The Stupidity of “Buy American”
3rd November 2011
John Stossel lays out what everybody ought to be able to figure out on their own but typically can’t be bothered with.
“Buy American” is a dumb idea. It would not only not create prosperity, it would cost jobs and make us all poorer. David R. Henderson, an economist at the Hoover Institution, explained why.
“Almost all economists say it’s nonsense,” he said. “And the reason is: We should buy things where they’re cheapest. That frees up more of our resources to buy other things, and other Americans get jobs producing those things.”
This is what people always forget. Anytime we can use fewer resources and less labor to produce one thing, that leaves more for other things we can’t afford. If we save money buying abroad, we can make and buy other products.
The nonsense of “Buy American” can be seen if you trace out the logic.
“If it’s good to Buy American,” Henderson said, “why isn’t it good to have Buy Alabaman? And if it’s good to have Buy Alabaman, why isn’t it good to have Buy Montgomery, Ala.? And if it’s good to have Buy Montgomery, Ala. …”
You get the idea. You wouldn’t get very good stuff if everything you bought came Montgomery, Ala.
November 7th, 2011 at 07:48
Actually, that’s wrong. You buy where there’s the most value. Cheap is just cheap.