Soon, Old Glory will have to be born in the land of the free and not merely flying over it.
Congress has passed a proposal to require the federal government to purchase only American flags that have been completely manufactured in the U.S. The U.S. imports millions of American flags from overseas, mostly from China, and the sponsors of the proposal said it’s time for American flags to originate in the country they represent.
Supporters of the proposal, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, said the change is more than just symbolic — they believe it will support American jobs and manufacturers while preserving the nation’s most recognized banner.
I feel like all this is going to do is raise government costs and line the pockets of selected contractors. We aren’t always going to be the relative best producers in cost/quality balance for every product and service.
If we’re going to subsidize any industry, it should be done directly and explicitly. Otherwise, it becomes another example of “inefficient” government that should be privatized.
Actually logistical costs and transportation is one of the highest expenses and some groups have already found that buying from local suppliers who get local raw materials (such as Climate Town’s merch Tees) can have competitive costs even when adjusting for higher labor costs just from the manufacturer being located near the farms that grow the cotton and shipping locally within the nation.
Granted the government purchased flags will likely be expensive but that’s mostly because of a quality requirement from the fact they need to be flown outdoors for some time without fading or damaging in any way. And that’s probably true currently since the flag needs to be made 50% in the country already.
Seriously look at the brownie recipe of the US military for how strict government funds are spent for specific quality requirements and you get why it’s slightly more costly than the imported flour with lead or insects in it.
It’s not about cost/quality being the best match but a good use of the funds and locally supporting business in an age when that matters is more important. Globalization and long distance transportation can not always be the answer.
Great, and where local is the best choice they should do that. But nobody can seriously argue that reducing the ability of government to shop around for the best cost/quality balance is a good thing. It’s not like the only options are buy everything American or everything from China. I’d like qualified experts making that decision, not legislators.
You create bad incentives if you artificially reduce competition like this. Not every good or service will have tons of American choices, so you end up with a handful of companies who know the government has no other choice.
We absolutely do not need foreign countries to produce all the materials for a flag at the cheapest cost. The price difference is likely negligible and shopping around can still be done.
Why is everyone so scared of taking back some production from China?
You guys are allamong weird assumptions that this is some million dollar lynching instead of just saying buy the materials you use to make from a local supplier. This counter argument is insane and literally doesn’t matter cause it passed.
I’m not quite sure how you’ve turned “we should have the option” into “we should buy everything foreign.” I think you’re having an argument you want to have rather than addressing the point I was making.
Because not everything should be bought foreign. There is no need or good reason to take something that can be easily and cheaply produced locally that is sold directly to the government and try to get the cheapest one abroad.
It’s asinine and completely against all the shouting that these communities literally do every week about local manufacturing being needed to combat outsourcing.
Your reasoning is flawed cause there is no reason to support foreign import either. Especially when the other option is to support the country they govern even if it’s just a little bit.
I truly don’t understand this hand wringing of this simple change unless you are paid for by Chinese interests. It’s not always about being cheap.
I’m genuinely not certain if you are meaning to reply to my comments because your replies don’t actually reflect what I’ve said. It is possible to have a larger discussion about a topic from a smaller example, and it’s also possible for things to not be all or nothing. I hope you can sort whatever bee is in your bonnet.
Protectionism. The word you’re looking for where we just mandate domestic manufacturing is protectionism. And there’s a lot written about how bad it is.