27th Sep 2010, 08:38

Going on about companies outsourcing jobs in order to save jobs. First, how does that even make sense? Second, wouldn't you rather support companies that can be viable with 100% American workers? You say you only buy American goods. I'd love to see your house full of the 10 things you found that are actually 100% American. Please list what electronics you currently own that are 100% American. Nearly all electronics, even the American brands, are built in China or Japan. And sorry but the computer you are typing on has well over a 50% content of import parts made in... you guessed it China.

People unfamiliar with economics fail to understand that we are now in a global economy and to cut off the rest of the world, to buy "American", is not only impossible, but not economically viable for our survival. If you cut off the rest of the wold as far as automobiles go, you would kill the domestic car companies real quick. They would not only be boycotted by most countries, but they would probably carry a 50% import tax on them just to cover anyone that was even thinking about buying them! Do you even understand how many branches of the domestic companies are overseas? Do you get how many vehicles they produce in other countries? Guess not.

You go on about Ford, GM and Chrysler as buying American. Chrysler was partially owned by Daimler and now Fiat, so we have German and then Italian American cars? Funny thing is the top selling Chrysler cars, the 300, Charger and Challenger ALL ride on Mercedes platforms and would never have existed if it weren't for the German technology. Ford has long mixed their line with the Japanese owned Mazda. Go and buy a Chevy Aveo... or Kia with a Chevy badge. Who gets the profits from that car? You see there is such a blur of actual domestic cars and where they come from, that supporting them isn't any better than buying an import.

Last but hardly least, why would you want to continue to support companies that failed under their own incompetence? Trust me, the domestic car companies cared nothing for the average American when they started to produce the highly inflated SUV's that have driven gas prices up and made roadways unsafe for everyone. They were only concerned with their bottom line, as these oversized junk boxes gained the most profits for them. Had they followed the imports lead 20 years ago instead of only in the past couple of years we might be paying half what we are for gas, and more people would be driving reasonably sized vehicles that are safer.

Before you go on about the "bigger is safer" thing again, I have seen too many Tahoe's, Escalades, Hummers, etc. etc., doing 80 mph weaving in and out of traffic with one person in them on the way to work... yakking on the phone no less! These have become the status symbol of the average American... even still after the $4.50 gas prices! Funny thing is, in the winter when we have big snow storms, the big lumbering SUV's are usually the ones I see 50 feet off the road into the woods. They create such a false sense of security, but people fail to realize those 22" tires merely float on snow covered roads, and make even a 4X4 truck useless! They look cool though!!

27th Sep 2010, 11:15

Toyota employs 192,663 US workers. Nissan and Honda also have close to that number each as well. Toyota has plants operating in 6 US states. Nissan is getting ready to make the new Nissan Leaf - an all-electric car - in Nashville TN. In other words, more than a "handful" of US workers. Also - unless everything in your home is from the 1950's - including your computer, then you're no different than anyone else here. Most of the things in your house are undoubtedly either made in the US with a mixture of domestic and imported components or made in China/Japan/Korea with a US branded badge slapped over the front. It doesn't really matter if you buy a HP, Dell, or Sony computer: The guts and the entire computer for that matter are ALL made in China.

You mentioned refusing to buy Japanese products because it enriches the Japanese economy and puts wealthy Japanese businessmen in yachts. So are you saying that it's much better to stuff money into the pockets of a domestic automaker's CEO so they can enjoy their yacht over putting money into the pockets of a Japanese automaker's CEO to do the same? Both examples matter little in regards to the "little man" who will never see any of those profits.

Lastly, using the Corvette argument is out of context. It's a $70,000 car. A Malibu or Camry is $25,000. They are not in the same class as a Camry. Even so, I actually test drove a Corvette at an event out on by GM. The cars are a rip-off. The interior was shoddy and cheap, and the handling was lackluster for a car costing as much as it did. Under the hood was a LOT of welding splatter, cheap-looking plastic and rubber tubing, and just an overall lack of attention to details. My $10,000 Tacoma has a better build quality than the Vette I drove. So yes - if you want to keep on arguing about how great your Corvette is, well you lose that argument too, because in my opinion it's simply an overpriced paperweight.