Buying American

DanUCSB · 10-16-2004, 16:25

This is sort of spun off from the Leatherman/politics thread, and I'm wondering what some of you guys think about it. We all, I presume, prefer to buy American (the majority of us who are Americans, at least). An interesting trend recently is that of having foreign manufacturers (primarily car companies) opening factories in the US to be able to cash in on the 'buy American' impulse.

Which makes for an interesting question. If a Toyota, say, is made in Tennessee, is that buying American? Should the question be more that it is providing American jobs, or that the money is, ultimately, flowing to foreign corporations?

I guess the primary question is, is it still 'buying American' if it is, ultimately, a foreign corporation?

**Kyobanim** · 10-16-2004, 16:29

For me it's more "Made in America". That's getting harder and harder to find. And harder on the check book, too.

NousDefionsDoc · 10-16-2004, 16:42

Well, if we buy American, then only buy from those that don't support Kerry, and then, and then...I'd be running around naked trying to use my fingers for pliers.

I try to buy American when I can. North, Central, South, mostly in that order. But I mostly don't buy from certain companies for certain reasons. Take BHI for example. I wish they made everything in the US, but I kinda see why they don't. Understaning that, if they made it in Taiwan or Honduras, I would probably still buy it. But they went to Vietnam. Not cool. So I won't buy anymore of it if I can help it. And there are better alternatives.

If it comes down between buying American from a guy that supports Kerry or buying from a foreign-owned company, with all other things being equal, I will buy from the lib.

I would also rather buy from a small business person than from a major corporation. I will buy from the one man shop before the 35 man shop - simply because I support people trying to do their own thing and I know how much it means to them.

DanUCSB · 10-16-2004, 23:11

Like many others, I try to buy American as best I can. I avoid Wal-Mart, and prefer small businesses; however, as NDD brought up, in the globalized (-izing) economy, it would be very difficult indeed to buy exclusively domestic. (How would the TS ever get his USPs?

) In such case, I do try to do what I can, which is not always practical.

As for the original topic, I think it's a little shifty. Is buying a Toyota built by American workers better than one built by Japanese workers? Absolutely. But I'd rather buy a car that's built by Americans, and have the profits flowing to an American (even if it is a multi-national) corporation.

Huey14 · 10-16-2004, 23:46

Considering that Toyota, I believe, is owned by GM, then you're buying American anyway.

CommoGeek · 10-17-2004, 11:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huey14

Considering that Toyota, I believe, is owned by GM, then you're buying American anyway.

Toyota is a GM competitor. GM counts as its subsidiaries Saab and Opel with stakes in Isuzu, Subaru, and Fiat.
http://www.hoovers.com/general-motor...actsheet.xhtml

Ford's subsidiaries include: Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Volvo and it has a 33% stake in Mazda. It also owns Hertz.
http://www.hoovers.com/ford/--ID__10...actsheet.xhtml

Toyota consists of Toyota, Lexus, and their warehouse equipment like forklifts.
http://www.hoovers.com/toyota/--ID__...actsheet.xhtml

As to the thread, my dad is a staunch labor union guy. No, I am not a communist. He raised me to buy American above all else. When practical, I do, preferring my money to go American workers in American-held companies. That isn't always possible obviously.

NDD put it best I believe as far as what I try to do.

On a related note, if there aren't books on how America lost its own auto market then there should be. I think based on what little I know of it that it would make a fascinating story.