Quote:
Originally Posted by stratman
I mean are you serious or is this a joke? If you hand me two basically identical products that do the same task with equal success and tell me one costs 20% more but it's made in America you expect that to sway me to take the extra 20% of the money I get up at 6:00AM 5 days a week and bust me a$$ for and spend it on the American product? During a recession? Are you out of your mind? I mean honestly, stop for a second, remove the emotional aspect, look at what you just proposed logically and tell me that equation balances out. And remember your are actually talking in thousands not singles.
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I'm as "serious as a heart attack", as Scott likes to say.
This should make all the sense in the world to you...and you said it. But I suspect it doesn't, which...frankly illustrates my point:
"take the extra 20% of the money I get up at 6:00AM 5 days a week and bust me a$$ for and spend it on the American product? During a recession?"
Yes...because it's made in the country you live in, and will ulitmately benefit you. And yes,
especially in a recession, because that's our problem, nobody's buying things. And buying foreign things isn't going to do jack squat.
As to your second point. I agree; but it is incredibly difficult to beat your competitors when the rules of the game are slanted against you. I have no desire to see foriegn competition completely removed from the equation...I mean, it would be nice, but I don't want that. I want a fair, flat playing field. One that doesn't exist as evidenced by the lovely senators voting against the loans to the Big 3 because Toyota or Honda has a plant in their state.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DGthe3
Free markets are great, so long as everyone plays be the same set of rules. Unfortunately, Japan protects their automakers and Germany gives lots of support to theirs. In America, the govenrment passes laws that do what the should be up to the free market (CAFE). How about instead of instituting protectionist policies for the purpose of making life hard on imports, what about simply mirroring trade laws of other countries? If they open their market to our products, we would be open to theirs. But if they keep themselves closed, why should we be open to them?
Lastly, your sentiments about not buying American in a recession because its more expensive remind me of a saying: Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign!
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