The Buy Domestic Crowd Needs Better Advocates
Tuesday April 8, 2008
Whenever I drive around town I always seem to see more than a few of Out of a Job Yet? Keep Buying Foreign! bumper stickers on cars and trucks. For some reason, they are almost always on Fords. Is this a Ford promotion? Are these often seen outside of Michigan and Ontario (where I live), or is this just a regional thing?
I could argue against this sticker by discussing the gains from trade, as shown by David Ricardo, and discuss how increasing trade creates, not destroys, job growth. But for the purposes of this post, I will take the easy way out and show that such claims, in the context of cars, is absolutely incoherent.
Just today I saw this bumper sticker on two different Ford Fusions - a car built in Mexico. Apparently the "buy domestic" crowd wants you to believe that a car from a U.S. manufacturer than is built in Mexico is Canadian. But a Toyota Matrix which is built down the road in beautiful Cambridge, Ontario is an evil foreign car, because the parent company is headquartered in Japan, and not a Canadian city such as... Dearborn, Michigan?
For the record, I happily drive a car from a South Korean company that was built in South Korea. I'm not happy because of where the car is made - I am happy that I got a quality car at a very low price, something I could not have done if I bought a Ford. But apparently sending my money out of the country to buy a "foreign" car makes me a bad person. Of course, the Canadian dollars I sent to South Korea to purchase it were probably used to purchase a Canadian export, such as wheat. But I suspect I won't get thanked by a Canadian farmer anytime soon for buying a Kia.
I could argue against this sticker by discussing the gains from trade, as shown by David Ricardo, and discuss how increasing trade creates, not destroys, job growth. But for the purposes of this post, I will take the easy way out and show that such claims, in the context of cars, is absolutely incoherent.
Just today I saw this bumper sticker on two different Ford Fusions - a car built in Mexico. Apparently the "buy domestic" crowd wants you to believe that a car from a U.S. manufacturer than is built in Mexico is Canadian. But a Toyota Matrix which is built down the road in beautiful Cambridge, Ontario is an evil foreign car, because the parent company is headquartered in Japan, and not a Canadian city such as... Dearborn, Michigan?
For the record, I happily drive a car from a South Korean company that was built in South Korea. I'm not happy because of where the car is made - I am happy that I got a quality car at a very low price, something I could not have done if I bought a Ford. But apparently sending my money out of the country to buy a "foreign" car makes me a bad person. Of course, the Canadian dollars I sent to South Korea to purchase it were probably used to purchase a Canadian export, such as wheat. But I suspect I won't get thanked by a Canadian farmer anytime soon for buying a Kia.
Comments
The problem of the trade deficit is not, however, going away, nor can it be so easily dismissed or blamed on the incompetitiveness of North American auto workers. Also, automobile manufacturers of American origin, while not even close to the powerhouses they once were, remain some of the largest employers in the real American economy in states where people still actually work for a living. I suspect in the next few years that it will also become obvious that the importation of cheap trinkets and broken southern borders have served as a very convenient cover for rising wage demands during the ridiculous monetary expansion of the last few decades.
That said, you have a very interesting point that few people consider. Wal-Mart is often singled out for wrath on the basis of, among other things, its heavy dependence on suppliers who casually buy finished goods from Chinese sweatshops. Still, look on almost any product and what do you see? “Made in [insert Third World country here].”
The sad fact is that in the world of one-sided trade policies, to “Buy American” means you’ll have a lot more money (until of course the dollar collapses at last), because there’s frankly nothing “American” to buy!
At Best American Arts, we believe American creativity and talent are second to none. We also believe Americans need better access to American art because many gift shops and catalog companies known for selling American art have quietly begun importing, primarily from China. Their marketing materials still talk about American art. The shop windows still display American art to bring you inside. However, look on the shelves or read the fine print: Foreign goods are replacing American art.
For stores and catalogs, advertising American art while selling imports is all about profits. For American artists and artisans, this means trouble. For American consumers, this means reduced access to the diverse spectrum of American art.
There is much talk in Washington but little progress regarding imports, our trade imbalance, and the actions of the Chinese government. Many American consumers are unhappy, yet feel powerless.
What if… American consumers refuse to be powerless?
After all, spending by American consumers creates two thirds of our nation’s economic activity. Small businesses and entreprenuers like our American artists and artisans create most of the new jobs in America.
So when you find that perfect gift and it happens to be made in America, you grow America’s economy, not China’s. But you must be able to find American products to even have that choice. And that’s why there is such concern about the shrinking access to the beautiful and innovative work of American artists and artisans.
BestAmericanArts.com is here to provide easy and convenient access to the best in American art and so are a small number of dedicated shop owners who remain committed to American art.
Let’s make this the year of the American gift!
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