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Lipinski wants "buy American" wording in job legislation

danarhea

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As President Obama held his jobs summit today, Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) and Senator Russ Feingold (WI) led 22 members of Congress in calling on the President to include strong “Buy American” provisions in any future jobs legislation. In addition, Congressman Lipinski announced that he intends to introduce a bill to close gaping loopholes that have drastically reduced the effectiveness of existing “Buy American” laws.

This I can agree with. Our Federal government should be helping to prop up the American economy, not the economy of China, which is still an ideological enemy of the United States.

Be American, Buy American!

Discussion?

Article is here.
 
Last edited:
This I can agree with. Our Federal government should be helping to prop up the American economy, not the economy of China, which is still an ideological enemy of the United States.

Be American, Buy American!

Discussion?

Article is here.



Canada got reeeeeaallllyyyy mad when they talked about doing something similar with the ARRA legislation. Well, you know, mad for Canadians. :cool::mrgreen:
 
Canada got reeeeeaallllyyyy mad when they talked about doing something similar with the ARRA legislation. Well, you know, mad for Canadians. :cool::mrgreen:
lol. My proffesor is canadian, he says "I am neither a dog nor an englishman! I don't get mad!"
 
Ha ha that's so hilarious. :roll:

Buy American would be a failure of a policy. It's been tried before with miserable results.
 
That doesn't sound very "free market" like. If Americans are unwilling or unable to produce products that can be competitive with other markets, then capitalism dictates that those are the businesses that fail. A better legislative act would be to take steps to help lower the cost of doing business in America.
 
Either America is for the free market or it is not. You cant add protectionist language like this into legislation without expecting other countries to do the same and the whole world economic system we have been building for 40+ years to not fall apart.
 
since when were you a spokesman for the free market :lol:

Always been, but unlike most I believe the free market is far far from perfect and needs "help" at times to make it free and fair for everyone. A free market is not a market that exploits people because they are the "weaker" side of the equation.

That is why I personally am an advocate for a tax on all imported goods so that the "wage" part of the cost of the good meets local wages and hence then the whole idea of "moving production" overseas would be null and void. I understand fully that it is protectionism but on the other hand the "free market" is not exactly free and fair when production is taken to countries with considerable lower wages (even near slave labour), lax environmental laws and in China's case a fixed currency that creates a serious advantage for the Chinese.

You must understand, that the free market is a utopia that is impossible to achieve, simply because both sides cant have full information.
 
Ha ha that's so hilarious. :roll:

Buy American would be a failure of a policy. It's been tried before with miserable results.

No it wouldn't I have been calling for this for over 30 year not only should we put that into policy, I say lets go one step more slap 100% Tariffs on the following items.

Textile, Candies,Heavy Machinery,Ship Building

What will this do for us well in the short term yes it will hurt but in the long term we will rebuild all of those Jobs that have been Out Source to other Countries do to the fact that it was cheaper for Companies to move them because of various cost.
 
How can one not see the complete idiocy in calling for "buying American" when the majority of products sold in the United States are imported?

The US simply doesn't have sufficiently developed productive capacity to handle this. Not to mention the shocks that it would have on the global economy and the exporter nations.
 
How can one not see the complete idiocy in calling for "buying American" when the majority of products sold in the United States are imported?

The US simply doesn't have sufficiently developed productive capacity to handle this. Not to mention the shocks that it would have on the global economy and the exporter nations.

Yes we do the problem is this over the ast 30 year we have sent all of our good paying jobs outside of the Country and Congress didn't do squat to stop it. If we can Bail out the Auto and banking then we can find the money to invest in bring back Our Stolen Jobs.
 
I worked at a place that made table saws for home and industry. For a couple lines of our home saws, we bought table saws from China, and the guys would pull the table off it, mill it flat, put it back together and slap a "Made in America" sticker on it.

Which is more made in America, a Ford built from parts mostly made in Canada, or a Toyota assembled and made from parts mostly made in America?
 
Scorpion89 said:
Yes we do

No "you" don't. Industrial capacity isn't at that level, and it would take years, possibly decades, of restructuring to bring the US back towards a producer economy. It just isn't possible.

over the ast 30 year we have sent all of our good paying jobs outside of the Country and Congress didn't do squat to stop it.

Business has sent good paying jobs outside of the country because they get more return on their investment that way, and because they have to (the complete decimation of "American domestic industry" due to outsourcing proved this). It isn't possible to overturn this development, with any kind of governmental policy.

But I'm intrigued about something. Are you a conservative?

If we can Bail out the Auto and banking then we can find the money to invest in bring back Our Stolen Jobs.

How is a corporation moving its industrial production by its own decision "stealing"?
 
Be American, Buy American!

Actually, last I checked being American was associated with believing in personal freedom, and the government telling me which products to buy sounds pretty anti-freedom to me.
 
Dav said:
Actually, last I checked being American was associated with believing in personal freedom, and the government telling me which products to buy sounds pretty anti-freedom to me.

Damn you caught it. This is why I was asking him if he was a conservative. :lol:

The contradiction between the defense of domestic industry and political/economic liberalism (in the classical sense, not in the way that it's used now) are insurmountable. Which is why so many conservatives are hypocrites.

But I think political/economic liberalism died with the rise of monopoly capitalism in the run up to WW1 anyways.
 
Yes we do the problem is this over the ast 30 year we have sent all of our good paying jobs outside of the Country and Congress didn't do squat to stop it.

If this was true, why has the average real wage not declined then? If our good paying jobs were all exported, then we should see a decline in real wages rather then just stagnation. Simply put, an average that has the high end pay removed would result in a lower average. But the data does not support your position.

And you really outta to look at the impact of automation upon jobs. Blame the Machines, not foreign trade.
 
This I can agree with. Our Federal government should be helping to prop up the American economy, not the economy of China, which is still an ideological enemy of the United States.

Be American, Buy American!

Discussion?

Article is here.

If this needed so bad why did the Republicans do it when they had a President and controlled Congress?
 
Protectionism won't get you anywhere. There will be even more job losses cuz the rest of the world will boycott your products.
 
No "you" don't. Industrial capacity isn't at that level, and it would take years, possibly decades, of restructuring to bring the US back towards a producer economy. It just isn't possible.

Wrong let's take two off my list Texile and Ship Building.

I'm from the Northeast watch has mill aftre mill was closed do to cheap labor cost overseas and what did Congress do nothing instead of protecting American jobs they look the other way. When Texile Mills upgrade with modern items Congress tax the hell out of them. Now in the Northeast allot of these mills still exist and can be easly re-open with new equipment if Congress steps in and help with Loans and tariffs. What this would do is bring back jobs and tax's.

Now Ship Building at one time the US was one of the largest Civilian Ship Building Countries but because of Oversee's Substies for Ship Building the US Companies could compete hence Congress needed to step in and pass Laws stated that American Based Shipping Companies should have at least 75% of their fleet build in the US.



Business has sent good paying jobs outside of the country because they get more return on their investment that way, and because they have to (the complete decimation of "American domestic industry" due to outsourcing proved this). It isn't possible to overturn this development, with any kind of governmental policy.

Yes it is you put a 100% tariff on these Companies that have sent Job out of the Country and then have the product return to the USA (IE Redress item about the Table Saws) They want to play this game a screw their fellow America then they must pay the piper.

But I'm intrigued about something. Are you a conservative?

Nope I'm a register American this might be hard for you to understand

How is a corporation moving its industrial production by its own decision "stealing"?

Because they are stealing Jobs and Taxs from America
 
Ha ha that's so hilarious. :roll:

Buy American would be a failure of a policy. It's been tried before with miserable results.
Like we should listen to Canadians on this matter. :roll:
 
No "you" don't. Industrial capacity isn't at that level, and it would take years, possibly decades, of restructuring to bring the US back towards a producer economy. It just isn't possible.



Business has sent good paying jobs outside of the country because they get more return on their investment that way, and because they have to (the complete decimation of "American domestic industry" due to outsourcing proved this). It isn't possible to overturn this development, with any kind of governmental policy.

But I'm intrigued about something. Are you a conservative?



How is a corporation moving its industrial production by its own decision "stealing"?
Then I guess we better get started.
 
Actually, last I checked being American was associated with believing in personal freedom, and the government telling me which products to buy sounds pretty anti-freedom to me.
It's about the govt buying american, not you.
 
If the better cheaper products are not American anymore, then the American taxpayer will have to pay more for inferior expensive American products. What price patriotism? (and free trade)
 
This I can agree with. Our Federal government should be helping to prop up the American economy, not the economy of China, which is still an ideological enemy of the United States.

Be American, Buy American!

Discussion?

Article is here.

If our tax dollars are being used in any jobs legislation it should be for American goods and services. Kind of hard to say you want to help out American jobs or the American economy if you are propping up the Chinese, Canadian, Mexican or some other economy.
 
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