Is this going to be another case where B.O. says one thing and then runs to that country and gives a wink and a nod, like he did with Canada during the campaign. Where strong protectionism and N.A.F.T.A came about. But Austan Goolsbee a senior economic advisor for the B.O. campaign basically said that this was rhetoric for the consumption of the Midwestern masses (not his words mine) sort of like the bitter clingers rhetoric.
Well this little bit or “rhetoric” has not went unnoticed. In addition to the opposition from the EU and Canada, some senior US Republicans have cautioned that the Buy American measure could start trade wars. Trade wars that would not be very adventitious to the US.
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said:
President Obama had assured her the US would not follow protectionist policies.
So apparently the rest of the world will not have to worry about the buy US “rhetoric.” This is where you insert a lot of nods and winks.
This is what you get when you get a community agitator for President. This man know how to pull off a good snow job.
Hope and change, yep we are getting a lot of that now. Others would call this bait and switch and still others would call it snake oil. But when you boil it down, B.O. turns out to be just B.S.
So how, if this protectionism is actually acted on, will it affect U.S. workers. It would isolate us from the rest of the world. Why, because we are in a world market in the 21st century; unlike the 18th and 19th century policies.
It would help out the Union bosses who would get rich off of union dues and would demand new bigger contracts to pump out the iron and others for the “buy American” projects.
The American consumer would take it in the shorts, let me explain.
American company “A” makes product “A” and sells it for $50. Foreign company “B” sells the same product “A” but at $25 per unit. Are you going to go to the streets and proclaim that you are proud to buy a product that costs more, just because it is American made. Or will you buy from company “B” for $25 and use the other $25 to put more food on your table.
Well protectionism is a two way street. If we demand that the government only buys US made goods at an inflated price, then that will only add to our growing, giant, gargantuan, humongous, fat, bloated deficit. And the rest of the world would retaliate by putting huge tariffs on our goods coming into the same countries that we shut out of our government contracted markets.
In addition to that, company “B” will have to charge more for its product than what company “A” charges. So the “American” consumer gets a price increase which means less money to use in other areas, just because we wanted to buy US only.
Not only that but you have just told the free market societies thanks but no thanks to good competition. If you remember the Union was in the practice of protecting its industrialized interests against the cheap labor of the Southern states, and we all remember how that turned out.
When you start to isolate yourself in a global economy you are asking for trouble. And when you say you will be protective and then you give a wink on the side, you come across as being a scallywag (if you know your history, you will know what a scallywag is.)
Here are some parting words of wisdom:
Proverbs 10:9-10
He who walks with integrity walks securely,
But he who perverts his ways will become known.
He who winks with the eye causes trouble,
But a prating fool will fall.
In case you were wondering what prating is:
prate |prāt|
verb [ intrans. ]
talk foolishly or tediously about something.
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