Monday, February 2, 2009

Your Thoughts on BUY AMERICAN?

Yahoo's headline title is this:

"Top REPUBLICAN: Scrap 'Buy American' Clause in Stimulus"

THEM'S fightin' words .... THAT's throwing red meat to the red necks, huh, Yahoo!?

...........not so fast.............I'm not sure all Conservatives disagree with Mitch O'Connell's side...

Tell me what you guys think about this BUY AMERICAN clause in the package; Educate me.



z

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about this. Make sure that none of the work is done by ILLEGALS!!!!

Z said...

OH, FJ....absolutely.
But, you know...there are those who still say we need illegals...that "Americans won't do the work".

It's a kind of similar predicament as 'buy American', ....and another great topic of conversation.

Ducky's here said...

I think Mitch McConnell is nothing but an old queen who should put his teeth in but he may have a point for once.

The clause states that steel for infrastructure projects must be American made. Now after the destruction of the American steel industry by global dumping there is good reason to tell India, South Korea and a few others to put it where the sun doesn't shine.

With China slamming on the development brakes along with others should we take it upon ourselves to SUBSIDIZE the Indian steel industry?

We better get something in return. This is a tough question. It will probably bring a WTF suit and we deal with it but I can't see why you'd waste time with it holding up the bill.

Ducky's here said...

... and don't forget the role China played in destroying jobs in Mexico.

China can undercut anyone. They hosed the South African textile industry and even lowered the standard of living in Bangladesh.

It's time to look at just what this "free trade" movement has wrought and it is far from all good.

Ducky's here said...

But it might offset some of the auto bailout money.

GM announced that 2.5 billion were going to expand their Brazilian operations today.
-----------------------------

It's gettin' edgy, time to find a war
There must be somethin' worth fightin' for
Peace is so peaceful, it ain't a way to survive
When nobody hates you, nobody knows you're alive

We got the guns, we got the oilmen too
They're like a choir, they wanna sing for you
Wham! Bam! Slip slidin' away
The less you got, the more you gonna pay

You want it, you'll get it
We got what you need
You ain't got to sweat it
We gonna make you bleed

We got some freedom, we got the iPod store
We got the savior, you couldn't ask for more
Take it or leave it, it's the deal of the day
And if you leave it, you get it anyway

You want it, you'll get it
We got what you need
You ain't got to sweat it
We gonna make you bleed

Get your coat on, you ain't supposed to laugh
This ain't a joke it's an epitaph
It's the rise and the fall, that's the name of the game
It's the land of the free, the blind leadin' the lame
It's the land of the free, the blind leadin' the lame


-- Chris Smither, "Diplomacy"

Anonymous said...

We are in a global economy like it or not. Protectionism will marginalize the US, and free trade will take a beating, and cost us more jobs, and further cripple our economy.

This requirement that the left put in this package, is simply a bone thrown to the unions, and very short sighted.

The stimulus package is payback to big donors and backers of the Democrat Party which is now owned by the left.

At the same time it rewards those who don't pay income taxes. Got to keep them on the Democrat reservation with those crumbs they've been throwing them for far too long and keep them in their place, just poor enough to keep them dependent on government.

I guess this is the utopia the powerful have wanted. Power for the chosen few and mediocrity for the rest of us.

With Obama, it's, "don't watch what I do, listen to what I say".

Pris

Z said...

Ducky.."AN OLD QUEEN"? Are you back to THAT?

WHY do you SO often label Republicans as homosexuals? Is it a fetish, is it just unkindness? Is it your only word for the worse lifestyle you know...so bad that McConnell fits it? ARE you a gay basher and WHY?

Why do go there so often?

Ducky's here said...

You really want to know, z?

Becuase the far right is fond of talking themselves up as the big strong strapping gun owners who are going to rebel when the socialists take power.

Utter insanity but I like to insinuate that they're all a little effeminate, it riles them up.

The right is very uncomfortable with the idea.

Anonymous said...

Ducky, I ask again.

Define the "far right".

Pris

Z said...

Funny, Ducky, I know Republican homosexuals...check out the Log Cabin Group, too. VERY uncomfortable?

ANY MAN SHOULD be, Ducky....but our new society's made it a badge of honor to be gay, so.......And, dignified gay men have to watch while their being is denigrated by false eyelash-wearing, fishnet stocking'd effeminates....because of the left.

Seems so odd that's the first thing out of your mouth...90% of the time you're slamming anybody.

I.H.S. said...

I don't know, but I can see where it could help the US by making sure the money is spent in the US but I guess it could also cause a problem globally.

I believe in buying American first though.

Blessings.

Z said...

I.H.S...I do, too.
The thing is that we must start producing things FAST in this country and that could mean buying the 'ingredients' where THEY are ready...like we've lost our steel industry, basically, and will need steel for .....infrastructure! (argh! I don't agree with ANY of this, but...)

Yes, we have to buy American as much as we can, as citizens, but our country needs to kick itself in the back side with others' goods, too. Plus, it's a little "you buy our stuff, we'll buy yours", PLUS there are economic considerations I'm not sure I know enough about.

Great point: Citizens...BUY AMERICAN!

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Ducky,

One of the most progressively leftist men of the 20th Century, Adolf Hitler, was a pole smoker.

Keep it on your side.

Ducky's here said...

Pris, as I use the term the "far right" has three defining elements.

1. Irrational belief that aggressive military power is the sole effective foreign policy despite its failure since the second hald of last century.

2. A complete faith in the "free market" but the Ayn Rand version. Very few conservatives have ever read Adam Smith.

3. Culture wars. You know, god, guns and gays. Extreme intolerance.


Frankly, I consider them a serious danger and since a large portion of them believes that their philosophy is from God and that Americans (right wing Americans) are a "chosen people". Again, massive dangerous intolerance coupled with ignorance (not stupidity, but ignorance).
If you believe that the world was created literally in seven days then science is going to be a life long enemy.

Average American said...

I am all for buying American and have posted so before.I try to buy American every time I spend money. Some times you just can't. If we need to do infrastructure programs as soon as possible to stimulate the economy, then we may have to buy elsewhere to supliment American. I would suggest Canada. They have always provided much of our steel anyways. If we fix as many bridges as they are looking to fix, the American steel mills won't be able to crank it out fast enough.

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

I'm not so sure about the whole "buy American" line. I'm not sure it's a "patriotic" gesture that does service to the country to buy American first. Most companies are out to make a profit; with some exceptions, when do they ever put country first? So then, why should we care? They either put out good products worth having, or they don't.

Anonymous said...

Ducky,

1)Military power is not the sole effective foreign policy, but, when war is declared against you and the first salvo is delivered killing your innocent citizens, military power is the only rational response.

I wouldn't call Desert Storm a failure, it freed Kuwait. It's still ealy in Iraq, but, we did win. Peace through strength is necessary. Weakness is an invitation to war.

2)Since all systems are corruptible, the "free market" is the closest to being fair and workable in a free society.

3) Ducky, I know the left is intolerant about God, and guns, but gays?

My definition of the far right is the KKK, Aryan Nation, and the like.

Your definition of the far right just shows how far left you really are.


Pris

Ducky's here said...

Well let's take the market, Pris. You aren't going to find many, even on the left, who don't accept the need for some level of market economy.

However, they also know that markets fail and can fail badly so the need for government intervention at some level.

By the way, Adam Smith completely agreed. It's not a new idea that markets, like government, must be regulated.

What we get from the far right however is Libertarianism which is the sandbox of political thought.

Ducky's here said...

As for God and guns ... well, you'd be surprised at how many leftists own firearms. We do tend to be in favor of point of sale control but it's only the gun loons on the right who start the "gun grabbing" silliness.

God, my relationship with God IS NOT defined by right wing Protestants. I do my best to be tolerant but they are generally incorrigible in my experience.
It's especially ugly when they start the nonsense about America being a chosen country. They are also the source of the "real Americans" and "patriots" nonsense.
I consider their beliefs to be reactionary and I'm frankly not interested in their culture. When they try to define elements of mine I have stopped trying to compromise because they are not capable of compromise due to the nature of their Calvinism.