Tuesday, April 10, 2007

The Bigger Deficit

A lot has been made about the spending of the Bush Administration. I agree, it sucks, he sucks, and we'll be paying for his mistakes for decades to come. However, he's the president and there's not much we can do about his spending. We have to wait till 2008 and get someone in office who cares more about our economy than blowing shit up across the globe.

Here's a deficit we can do something about: the trade deficit. We are grossly out of proportion when it comes to the number and dollar amount on what we import versus what we export. What can you do about it? Buy American. I know it's not always easy, but every little bit helps. There are even web sites that can help you, like the aptly titled buyamerican.com .

So here's the deal. If you bitch one more time about how much our economy sucks and I see you driving a fucking HONDA, I am going to smack you. The three biggest ticket items that I see making a difference: Electronics, cars, and other motored devices. I separate cars from motored devices for a reason. Cars are a very emotional purchase. Please become emotional about an American car company. Find someone you know who works for one, be their friend, and then try to buy a foreign car. They won't like you, and I don't blame them(Yes, MCO and others, the American auto industry and its unions have hurt themselves plenty, but we can still do our part).
So on to other motored devices: You don't think as much about nationality when it comes to lawn mowers, weed whackers, or even motor cycles. These are still very important pieces of the retail world and need to be taken seriously. Plus, you look like an idiot on your Japanese crotch rocket anyway, buy yourself a Harley, it even comes with a free bottle of testosterone.
Electronics is a harder one. There are thousands of components manufacturers and it's hard to figure out who makes what, but some of the choices are obvious. I live in Rochester, NY, so the Kodak vs. Canon or Sony debate is a simple one for me, though even some young Kodak employees don't obey this one (yes Kodak is another example of making their own problems, but once again we can help a little at least).

Bottom line: look at your labels and try to do some research. Sure Honda makes dependable (boring), fuel-efficient (slow) cars, but they are part of the reason the American economy is as slow as it is today. And for people like Dr. Harry Binswanger over at the Ayn Rand Institute (I'm not making that name up: http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_buy_american ) you have a point, but if we set aside our love for capitalism (which is hard for me to do) for a moment and help our American companies compete, we will all be better off.



Go ahead, flame away Honda lovers and Union haters, I know it's coming...

4 comments:

MCO said...

You are apparently just stirring the pot with this post. Or, you were half-asleep when you wrote it?

You say that Dr. Binswanger has a point but you apparently did not read the article. The way for America to “get ahead” is comparative advantage. We need to do only the things we do well. We do not do commodity manufacturing well because every AFL-CIO jerkwad thinks he’s entitled to $29 an hour for drilling holes or punching rivets. American metal-cutters do not cut metal any better than foreign metal cutters cut metal. Americans do service, design and technological innovation well. Let’s do that and send our services overseas and buy our leaf-blowers from Japan.

Also, you ignored that fact that half of Hondas are made in the American South. When Southerners make Hondas, they have less time for making crystal meth.

Unknown said...

Oh Bill...you make me laugh. Not once have I ever complained about the economy so I guess it's ok that I drive a Honda. BUT, I have complained about gas prices...then again, I guess it's good I drive a Honda, huh? ;-) And as you know, unless Honda does something to completely piss me off or out of nowhere start sucking, I will continue to buy them.

And as the other person also said...there are plenty of jobs here in the U.S. that employ citizens.

MCO said...

Let me give you an analogy, because I can only communicate with analogies.

If the local pizza place makes bad pizza and charges you more, should you buy it to keep a local pizza place in business instead of ordering Pizza Hut?

That Guy said...

Other than your window problem, what have Americans cars done wrong to you? If you tell youself that American cars are so terrible, do you start to believe it to justify buying Japanese and German?