As this right-on-target article from MSN Money points out, although it sounds fine in theory to advocate “buying American,” there are some serious problems with that philosophy. First of all, most of the daily items we all use just don’t have American versions. So many of our products (which contribute to our standard of living) are made either exclusively abroad, made better abroad, or made so much more abundantly abroad that a society-wide drive to buy USA would drive prices up substantially (like with oil). Coffee, tea, ipods, bananas, diamonds, etc. All sorts of things come from elsewhere, and of course we sell things made in America there. This is called trade, and the best way for everyone to have the maximum standard of living is to buy the best product at the best price, without the geographical racism that says you should pay more to get less just because someone with an American address made it. “Buy what’s best,” should be our slogan. Capitalism doesn’t stop just because it encounters a border.
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