Driving behind a cement mixer today, I read the bumper sticker on the back; "Buy American". I start trying to figure out what that means. Does it mean give money to large American corporations so that the top 10% of the country can get richer than they already are? Probably not. Then I pull up and realize that it's a Volvo truck. Did Ford buy Volvo? Is that an American car now? And even if not, who knows, maybe there's a factory in the US, but still, what is it about? American patriotism? Supporting our own workers? Ensuring jobs stay in the US? I think (hope?) it's about supporting the smaller guy, the business owner that's maybe not in the top 10%, the guy around the corner. I think it should be "buy local".
Posted by heyhansen at September 18, 2003 06:37 PMYeah, multinationals make that whole 'Buy American' thing pretty confusing.
So Ford bought Volvo Cars, but not Volvo Trucks. So the semi doesn't have any American car connection. But Volvo cars are still manufactured in Sweden by Swedish workers. American executives are getting the profits, though.
Then there's the Honda Accord. Honda is a Japanese company; the accord is manufactured in the U.S. by American workers.
Buy Local is better - local businesses often provide a higher level of service and I like to encourage that.
Posted by: uh at September 19, 2003 08:29 AM