Buy American. Be American.

They don't accept political ads. Seems pretty simple. "Political" doesn't mean divisive or controversial, it means "political". Which it is. It also happens to be a positive message, it's great to keep money in the local economy and to support small business, but there is no latte-sipping conspiracy in play here.

EvilEgg: Do we want to buy from 100% American owned companies but may be manufactured elsewhere or do we want to buy from foreign companies that do final assembly here?

This.
"Buy American" is not too political, it is just symbolic only.
It is nothing more than a display of nationalism.
At least "Buy local" from small joints or whatever where you sometimes know things are grown or made nearby is somewhat effective.
But nationality does not matter to corporations. The best way to pick and choose would to try to pick companies that do not engage in unethical business practices at home or in third world countries. Good luck.

This is why I don't use Asian Hookers.

Buy american only if there's no union label, they are communists that hate america.

HawgWild: Well, that's pretty damn silly.

But others raise a good point. It's easy to say "Buy American", but what does that really mean nowadays in global economy?

For instance, I'm in the market for a new car. I'd like to buy American. Of the American companies, I chose Ford. But the 2 Ford vehicles I would buy are made in other countries (one in Canada, the other in Mexico and Germany). Does that mean I'm "buying American"?

IMHO, buying a Toyota made in Kentucky is "buying American" more than buying a Ford made in Canada. The point is to support American workers, not American executives.

When I buy something, I usually try to buy Ethiopian because those people have it pretty rough out there.

I know more tea party people who think "buying American" (as in thing BUILT in America) is anti-American than people on the left against it.

I live in Seattle. My brother also lives in Seattle. He recently ranted against people shopping at Amazon because it's not local. I had to point out that actually, Amazon IS local for us. I even have a friend who works there; he was at my house last night playing boardgames.

/I still intentionally did a bunch of Christmas shopping at Pike Place Market to support the local small business community.

I will say this, I worked in Emergency Operations this summer during the Missouri River flooding. Out of the ~1,000,000 sand bags we deployed, the ones from China and Inodnesia all distingrated within about 72 hours, while the ones from the US held up all summer, over about 100 days.

That said, when I need something that requires some amount of precision assembly or want something durable (electronics, furniture, etc) I generally try to buy from an American manufacturer, but for most of my general junk I don't really care.

It's a global world now. Older generations seem to have a hard time understanding that. That genii isn't going back in the bottle any time soon.

We have one of those "all American" stores in our mall, with T-shirts with "These Colors Don't Run" and various overpriced knick-knacks of eagles and crap. Everything in that store is made in China.

HeartBurnKid: IMHO, buying a Toyota made in Kentucky is "buying American" more than buying a Ford made in Canada. The point is to support American workers, not American executives.

Also, Domestic auto companies make crappy cars.
/if you think 34 mpg is amazing in a 4-Door sedan you should be slapped.

I think selling ad space on buses is too political and those ads should be torn off and burned. You f*cking half caff asshats.

What's wrong with sipping lattes.

local government in action, we should give these kind of tin pot douches more power.

A repeat on what many others have already pointed out: how do you define "made in America" in this interconnected world economy?

Some things are easy enough: food I suppose, quilts made by the nice Amish family down the road. . . porn maybe.


But a car that is composed of parts/materials from all over the world, partially assembled in various countries then those components are finally bolted together in Tennessee, is that an American vehicle?

watson.t.hamster: A repeat on what many others have already pointed out: how do you define "made in America" in this interconnected world economy?

Some things are easy enough: food I suppose, quilts made by the nice Amish family down the road. . . porn maybe.


Was that porn filmed with a fully made-in-America camera? Horny Americans want to know.

The bus company has a policy against any ads with political messages on them (they basically don't buses with unpopular ads vandalized). It is against the law to ban some political messages but not others, so they have to ban anything remotely political, which these messages are.

Mike Chewbacca: I live in Seattle. My brother also lives in Seattle. He recently ranted against people shopping at Amazon because it's not local. I had to point out that actually, Amazon IS local for us. I even have a friend who works there; he was at my house last night playing boardgames.

/I still intentionally did a bunch of Christmas shopping at Pike Place Market to support the local small business community.

I shop at a local, independent grocer and Pike Place and the farmers' markets as much as possible for food and sundries, and for many other things I like the nearest Fred Meyer, which is UFCW. I work at Amazon, too, and... well, frankly, I try to avoid shopping on Amazon, but better this company than Wal-Mart for things like electronics that are just going to come from China one way or another. And at least Amazon has merchant accounts; in many cases, if I want to I can buy from some dude in Pennsylvania, at least, rather than directly mailing my money to Beijing. Could be better but it could be worse, too.

Jackson Herring: HawgWild: Well, that's pretty damn silly.

But others raise a good point. It's easy to say "Buy American", but what does that really mean nowadays in global economy?

For instance, I'm in the market for a new car. I'd like to buy American. Of the American companies, I chose Ford. But the 2 Ford vehicles I would buy are made in other countries (one in Canada, the other in Mexico and Germany). Does that mean I'm "buying American"?

Well, you could think of it this was I suppose.

a.) Buy a Ford. Your money goes to executives and shareholders in the US, and also auto workers and parts suppliers in Canada/Mexico/Germany.

b.) Buy a Toyota. Your money goes to executives and shareholders in Japan, and also auto workers and parts suppliers in the US.



Here is a handy guide. Link (new window)

Mike Chewbacca: I live in Seattle. My brother also lives in Seattle. He recently ranted against people shopping at Amazon because it's not local. I had to point out that actually, Amazon IS local for us. I even have a friend who works there; he was at my house last night playing boardgames.

I'm kinda on the fence about Amazon. I like buying locally, and have no problem spending a couple extra bucks on something to make that happen. But when I'm in the market for books, Amazon is consistently 30+% lower than anything I'm going to find around here. That's a huge difference.

vernonFL: Plus, my whiskey AND my meth both come from Kentucky.

There's plenty of good meth coming out of Cecil County. There's no reason you should be buying it out of state.

Buy American what? Butt hurt and religious nonsense? Do you even make anything else?

IrateShadow: vernonFL: Plus, my whiskey AND my meth both come from Kentucky.

There's plenty of good meth coming out of Cecil County. There's no reason you should be buying it out of state.

When it comes to meth, buy Kentucky meth. Accept no substitutes.

Oh c'mon. That's such an innocuous political opinion. What harm would it do?

Biological Ali: Just be a rational consumer. Buy the product that best meets your need, regardless of where it comes from (barring perhaps certain situations, like boycotts or embargoes). Nationalism shouldn't have any place in this decision.

or go out of your way to buy things made locally or in the US if possible because it's one of the better things you yourself can do to help the country and, in turn, help yourself.
Nothing to do with nationalism. Everything to do with dollar votes and letting companies know that you consider the impact corporate policies have when making consumption decisions. If more people value domestic production, more pressure is put on companies to produce domestically.

JokerMattly: HeartBurnKid: IMHO, buying a Toyota made in Kentucky is "buying American" more than buying a Ford made in Canada. The point is to support American workers, not American executives.

Also, Domestic auto companies make crappy cars.
/if you think 34 mpg is amazing in a 4-Door sedan you should be slapped.

Not this shiat again.

When you consider USA crash and emissions regulations, it is pretty good. Just as good as the foreign companies that sell their cars here.

Russky: Buy American what? Butt hurt and religious nonsense? Do you even make anything else?

nope, that's it. Aren't you late for your shift at the maple syrup factory, Dudley?

BunkoSquad: It's hard to buy an American latte, as coffee can't grow in much of the USA

If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that Kona coffee is both overrated and overpriced.

Buy Sumatran.

Buying American, another thing Unions ruined.

Allright. I guess I was wrong. It's not an innocuous political opinion, and apparently causes a lot of argument and butthurt. My bad.

Zombie Butler: watson.t.hamster: A repeat on what many others have already pointed out: how do you define "made in America" in this interconnected world economy?

Some things are easy enough: food I suppose, quilts made by the nice Amish family down the road. . . porn maybe.


Was that porn filmed with a fully made-in-America camera? Horny Americans want to know.

Good point. Probably not.

And many of the ladies enhancements were probably acquired in some third world hellhole.

Ok, I guess that leaves tomatoes and Amish quilts.

LarryDan43: Buying American, another thing Unions ruined.

race to the bottom is the main plank of the conservative/libertarian fiscal policy.

I'll be depressed for six weeks. I went shopping today to buy mens' polo shirts made in the USA. I came home empty handed. I'm going to try searching the internet. Maybe I can mail order some. I can't agree more with the previous poster who stated "the points is to support American workers, not American executives." Meanwhile, I really, really wish I hadn't read this article.

Duke Phillips' Singing Bears: Allright. I guess I was wrong. It's not an innocuous political opinion, and apparently causes a lot of argument and butthurt. My bad.

Well, when you have a quarter of the population twisting themselves into pretzels to justify sending all of our money and jobs to third-world hellholes, "Try to send as little of your money as possible to third-world hellholes and the amoral scumfarks who profit from said hellholes" is bound to cause some friction.

skullkrusher: Russky: Buy American what? Butt hurt and religious nonsense? Do you even make anything else?

nope, that's it. Aren't you late for your shift at the maple syrup factory, Dudley?

Actually I work for an American company that moved all their jobs to Canada . Funny how a socialist health care system is good for business like that.

Russky: skullkrusher: Russky: Buy American what? Butt hurt and religious nonsense? Do you even make anything else?

nope, that's it. Aren't you late for your shift at the maple syrup factory, Dudley?

Actually I work for an American company that moved all their jobs to Canada . Funny how a socialist health care system is good for business like that.

Log Cabin? Seriously, I am trying to think of something that they make in Canada aside from maple syrup and hockey pucks and I'm coming up empty.

Ooh, Bombardier!
Wait, that's Quebec... doesn't count.