreigners and into the hands of Americans. Allow me to give one simple example. After the release of the first edition of How Americans Can Buy American in 1996, I gave a speech to a local Machinist Union during which I mentioned that Citgo was not an American company, but based in Venezuela. After the speech, the president of that union told me that both he and his wife had Citgo credit cards and spent about $25 each week in gas. Simple math tells us that one family changing just one buying habit can represent taking hundreds of dollars a month and thousands of dollars a year out of the hands of foreign companies and putting it into the hands of American companies. Think of the powerful, positive potential you hold in your hands with the 15,000+ listings in this book. We as consumers wield far more control over our own economy than we ever imagined. If every American would change just three simple buying habits from foreign to American, the positive impact on the U.S. economy would be nothing short of enormous. Buying American is more than about borders and NAFTA or the Democrats and Republicans. It's really about us and who we are as a people and how we are able to steer the global economy. So let's step up to the wheel and steer the economy in a direction that best benefits America and her people! Citgo of Venezuela was also responsible for forcing President Clinton to change our clean air laws as a result of losing a World Trade Organization (WTO) decision initiated by Citgo. In my home state of Florida, 7-Eleven stores almost exclusively offer Citgo gasoline at the pump. By avoiding Japanese-owned 7-Eleven and Citgo gasoline altogether, we keep even more money out of the hands of foreign companies and their investors since 7-Eleven is 64% owned by Ito-Yokado Co., Ltd. The largest and most successful convenience-store chain in America isn't even American. In detail in Part II, Chapter 3 I discuss what foreign companies and their investors often do with the dollars that we send them. Many use the money that used to be ours to buy financially struggling or bankrupt American companies and their assets, which further transfers wealth out of the country. When we buy the products of or patronize the services of foreign companies, we many times end up unknowingly subsidizing foreign purchases of our own American factories and businesses. We then become employees of distant foreign bosses who have little or no connection or regard for the American communities where their workers are employed. I also discuss in detail in Part II, Chapter 3 how when two companies "merge," the ownership of the newly merged company is determined by which company is bigger or stronger financially. For instance, one example I used in the first edition of this book was that of Pillsbury and General Mills. Both companies were popular makers of flour, both made their flour in the USA, and both claimed Minneapolis, MN was their home. The difference was that Pillsbury was foreign owned and General Mills was American owned. Profits reaped by Pillsbury were sent to England to their corporate parent Grand Metropolitan PLC, which was later bought by Diageo PLC of England. Taxes on Pillsbury's profits were paid to the British government, while taxes on General Mills' profits were paid to the U.S. government. Another argument made in the first edition was that if we supported foreign companies more than similar American companies and these two companies merged, the new larger company would be foreign owned instead of American owned and siphon even more wealth and tax dollars out of the country. In October 2001, General Mills bought its foreign rival Pillsbury. Profits reaped by Pillsbury will be now be taxed by the U.S. government to pay for the ever-increasing cost of government in America instead of England. Other little-known uses of our tax dollars, made possible only by American workers and American companies, include airport renovations and beach-rehabilitation projects. In May of 2001, President Bush proposed to cut the percentage of federal tax dollars used to fix America's water pollution and eroding coastlines. This was a particularly startling proposal since beach closings increased nearly two-fold from 1999 to 2000 according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, because of sewage pollution. Such proposals are evidence that there aren't enough tax dollars to go around for the benefits Americans have come to take for granted. In August 2001, just weeks before the September 11 tragedy, Bush proposed charging an additional tax on airline carriers that offered flights at peak travel hours as a way to help pay for upgrades to an outdated air traffic control system. And of course we all know that as a result of September 11, even more government funds (tax dollars) are being used to subsidize airport renovations and security. The point here is that we can help fund the war on terrorism and all other government expenditures, in many cases, without spending an extra dime by making more intelligent consumer purchases. Our government also subsidizes housing in several ways with our tax dollars. The most popular, of course, is the interest deduction on mortgage loans. This subsidy alone costs the government $55 billion a year. The government also sponsors low-cost loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and allows these two companies to borrow at lower rates so that mortgage interest rates for those who want a piece of the American dream can also borrow at lower rates. Knowing about the billions of dollars of taxpayer funds that are used to benefit Americans, who would buy foreign-owned Lysol disinfectant instead of Kmart's American Fare disinfectant knowing that less tax dollars would go to pay for funding the cost of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, our children's education, the military, and funding the war on terrorism as a result? Kmart's American Fare even costs less than Lysol. Why not buy American-owned and made Zest soap instead of Japanese-owned, American made Jergens soap? Why not buy American-owned and made Cooper tires instead of Japanese-owned, American made Firestone tires? How about an American-owned and made Kodak disposable camera instead of a foreign owned, American made Fuji disposable camera. Your tax dollars funded the United States to represent Kodak in a 1995 WTO dispute against Fuji - a dispute that Kodak lost. In the filing, it was claimed that Fuji and the Japanese government conspired with Fuji to prevent wider distribution of American-made Kodak film in Japanese retail outlets (Kodak only enjoys a 10% share of the Japanese market). Are we to fund the U.S. government to defend American owned companies like Kodak with our tax dollars and simultaneously fund foreign-owned companies like Fuji with our consumer dollars? Such a scenario speaks to double standards. Exactly how much in taxes do we lose each year as a result of buying foreign owned products instead of American owned products? Economist Pat Choate has estimated that the figure is at least $30 billion annually. As our economy has recently slipped from a national surplus to a national deficit, your preferences in consumer purchases could actually keep us in the black and speed up the recovery from the recent recession. American taxpayers often fail to realize that any revenue shortfall in our government will be compensated by an increase in income taxes. The rate at which U.S. citizens are taxed is a direct result of the amount of funds, or lack thereof, the government is able to collect by other means. One such potential source of revenue is import tariffs, but our governmental trade policies have replaced tariffs on imports (an indirect tax) with direct taxes on income. There really is so much more that can be done than by contacting your representatives in congress. Voicing your concerns to your elected officials is an important part in creating a better America, but we have a much louder voice and can speak much more often with our wallet, checkbook or credit card. The power we have as consumers is many times bigger than politics and partisanism. We only vote as citizens at the polls every two or four years, but we vote as consumers at the stores every day! If we decide as consumers to only support only American companies, to the extent possible, that make things in the USA and leave foreign owned, foreign made products to rot on the shelves, there isn't a trade policy any government can devise to reverse such a united consumer strategy. Sometimes because of government policies, it makes actually makes sense for American companies to manufacture overseas, and there is often very little we can do about that individually. But what we can do as Americans collectively is learn which American companies are employing the most American workers and support them so that more American workers can stay employed and not become victims of bad government trade policies. As of March 1999, The United Auto Workers (UAW) represented 220,000 employees who work for General Motors and 101,000 employees who work for Ford. German-owned DaimlerChrysler has about 75,000 UAW-represented employees. As Americans see some of our companies gradually close factories here and move them overseas, many have the opinion that American companies "don't give a hoot" about American workers. But to make that point stick, you would also need to somehow make a convincing argument that foreign companies care about American workers more. American companies don't need to be motivated by American patriotism for American citizens to reap the benefits of their repatriated profits and the taxes paid to America on those profits. Syndicated Columnist Charley Reese put it this way: "Toyota, public relations notwithstanding, has it's primary loyalty to Japan, as it should. If conditions arise in which Toyota must choose between what's in the best interest of it's American subsidiaries and what's in the best interest of Japan, it will choose Japan. Anyone who loves his own country must necessarily respect others who love their countries." After Honda decided to shut down one of its five automobile assembly lines in Japan in 1999, they were quick to announce that their roots will surely remain in Japan. And although the United States is seen as increasingly contributing to the growth of the company, Japan will be the main source for ideas, technology and "creative" manufacturing. Many have argued that we should stress corporate responsibility, but efforts to stress such obligations can only be directed at American companies. Foreign companies owe no allegiance to the United States, so corporate responsibility speeches and ploys do not affect foreign companies. If we are to convince any company to return more of their production to America, it must be an American company since they are based here and owned primarily by American investors. And since American companies benefit America by paying more tax dollars, we need to ensure they get our consumer dollars with which to remain profitable so they can move back to our shores and pay the higher wages required for operating here. "Ownership entails obligations. Its use should also serve the public interest." The German Constitution Another benefit of American ownership is that it provides jobs for more Americans than foreign owned companies. For example, if two similar companies- one American owned and the other foreign owned - make similar products in America, the American owned company will generally support more American jobs in two different ways. First, since American companies have their headquarters based in the United States, they generally employ American workers in such positions as research and development, design, engineering, administration, testing and advertising. Foreign companies, since their headquarters are based overseas, generally employ workers in their home country for these jobs. ...... continued | ||
| Jim_witt |
For example, in August 1999, American-based disk drive maker Komag, Inc. announced it was laying off 480 manufacturing workers, but the 350 workers in research and development remained employed at the San Jose, California headquarters. No American should be happy to see these manufacturing jobs be sent overseas, but the point here is that there is a difference we can make even in the most unfortunate of circumstances. The difference here between supporting an American-based disk drive maker and a foreign-based disk drive maker is at least 350 jobs. An emphasis should definitely be placed on keeping manufacturing jobs in the United States whenever possible, but there are other American jobs in other professions that can be saved just by buying an American owned company's product, even when none of the products in a given category are American made. Second, just by supporting an American company, we generally support more American jobs in the parts or parts content sector. Some Japanese cars are manufactured here, and it would seem like buying an American-made Japanese car is a good thing since they have hired American factory workers to assemble their automobiles. What most Americans don't realize, however, is that same foreign company that manufactures their cars here is causing a lot of other American workers to lose their jobs because they import more of their parts compared to American automobile companies. As a result, many of the American workers who used to make automobile parts for American companies are now being laid off. The problem is that there are a lot more parts workers being laid off than there are manufacturing workers being hired. This means that buying a foreign car made in the USA is a job destroyer rather than a job creator, and is one reason why foreign investment does not reduce imports. The UAW estimated that by the mid-1990s, at least 500,000 American jobs had been eliminated because of foreign owned automobile manufacturers operating in the United States. So by simply buying an American-owned company's product, we often help keep more Americans employed in the parts industry. American companies also need profits to continue to boost spending for research and development in an increasingly competitive world marketplace. In 1999, for example, U.S. corporations increased spending on research and development over the previous year's level by 9.3%. American companies further increased research and development spending again in 2000 by 10.6%. Such spending makes keeping jobs for American workers at American companies like Komag possible, even if the manufacturing jobs gravitate overseas. Also, prosperous American companies appear to have a ripple effect for other American companies as well. In January 1999, Ford selected IBM to develop nearly all of the automaker's software. A new campus for integrating 1,000 employees from each firm to develop the new information-technology was scheduled to be built in Michigan. New technology today is increasingly more expensive to develop. We need to know whose pockets we are lining so our consumer dollars end up in the hands of American companies so they can be on the cutting-edge of research and development technology, which in this case supported 2,000 American jobs between Ford and IBM. The jobs for both of these companies were off the radar screen as far as manufacturing was concerned, but they are American jobs nonetheless. It is amazing that upon talking to many American engineers, the depth of their understanding of buying American is limited to advocating the support of American manufacturing jobs. Many fail to realize that their own jobs are made possible by the American company they work for and the fact that American-based companies generally hire American engineers. Chances are they would be out looking for another job if the American company that employs them happened to be foreign owned. In March 2001, Sony recruited IBM to develop and produce their next generation "Cell" microprocessor to be used in Sony's PlayStation 3. In June 2001, IBM announced they had created the world's fastest silicon transistor. In October 2001, IBM announced plans to invest $3 billion in East Fishkill, N.Y. to construct a new semiconductor manufacturing facility. It is clear that without significant profits, IBM would not be able to constantly develop the world's fastest communications devices, invest billions of dollars in development and production facilities to employ Americans, and fund the cost of government with their tax dollars that provide the benefits we enjoy as American citizens. There has been much speculation and disagreement about exactly how to define an "American product." For the purposes of this chapter, an American product will be defined as any product made or produced by an American owned company, regardless of the point of manufacture. For example, a Mercury Grand Marquis made in Canada is to be considered an American product, and a Toyota Camry made in the United States is to be considered a foreign product. A Mercury Grand Marquis can properly be called an import, but it is certainly not a foreign product since car was designed by American engineers employed by an American company. Assembly workers in Canada may have a stake in Ford as shareholders, but the amount is certainly not enough to classify the automobile they assemble a Canadian product. An automobile takes several months to design, yet only several hours to assemble. In today's more sophisticated economy, an increasing percentage of the value of products such as automobiles are imbedded in the brand name, intellectual property and design. The brand name is American, and therefore the finished product is American as well. Again, there are other jobs to be considered besides manufacturing or assembly jobs. Since manufacturing now represents less than 20% of the jobs in the United States, that means we have over 80% of other jobs to consider when we make our everyday purchases. If we buy products based upon "Made in USA" only, we make 100% of the decision based on less that 20% of the information. The jobs in such areas discussed earlier are in testing, administration, design, research and development and advertising. Since Mercury is an American company, these jobs reside in America. As Friedrich List was quoted as saying, "The power of producing wealth is… infinitely more important than wealth itself." Since Mercury is owned by American-based Ford, it is an American company that retains the power to create wealth, and American companies are more subject to the laws and mandates of the American government than foreign companies. Corporate responsibility can also be demanded by the American people or their government. It was the sentiment of corporate responsibility that prompted so many American companies to donate to the September 11th Fund, for example. In his review of the first edition of How Americans Can Buy American, syndicated columnist Charley Reese stated that it is correct to assert that "it is easier to persuade American companies to bring back jobs than it is to persuade foreign companies to keep jobs here." Still, many buy American-conscious consumers direct their dissatisfaction that certain American cars are built in Canada, but they are misguided in placing the blame at the feet of American companies. The majority of the blame deserves to be laid at the feet of the U.S. government and their trade policies. Consider that during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, the U.S. negotiated an auto pact with Canada that stipulated for every car America sells to Canada, one would be built in Canada, which basically tied the hands of American auto manufacturers. It is therefore blatantly unfair to fault American companies for producing so many of their cars and trucks across our northern border. The U.S. government can only make this guarantee on behalf of American companies, not foreign companies. Part of the problem with our government's trade policies is that it has too often forced us to become too preoccupied in convincing other countries to buy American instead of our own. Washington is repeatedly angered by China for advocating the purchase of their own domestic goods, and specifically for granting tax breaks to their own companies to minimize the damage of the Asian Crisis of 1997. It is quite possible that what angers Washington the most is that China is benefiting from a protectionist trade policy from which America herself used to benefit. As was mentioned in Chapter XX (NENR) we would be wise to read up on U.S. trade history and revisit our own protectionist past that proved to be so prosperous. It seems that Washington too often tries to get citizens of every country to buy American except its own citizens, who are most likely motivated to do so. In early 2000, more than 50 U.S. Senators wrote Beijing to convince China to buy more American wheat, meat and citrus. We have sacrificed our own market to predatory foreign forces to such an extent that we must now resort to getting on bended knee to beg foreign countries to buy our goods. We clearly have no right to ask other countries to surrender their markets to America just because we have foolishly surrendered ours. Even as the U.S. Senate writes Beijing to buy American agriculture, the Made in America Information Act (HR 725) is being ignored. Passed by the House of Representatives in every congressional session since the 103rd congress, this bill would establish a toll-free number Americans could call to locate American made products. Yet every year, the bill goes to the Senate where it gets stuck in committee and dies. To sign the petition to get the Senate to take up the bill, which passed the House by an overwhelming margin of 407-3, go to www.howtobuyamerican.com. The toll-free number would be funded by the domestic producers that chose to participate in the program at no cost to the government or the taxpayers. We must also understand that because of unfair trade agreements, it is sometimes necessary for American companies to produce offshore. It is unrealistic, for example, to expect American electronics companies to employ all their workers in high-wage America, when similar foreign companies like Sony employ 60% of their workforce in low-wage Asian countries. In the first edition of this book, it was stated that by the end of 1996 that VF Corporation, maker of Lee and Wrangler jeans, planned to have 30-35% of their apparel made offshore and the situation was likely to get worse. By the end of 2000, about 70% of VF Corp.'s apparel was made offshore. Wake Forest University Economist Gary maintains that this does not mean that the apparel or textile industry is doomed because "American companies are going to be profitable, they're just going to employ a lot of foreigners, and their profits will be repatriated." If we can't supply our own needs, then we are not an independent country. Buying products from foreign companies making things in the USA is contrary to such American virtues as independence, self-reliance and self-sufficiency, and we forfeit the independence that our founding father's fought and died to preserve by buying American made products from foreign owned companies. Only by supporting the home team, even when their products are made elsewhere, can we truly remain an independent nation. The strategies being described in this book are more than borders and NAFTA or Mexico and Canada. It's more about us as individuals and who we are and the power we have as consumers that matters. Buying American empowers us to regain some of the power many Americans feel they have lost in reforming their own government. And it just so happens that we can do something to help our country and ultimately help ourselves at the same time. So if you care about your child's education, then you need to care about buying American. If you care about your own retirement, then you need to care about buying American. Associating buying American with items like funding our social security or children's education and fire and police protection isn't a connection we would normally make, but the relationship is there whether we choose to realize it or not. Much like in the way citizens of a small town enjoy patronizing their locally-owned business to keep profits and jobs within their community instead of patronizing the chain stores which will send profits outside their communities, we need to patronize American companies to keep profits within our national borders instead of foreign companies which will send profits outside our national borders. It really comes down to the question of "whose pockets are we lining?" Why not line our own? Even in times of perceived national prosperity and increased consumerism, we need to shake the feeling of invulnerability that may lead us to believe that the good times will always last and we will always have prosperity. During times like these, there is often less regard for where and how we spend our money and for who gets the benefit of our increased consumerism. To assure that we receive the benefits and reap the returns on our own investments, we need to buy American in the purest sense of the term so we leave ourselves and our country in good financial shape for when the inevitable economic downturn arrives. If we don't patronize American products and services, we aren't adding to the pool of funds we all draw from for the social services and programs mentioned in this chapter. For an example on a more personal level, since I work for one of America's largest defense contractors, my wages are derived completely from American tax dollars. It would be therefore blatantly hypocritical for me to not support American companies that pay the most taxes from which I draw my income. Even if your wages are not derived directly from the government, it is still hypocritical to rely on and expect taxpayer-subsidized services from the government and not simultaneously support American companies, where possible, who pay the most tax dollars to the funds you draw from. So, when you support foreign companies with your purchases, you are not only shortchanging America, but you are also shortchanging yourself. Buying American can be easier than we initially imagine if we focus not so much on the bigger-ticket items like automobiles that we buy less often and more on smaller-ticket items that we buy more often. A good place to start is in your local grocery store. Buying American here is made easy since almost all products in supermarkets are American made, and since there is usually no parts content to consider, we can focus almost strictly on ownership as our guide to buying American. The examples below are also in Part II, but I have listed them again here for quick reference. American Owned/ American Made Foreign Owned/ American Made White House Mott's Grey Poupon French's Swiss Miss Carnation Johnson & Johnson Q-Tips Yoplait Dannon Prego Ragu Campbell's Libby's Iams Purina Sprite 7-Up What is interestingly evident from the listing above is that it is nearly impossible to determine whether a brand is American by its familiarity or by how it sounds. Both Grey Poupon and French's (British owned) sound foreign, but both are not. Swiss Miss is American, but Carnation is owned by the Swiss. Purina was bought by Swiss-owned Nestle this year and 7-Up, along with Dr. Pepper, has been British-owned since 1995. It is easy to change habits to buy American in the food store where most consumers are indifferent as to which product to buy. If there is brand loyalty to a foreign product in some area, then focus your attention where there is no brand loyalty and where an American alternative will suffice. Even with brand names with the word "American" in them aren't always American owned. French-owned Dannon bought bottled-water brands Great American and Pure American Natural Spring Water in 1998. Reading labels can be very misleading as well, since all the foreign-owned products listed above will list the address of their U.S. subsidiaries on the package. This tricks us into thinking we are buying American when we clearly are not. Besides patronizing American owned products, we can also patronize American owned services. In this area, ownership is again our only guide since services don't have product labels or parts content. Below is another quick-reference guide to some common and popular services we often patronize. American Owned Foreign Owned Circle K 7-Eleven Vitamin World GNC Best Buy CompUSA Days Inn Holiday Inn Krispy Kreme Dunkin' Donuts Chevron Shell In the listing of services, like the previous listing of products, we find some familiar brand names that are foreign owned and other American-sounding names that aren't American at all. GNC was acquired by a European company in 1999. Holiday Inn and Dunkin' Donuts have both been foreign owned for several years and CompUSA was bought by Mexican investors in 1999. Shell, who recently bought Pennzoil-Quaker State after their recent merger, is based in The Netherlands. So we see there are other ways to easily buy American where the cost or inconvenience, if any, is negligible. When we are faced with buying two similar products where parts content is not a factor, such as in the supermarket, I have listed the order that will best benefit the U.S. economy below. 1. American owned/American made 2. American owned/Foreign made 3. Foreign owned/American made 4. Foreign owned/Foreign made Even when parts content is a factor, the above listing still applies since American companies generally have higher domestic parts contents in their products compared to similar foreign owned companies. This means, for example, it is more beneficial for America to buy a Ford made overseas than it is a Toyota made in America. There are more American jobs involved in producing a Ford to be exported to the U.S. than there are American jobs involved in producing a domestically built Toyota. The only exception to the above listing concerns communist China. American companies operating in China are not fully-owned American companies since they are required to enter joint-ventures with Chinese companies as a condition for doing business there, so in many cases the fact that their products have an American brand name on them is misleading. Also, contrary to those who would advocate increased trade engagement with China even in light of our huge trade deficit, China is more of an adversary to be dealt with more than they are a "trading partner." Profits sent to China, since most are not repatriated to the United States, are used for building up the Chinese war machine that America may well confront directly someday. If this confrontation occurs, it will not be any consolation that we were able to supposedly take advantage of the cost benefits of cheap imports. In fact, if we spent less of our money on cheap Chinese imports that we really don't need in the first place, we would have more money to spend on American products. Prosperity is great, but it also commands attention to keep our prosperity here so that we may extend the ripple effect of the gains into not-so prosperous times. Increased consumerism in times of prosperity can work against us since we tend to loosen our belts a little and tend to forget about who is benefiting from our increased consumerism. We need to ensure that as we prosper as individuals that we also prosper as a nation. Buying American during a time when it really doesn't seem to matter will ensure that we, as General Motors recently put it, "Keep America Rolling." | ||
| Court |
The very nature of the Macroeconomic picture has changed. In a rare moment, I agree with Greg..."The buy american is a nice phrase, but in todays world economy it really isnt practical." Try to buy a UNION MADE or AMERICAN MADE t-shirt. I am printing out JW's piece to read today. Scanned it and I think it's precisely what I am thinking. I'm sure Erik Buell would be interested in all of this.......WHEN HE GETS BACK IN THE UNITED STATES. Face it folks, our intellectual and trade borders no longer are defined by where land meets the sea. Take a look at the make up of TEAM EVLES. Could you have imagined that group even 10 years ago. Bob Dylan....the times are INDEED changing. Court (driving a good old Ford F-250HD from Canada) | ||
| Tripper |
When you can spare some, send work this way.
Anyone who would say that to Buy American is not relevant, needs to read, re-read, and then tattoo this thought onto the brain. Thanx Jim Witt for posting this important material. I'm not suffering fools well today. Leaving now for a ride on my Buell that some here insist on telling me has blown up every 10k miles, even though i don't remember fixing it. | ||
| Krait |
With regards to the American auto makers' in the 1980's: It wasn't the American public 'buying American' that saved those companies. Quite the opposite in fact. The Big-3 were making crap and with good foriegn cars avaliable, people weren't buying the crap. So, they had to change. They started making better cars, at better prices, with better service. Competition, foriegn competetion, nearly did drive them out of business, but it is also what motivated them to change and become better for the consumer. My mantra isn't buy American. If you can't build a competitve product at a competitive price, I will not spend my dollars to keep you in business. Doing so keeps bad products on the market, prices high, and terribly run companies terribly run. Which does not help America as a whole. I want to buy a Buell because I like the bike. It is inovative. Cool. Affordable. And has the performance I crave. I'm not losing out by selecting an inferior machine. I am using my dollars to promote a company and a product with vision. That this company is based in America and assembles bikes in America is a perk and I like it. But not so much so that I would buy the bike if it were crap. No my mantra isn't buy American. I'm closer to: Buy innovation, buy the future, evolve, change, grow, compete. Abandon those who don't. They will learn to do so or they will die. | ||
| Aaron |
The comments about Fruit of the Loom and Stanley, who apparently moved manufacturing out of the US for TAX reasons, mirror my experiences in the disk drive business. Direct labor rates in Singapore are similar to what they are here. Every time I've been involved in moving manufacturing over there, it's been because of taxes. Some governments, particularly in the far east, shift much more of the tax burden to individuals than companies. Which kind of makes sense, because companies don't really pay taxes, they pass'em on in the form of higher prices. Lowering corporate taxes has the effect of making the company more competitive. Now you can make statements like "Stanley has shown their true colors, and they are obviously not red, white and blue", but the reality of the situation is that if you're competing in the market and another company is able to undercut your prices because they're manufacturing where they don't pay as much in taxes, your choices are to do the same or to go under. Going under doesn't help anyone. By the way, Komag is not a disk drive company, they're a media vendor. | ||
| Glitch |
because companies don't really pay taxes I lost my job working for Hubbell, because they moved to Puerto Rico. To get out of taxes. www.fairtax.org | ||
| Fasteddieb |
In the true spirit of capitalism: Buy the best product no matter where it's made. American cars are as good as they are today thanks to the quality the Japanese brought to the table in the 1970's. Otherwise, we could still be driving POS Chevettes, Pintos and Gremlins. The trick is for American companies to make better products. BTW, I'm typing this on an American computer (Apple Mac) though God only knows where it was made. Add'l point: when you own dividend-paying foreign stock (I own Sony and Honda, for instance, in addition to HD) dividends, theoretically profit distributions, do make it back into the American economy. My Firebolt being American had NO part of my purchase decision. In fact the quality implied by parting out major components to Brembo, Verlicci (sp?) and Showa counted as a positive for me. | ||
| Jmartz |
Glitch: Section 936 of the IRC is the item that allows a company to move to PR and avoid taxes for 10 years. They can then rename the process and begin again. Bill Clinton spoke about this during his first campaign but never did anything about it. It is an atrocity perpetrated on to the islanders by local government and the feds. The islanders are being exploited. The per capita income of PR is about 6K/yr., less than 1/2 of MS, the poorest state. Sorry you lost your job. I left mine at one of those companies after realizing I could make twice as much in the continental US while paying 1/2 the income taxes, all in a cost of living environment roughly 40% lower. | ||
| Bad_pete |
Fella's With all due respect I thought this was a a website about motorcycling on a Buell. I we want to talk microeconomics,macronomics, and international finance I am sure there is a web board for that honorable subject. | ||
| Jim_witt |
My 1 cent worth, When possible, buying American made products by American owned companies should be the number one priority in our lives ...... well that is if you're my age and want to pass on the quality of live we have enjoyed that our fathers created for us. The American Dream is history and will never return until we gain control of our destiny. When I grew up only one member in the family needed to work. True it was usually the father but only one “needed” to work. Nowadays, in the majority of cases, “both” partners “must“ work just to make ends meet. The sad part is most Americans accept the both partners must work scenario, instead of trying to fix the problem. If you can’t see our country is turning to shit, then you have your head up your ass looking at and building your own little secure world. It’s also because you’re working so freaking much you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a cop out to say something like, “if they can build a better product overseas, then I’ll buy it.” I was taught my family comes second (God was first) and American workers and American companies are "part" of my family. We have successfully allowed our family unit, jobs, manufacturing and construction in some cases to slowly dwindle away. The key word here is slowly, you know, slowly but surely, gradually, little by little, bit by bit …… i.e.. As generations pass, they’re not even aware of WHAT they’ve lost or about to loose. When a substantial percentage of the white-collar sector start loosing their jobs and sense of security to a much underpaid, benefit-less overseas individual, the country will start seeing the light. Unfortunately I feel that will be to late in the game seeing how the white-collared are usually self-oriented, all about me syndromed individuals.   -JW:> | ||
| Jim_witt |
Pete, Guess you don't read any of the "other" forums here dude. -JW:> | ||
| Jim_m |
Pete, I've found more "unrelated to motorcycle" topics here than most places, and they all carry with them sensible (sometimes, even well thought out  )debates (well, excepting the kid). Blake should be proud of BWB for that if not anything else (oh yeah, apparently there's some info here on an American Sportbike floating around as well....I can't find the link, but if you dig around, you may find it ;^D ) | ||
| Cjmblast |
A debate about buying American is a very relavant in regards to Buell, so it ventured off into micro and macro economics and finace, the topic is still relavant ! Wouldn't be fun if you start putting parameters on how far the topics can stray away from the main point. Seems every discussion here strays away from the original point. At least they stay intelligent conversations !! CJM | ||
| José_quiñones |
If I want an american bike, I'll: 1. Find enough money for one of Dan Gurney's Alligators. 2. Wait for the Fischer MR1000 3. Wait for the "sporty" Vrod or get a Road Glide 4. Get a Victory Vegas 5. If any of the previous four do not occur, then I might consider getting another Buell. | ||
| Blake |
Pete, You have a point; this topic belongs on the Quick Board; not here in the XBoard. Jim, If a picture is worth a thousand words, then did you just let fly a few hundred insults? That is if I am correctly interpreting your posting of the weed image. If in rebuttal the target of your ridicule were to post an image of a horse's rectal region...  Seems pretty uncool to lump all white collar workers into one derogatory basket. I don't see much if any difference in the attitudes of white versus blue collar workers. It's more of a smart versus dumb thing, and both categories of workers have their fair share of each. PS: No, I've not yet reservated our room at Bonny. Kin I git you to do that instead? I'm hamstrung and hogtied up the creek without a paddle heading for calamity's edge. Thanks. | ||
| Sgtbuell |
Jim_witt Thanks for posting this. As a member of the USAF for 11 years now I have always thought it was my obligation to by American. After reading your posting I am definitely going to buy that book. | ||
| Darthane |
It's more of a smart versus dumb thing, and both categories of workers have their fair share of each. <~~Blake ...in my experience the ratio of smart to dumb people favors the blue collar workers over the white...getting a degree certainly doesn't make you smart! | ||
| Orangeokie |
. . . As generations pass, they’re not even aware of WHAT they’ve lost or about to loose. . . (Jim_witt) Jim . . . I posted the "Buy American . . . Buy Buell" post on about a half dozen or so other sportbike boards, and you would be amazed at the responses. Most make very good points about our "global economy." Others focus in on the "Buy American" theme of my post and sneer at America and everything it stands for. I fear, as I think you do too, that Generation X truly does not know what is being stolen from them. | ||
| Jim_witt |
Blake, Didn’t realize I lumped all the white collared folk into one basket. Thought I said "are usually". Based on personal experience in both sectors over the past 35 years that’s the way I have usually (there's that word again) seen it. Could I be wrong? Sure, anyone can be wrong, even our President! Was it supposed to be an insult to anyone, not at all. As far as the weed image goes, I was just poking fun at Phil(s) statement. You know, that Ronald Reagan was one of America’s greatest Presidents. The image meaning …… like what are you smoking dude. Damn, I simply don’t agree with his statement. That would be like me saying that Richard Nixon was one of American’s greatest Presidents I'll make the reservations if YOU tell me the exact dates to reserve! -JW:> | ||
| Jim_witt |
Phil mentioned, ...... I fear, as I think you do too, that Generation X truly does not know what is being stolen from them ...... Agreed and they never will. BTW, I'm not the amazed type when it comes to this topic. I'm glad I'm an old fart so I won't have to see what's going to happen in the future (in regards to this topic anyway). -JW:> | ||
| Psychobueller |
Jose, let me know as soon as the Fischer MR1000 is available to the public. I'd love a test ride.  | ||
| Phillyblast |
Jim, Gotta throw the same "usually" or "some/most" into the Generation X comment too. I'm a Gen X-er (33 now - damn remember when we were "slackers"?) and I'm fully aware of the slow but steady erosion going on around me. I may be a white-collar weenie now, but my Dad was a 45 year Union Longshoreman, so I've been experiencing it first hand by proxy my entire life. I agree the American Dream, such as it is, is gone, and will never return. Doesn't mean I'm gonna give up, though. I'm going to have to re-read your lenghty post(s) and maybe even gasp! buy the book. I also plan on getting married next year, and having kids, and right now the plan if for a one-working-parent household, because I don't accept the both partners working scenario as inevitable. Neccessary, yes, in too many cases. Mandatory? No. Not if I can help it. I've heard too many day-care horror stories and my schoolteacher sister and child-therapist fiance have seen too many "latch-key" kids turn up in trouble. The problem, as you state, is the speed at which the erosion took place/is taking place. Reminds me of the frog and the lilypad. The lilypad grows at an exponential rate, doubling in size every day. The problem is the frog doesn't notice until it covers nearly half his pond. Not much time left to fix it, is there? For me the logic is easy to follow. I watched the bulk of the cargo my Dad unloaded change over the years from raw materials, like iron ore (every pair of boots my Dad owned when I was a kid were covered in orangey dust and the family car always rusted out fast) to finished products, like Russian steel. The question is, how much of the lake does the lilypad cover? DK | ||
| Orangeokie |
" . . . I also plan on getting married next year, and having kids, and right now the plan if for a one-working-parent household, because I don't accept the both partners working scenario as inevitable . . ." (phillyblast) Good for you philly! . . . It is my opinion that the only "need" for both parents to work and allow "strangers" to raise their children is the "need" for expensive "toys." I was raised in the 1950's and '60s. My mom did not work outside of the house. We did not have all of the expensive "toys" that some of my school mates had, but we never went hungry. I determined that I was going to follow in the foot steps of my dad and promised my wife (of 29 years) that she would not have to work outside the house. She raised our three children and every one of them has turned into wonderful adults. No drugs, no alcoholics, no criminals . . . but polite, honest, spiritual, ambitious, and respectful. One of my best friends went the other direction. His wife has worked outside the home all her life, and strangers raised their kids in day care. They have much more money in investments now, than I do, but their children are a mess. Not worth it in my opinion, in the long run. | ||
| Rocketman |
When you buy Buell you are helping to support American families, instead of sending your hard earned money over seas to a bunch of ungrateful foreigners. It's those last two words that can bring foreigners to the wrong conclusions about America and her people and that in itself is enough for some foreigners to boycott American made products. Rocket  | ||
| Jim_witt |
Sean, My point is ones priority should be to take care of their family first, which includes American workers and 100% American owned companies. There's nothing wrong with buying foreign made products in my book, however when doing so eradicates American owned companies and whole sectors of American jobs, there’s something wrong. If things keep going the way they have been for the last several years, it won’t be long until we have absolutely nothing to offer in manufacturing, service sector or professional services. Those involved in manufacturing, at all levels, already see and know what’s happening in their global marketplace but the service and professional sectors haven’t really been tested throughout the states. Once they experience the fierce competition, directly related to their personal wages, in their particular professional discipline, they’ll have a freaking stroke. Some have experience this already in the software application development and programming, where foreign wages are astronomically lower. Just in the last few years, over 3,500 manufacturing companies relocated their facilities to Old Mexico due to inexpensive labor, construction cost, more lenient pollution constraints and tax issues. Plus many others companies over and above that figure went overseas instead. I know of a couple semiconductor and pharmaceutical facilities that were actually coming out of the ground and construction was halted. AMD halted the construction of their plant back East and went overseas. In the last 2 years 90% of those that relocated to Old Mexico just a few years ago, moved their operations overseas because the labor became even cheaper "over there". It’s my belief that non of this would of happened to the extreme degree it has, if we would of taken care of our own family first. We’re much like the prostitute that spends her greenbacks on drugs and material things, compared to the one that puts her self through college and invest the funds. -JW:> |
