Buy American' Rule in Stimulus Bill Sparks Protest

[Revmitchell]

U.S. businesses and trading partners are resisting a new "Buy American" provision in the $819 billion economic stimulus package making its way through Congress.

The provision, included in the House bill that passed on Wednesday, generally prohibits the purchase of foreign iron and steel for any stimulus-funded infrastructure project.

The goal is to boost the U.S. iron and steel industries, which have been pummeled by the current recession. Shipments in the steel industry, for example, fell 40 percent last year.

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[Revmitchell]

I have to agree with Obama on this one. This country needs to get back to producing again. But he will meet all kinds of opposition unless they ease up regs and taxes.

 

[Bro. Curtis]

Not to mention the steel workers unions that will automatically jack up the prices. That's what this is about.

 

[matt wade]

Not to mention the steel workers unions that will automatically jack up the prices. That's what this is about.

You just hit on the reason that we haven't been producing as well as we should be....."unions"!

 

[LeBuick]

Not to mention the steel workers unions that will automatically jack up the prices. That's what this is about.

Unfortunately you won't get rid of unions as long as bankrupts companies who just got a gov bailout pays the execs millions in bonuses. As long as that thinking is at the top then the bottom will want to be represented.

 

[targus]

Unfortunately you won't get rid of unions as long as bankrupts companies who just got a gov bailout pays the execs millions in bonuses. As long as that thinking is at the top then the bottom will want to be represented.

Banks are unionized? What do the bonuses have to do with any of this?

Will Congress start to buy American too?

These guys drive a lot of foreign made cars and travel to a lot of foreign countries on pleasure junkets in the name of their office.

When I called to get some information on my son's Federally gauranteed SallieMae student loan I reached a service representative in Pakistan.

Need more examples?

 

[Salty]

Unfortunately you won't get rid of unions as long as bankrupts companies who just got a gov bailout pays the execs millions in bonuses. As long as that thinking is at the top then the bottom will want to be represented.

Two wrongs dont make a right

 

[LeBuick]

Banks are unionized? What do the bonuses have to do with any of this??

No, but bankers are the symbol and icon of the white collar CEO behind the desk calling the shots. Even when you see them say I'll take $1 a year, we all know the other hand is behind their backs with a calculator figuring out how much his bonus and stock options just went up.

Top end bonuses represent in my view, the other side of the same coin called the probelm with corporate America. You can say it is the unions, however, any benefit or pay not gained by the union won't save the consumer nor will increase the investors return one penny. This is because the Exec's will take those profits and give it to themselves as bonuses.

You guys don't get it, prices are set by how much bonus the execs want. They figure we can give the worker another $00.25/hr and they'll be happy. We'll give the investors another $00.63/per share and they'll be happy. Now let's set our prices for the amount of bonus we want to receive. Oh, then let's also hire a lobbyist to get us more tax cuts so we can have a bonus on our bonus. Once we suck the cash drawer dry, we'll leave it to the Government to save the jobs of the thousands of workers and blame the collapse on the $00.25/hr we gave them.

So there are two sides to the coin called the problem with corporate America. One one side is the union who will make the execs open the books to make sure they are sharing the profits with the workers. Then there is the exec's, who won't be deprived of a single cent they can wring out of the union left overs or the total profit if there is no union. This is why we have Government regulation. Somebodies got to stand up for the consumer and say enough is enough.

 

[LeBuick]

Two wrongs dont make a right

While this is true the exec's also need to learn to treat the workers, investors and consumers how they want to be treated. That is a biblical principle that would go a long way toward repairing the economy and big business. There is a good reason this is called the golden rule, it is the only way we can co-exist in a fair and peaceful society.

 

[Jon-Marc]

What can we buy that is actually "Made in America"? In 1987 I bought a 1987 Chevy Nova. I thought that I was buying an American car, but I found out it had a Japanese engine in it. That's probably why after 16 years of use, I never had one problem with the engine. Everything else fell apart, but the engine was still going good.