Warren mayor wants requirement for all municipal works to 'Buy American'
Calling it "economic and consumer patriotism," the mayor of Warren, Michigan wants to make it compulsory for city officials to buy American cars. Jim Fouts says that 15% of his fiscal budget depends on the auto industry, and the city's two most lucrative tax payers are General Motors and Chrysler. Therefore, in order to support the folks who support the town -- and in turn, take care of the taxpayer -- he's trying to expand the order he gave last year that required his appointees to Buy American. The mayor hasn't said he'll fire or lay off someone who doesn't buy American. Yet when asked if he would, he has said things like "they are at-will employees in a strong mayor form of government... and they can be terminated at any time. I believe they know that and with that in mind I strongly urge that they buy American."
Of course, at least one person has come out and rung the constitutional bell, saying "It comes down to liberty... I don't see how they can tell you how to spend your money." However, Fouts says he has had no complaints so far.
[Source: Freep]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
nuggetsmcduggets 7:34PM (5/20/2009)
People like that ignorant, freedom-hating d*ck pictured above shake my confidence in representative governance on a daily basis.
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pmalloy4391 8:05PM (5/20/2009)
I am all for mandating that official government vehicles are american but personal cars.... F U!
Tool 10:18PM (5/20/2009)
Looks like the Mayor needs some Prozac. The guy looks a little glum.
Temple 10:18PM (5/20/2009)
@pmalloy4391
Couldn't agree more. What people buy with their own money and for personal use shouldn't be mandated by the government. Period.
knightuc1992 11:33PM (5/20/2009)
Man, why are you hating on the undertaker (Mayor)? Have pity on him. He looks like he hasn't had a decent meal in months......:)
nuggetsmcduggets 2:55AM (5/21/2009)
kinghtuc1992 - You're absolutely right, belittling someone who is obviously suffering from some horrendous terminal illness is completely inappropriate. We can only hope this mayor dies soon, putting an end to the enduring mental and physical pain he must be experiencing - and probably the root cause of these asinine tactics.
Randy 2:15AM (5/21/2009)
I support "BUY AMERICAN"
I DO NOT support "YOU MUST BUY AMERICAN"
If they want to make it right, put tariffs on imports equal to the tariffs our exported autos have attached to them per country! As well, stop subsidization of CORN to South Korea by way of limited Exports to that country! (we can only export said amount of cars to SK, because we export CORN to them).. American car companies have to be the whipping boys / and girls for subsidization of sooo many things..
geo.stewart 9:43AM (5/21/2009)
Ya'll will be singing a different tune soon enough when Congress mandates that all shall buy from Government Motors because they are the only cars deemed safe and green enough to meet the Government Mandates. But dont worry, you can finance over at Bank of American Government. And the taxes you pay on that new car will go to finance the move of the White House to the new Washington D.C (district of California).
:-)
Tool 12:01PM (5/21/2009)
If the requirement is to 'Buy American' would that include the Chevrolet Camaro built in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada? Or the new Dodge Challenger built in Brampton, Ontario, Canada? Or how about the Grand-Daddy of American products, the Ford F150, which is built in Cuautitlán Izcalli, México? Yes, it is also built in Kansas City and Dearborn.
The point is that the so-called American Automakers (AKA the Detroit 3) manufacture many of their vehicles outside the U.S.
So if we are compelled to 'Buy American' of American Nameplates built by Foreign Workers, what is the difference of buying a Foreign Nameplate built by an American Worker?
The fact is that as Detroit has lost jobs many (but not all) jobs have been added at Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, etc. transplant factories.
Considering that you and I can buy Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes stocks or ADRs, that means that these companies are indeed partially American too; at least partially owned by Americans who pay taxes and create jobs.
bwkeywest 9:06AM (5/28/2009)
Jim--this is Bob Watson from Beer Junior High School--you are still psycho!!!
artandcolour 7:37PM (5/20/2009)
bullsh** pure and simple. let him fire just one employee for buying a Nissan, and he'll have more lawsuits brought against him than this 80 IQ redneck can count.
i'm all for supporting Detroit, and i love american cars, but requiring an employee to buy one, under threat of the loss of their job, is not the way to do it.
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emmetspad 10:07PM (5/20/2009)
You need to stop confusing the word built with the word assembled. Most cars stopped being built when Herny Ford started the assembly line. Also, profits from Toyota sales still go to Japan to pay for roads, government, medical and education. Not much of that profit stays in America to help with roads, government, education, and medical.
emmetspad 10:20PM (5/20/2009)
Sorry, I hit the wrong reply button.
Jimbo 11:32PM (5/20/2009)
emmetspad: Does it really matter? Nearly all of the income for a company goes to raw materials and labor. Much of the very slim amount that remains as profit gets reinvested for research and development, with a sliver being distributed to shareholders. The money spent on labor and materials, as well as a chunk of the R&D, is mostly spent in the U.S. and is taxed to pay for things such as roads, government, education, and medical. Also, don't forget that many 401k's are invested in Toyota.
emmetspad 9:02AM (5/22/2009)
Jimbo, R & D is built into the cost of the vehicles and not taken out of profit. That is part of the operating cost of business. Wages, rent, 401k, materials, advertising, office supplies, and the such are all built into the cost. What is taken out of profit is expansion, like building new assembly lines.
tekd 12:25AM (5/26/2009)
@emmetspad
Since Toyota's been losing money like everyone else that means the money they've spent on R&D and labor is actually even higher than total revenue. By your logic this is then taking money away from Japanese roads and giving it to American laborers.
Seriously though, quit spewing this nonsense, economics isn't a zero sum game, meaning that when you're a productive company making money doesn't mean taking it away from someone else, since the total amount of money in the economy ends up going up. This is the reason why the entire world has gotten richer over time. Your logic basically assumes that there's only so much money to be made in the world, so Toyota is eating slices of a big economic pizza pie that someone else can't eat. Except economics isn't a pre-made pizza pie, it's more analogous to Toyota firing up an oven and helping to bake pizzas, it might eat a few slices itself but now there's more pizza pies. A successful company that can employ enough people and produce enough goods generates extra wealth for everyone, so you can build those roads in the US *and* in Japan. Think about it-when you make a pizza, you might use $3 worth of ingredients but through the process of making the pizza you've generated a pizza worth more money. So it's better to have Toyota out there generating valuable goods out of raw materials, regardless of whether they send profits out of the country the act of spending money inside of the country, and giving people jobs to add value to raw goods, etc. has already benefited the economy as a whole. Even if they took every last cent of profit out of the country (which they don't) it'd STILL be good for the economy.
harlanx6 7:38PM (5/20/2009)
Even though this goes against the market economy, it sure makes sense for this city. The best product for the best price should be the norm, but in this case, the city has a vested interest in the well being of the home team.
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BoxerFanatic 9:13PM (5/20/2009)
So, they need to kill freedom to save freedom, right?
That is a bullcrap premise, it always has been, and it always will be.
That person swore an oath to protect and defend the laws of their city, state, and the United States of America.
Part of that is protecting people's inherent and inalienable rights. Quashing those rights based on VOLUNTARY employment by the state, city, county, or federal governments is still a civil rights violation by the government in question.
The Mayor, and whomever else entertains that violation deserve to be impeached and barred from government benefits, or future office, for life.
This is unacceptable, and unconscionable.
harlanx6 10:01AM (5/21/2009)
That's just the way it is, Boxer. It's politics. It's disgusting, but that is our reality.
BoxerFanatic 12:09PM (5/21/2009)
Only because it doesn't get challenged.
That is not to be tacitly accepted. What will you tacitly accept next? religious or political persecution? Economic wage slavery?
If you won't defend your freedom, you WILL lose it, but that never involves just you.