If you don’t buy American, buy American-made

My buddy’s parents recently bought a Toyota Sienna to use as their family truckster. Since the thought of condoning any sort of minivaning behavior causes me to convulse in a manner similar to that of a dry-heave, the only non-insulting thing I could say was that at least they bought something American-made.

 

That’s right, the Sienna is built in Princeton, Ill.  Moreover, the Honda Odyssey is also built here in the United States, at a Lincoln, Ala. plant. No surprise, as Japanese companies have been building cars stateside since the ’80s.  What might be surprising is that the Chrysler and Ford minivans, (when Ford still made minivans) were put together by our hockey-loving neighbors to the north.

Not that I expect anyone here to care where those dopey rolling jellybeans are produced, but this does give some insight regarding the state of our union.  In light of Detroit’s recent panhandling treks to Capitol Hill, let’s  take a moment to reflect upon whom our automakers actually support.

Granted, there are plenty of Fords and Chryslers built in the United States and a good chunk of the Sienna’s price tag did find its way into Japanese bank accounts.  Even though they ultimately padded the wallets of  instead of American ones, my friend’s folks purchased a good fabricated by those we need to be looking out for: the good old-fashioned American blue-collared workers.

This goes beyond cars, and into just about everything we buy.  As the economy becomes more global, the headquarters of whatever label is glued to an item needs to be overlooked, and much greater attention must be paid to the country of origin of the item in question.  

Given the choice between supporting a domestic organization that employs overseas labor, versus a foreign outfit that assembles in America, I choose the one that feeds my fellow taxpayers.