Should 'Buy American' be part of the stimulus bill? Results
Q. A "Buy American" clause in the $900B stimulus package allows, with some exceptions, only U.S.-made materials and goods to be used in projects funded by the bill.

Do you think a "Buy American" clause should be included in the stimulus bill?

Yes. With a few exceptions, all steel, iron, or manufactured goods used in a stimulus-funded project should be made in the U.S.A. 82%
No. There should be no import restrictions placed on such projects. 15%
Not sure/No opinion 3%

30103 votes

Some countries are pretty worried about this.

I had this on another thread:

News Thursday, 05 Feb, 2009
House Committee approves US steel use in stimulus package

Reuters is reported that US House Appropriations Committee has approved a provision to use US steel as part of the federal economic stimulus package.

Mr Jerry Costello Representative of D Belleville is a member of the Congressional Steel Caucus and has been a vocal supporter of the US steel industry. He had urged House leaders to include domestic steel manufacturers in the legislation.

US Steel Corporation has temporarily shut down operations at its Granite City plant and has left about 1,550 steel workers out of work for the time being. Amstead Rail laid off about 100 workers before the end of last year and has announced further rounds of layoffs next month and March 2009 that will cut 569 jobs from the steel foundry.

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)


http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/01/25/Nzk5NDU%3D/House_Committee_approves_US_steel_use_in_stimulus_package.html

For the above link, click on "US steelmakers get boost in House plan".

I know people that work for Granite City Steel. It's in Granite City, IL, and just across the river from St. Louis.

They were rebuilding the plant before the recession hit.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2116662/

As I said on the other thread. Steel made in U.S. is bought by companies here to be formed into I-beams etc and then resold to the U.S. construction industry. So where the steel is U.S. steel, the actual finished product used in the construction is 'Made in Canada'.

Loss of export of finished product means less steel bought from the States as well. Hurting both economies.

Let us review some of the problems with that thinking.

1. Cost of labor drove out manufacturing from this country.
2. With all of American Manufacturing done over seas means we do not have the faculties to implement such a idealized thought.
3. Where will the money come from to rebuild our lost manufacturing base?
4. Once we begin production the EPA and every tree hugger from every dark recess of this nation will cry out about Global Warming effectively shutting down said industries. Iron (and Steel) as businesses and manufacturers were driven from this nation THANKS to environmental concerns.

These are the four MAIN issues.

Now enter Local politics, taxes, unions, and the need for skilled and drug free manpower to put it all together...

Also add in current national debt, and the fact that environmental impact studies will likewise Slow any and all attempts by at least TWO more years anything we enact now will take four to six or more years to make happen.

Obama is already F*cking up. Wake up, we are all about to see some real serious shi* go down! Best part yet is when it all starts to come out of our asses. What is with the tax cuts for new car buyers? That is not a stimulus! That is an affront to all of us car owners who are taxed every time we register our vehicles and for every gallon of gas we buy through the nose!

Think about what you just said.

Whether the finished product is made here or in Canada the same amount of steel will be purchased. Only with the finished product made here it will be made by Americans.


Then those American paychecks can buy more maple syrup.. LMAO

1. Cost of labor didn't make the steel plants lay off. It was the lack of buyers because of less car purchases and less highway building, etc. It's the worse recession since the Big Depression, you know.

2. Granite City Steel has the facilities.

4. They had already started rebuilding the facilities so there would be less pollution. It's right across the street from the old plant. The rebuilding has been on hold since the recession.

Talk pollution? The stench there is disgusting. My child has an asthma attack if we drive by it with the windows closed. The pollution eats the paint off of cars. I wouldn't live there with my ex because of the pollution. He's from there.

Manpower? 2,000 guys are waiting to go back to work.

Taxed registering vehicles? My state already does that. We pay personal property taxes on our cars every year. We pay to renew our plates.

My understanding is that part of the reason this might be a problem is that it wasn't written clearly enough. It looks like it could actually mean that not only must the materials be made in the U.S., but so much the vehicles used in the construction process and the vehicles used to transport the materials. Which is a problem most businesses don't really have the money right now to go and replace every foreign made piece of equiptment and tractor-trailer with a U.S. make.

If the finished product is made in US instead of here then the economy here loses the jobs provided to make those products. That means that those jobless now have less money to buy other products, some of which are imported from States. Less products sold overseas then less work in States. More job loss.

Protectionism only leads to others doing same. Nobody wins.

Karmafury,

We need help. It has to start somewhere. Too many people are losing their jobs and too many companies are closing. Something has to give.

No it didn't. The lifting of trade tariffs so globalization could succeed and be pushed on us from greedy corporations seeking to increase their profits did.
I could go on about this for hours, so lets just stop here.



We have more capability than you can imagine.
The money will come from the sale of their product through the stimulus plan.



What's new?
Except that now they will have Americans glad to have a job breathing down their necks.
Besides, we have better environmental laws than anyone.
The way I see it just moving the manufacturing process back here from places like India and China will help the global environment.

But they gain an increase in the sales of Maple syrup..

Sorry old buddy but the economy is fixing to crash everywhere. Its a dog eat dog situation and Americans have never needed or wanted globalization.

Come to think about it.
Vermont makes a pretty mean Maple syrup too.

Should 'Buy American' be part of the stimulus bill? Results
Q. A "Buy American" clause in the $900B stimulus package allows, with some exceptions, only U.S.-made materials and goods to be used in projects funded by the bill.

Do you think a "Buy American" clause should be included in the stimulus bill?

Yes. With a few exceptions, all steel, iron, or manufactured goods used in a stimulus-funded project should be made in the U.S.A. 82%
No. There should be no import restrictions placed on such projects. 15%
Not sure/No opinion 3%

30103 votes

If they have a contract. They can get the money....
End results,,,more American Jobs...

Maybe Karma, Canadian tax-payers should get their government to spend their money on their own stimulus plan.

Why should our taxes be used to create Canadian jobs?

Why should American tax-payers be asked to save the economies of two, three, or even four Countries?

I hear you winx.
We build Electrical switchgear.
The money intended for infrastructure improvements will mean saving a lot of jobs in our Plant alone. They have laid off about 80 Employees already and are threatening more.

Every State in the Nation will need our gear for their new sewage treatment and water plants alone.
Not only will they need to hire back those laid off already, but it will probably create about 100 or more jobs to cover the orders they expect!

Besides which it's not your taxes being used to create Canadian jobs. The steel is bought by Canadian companies and made into finished product with the finished product sold to American construction industry. Where is your tax money in there?

Hydro-Quebec supplies residential / manufacturing power to New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine. Currently these states are looking to increase what they receive from Hydro-Quebec. As I said protectionism is a no win game. Quebecer's are a strange breed who are likely to say that since Americans want to take away their jobs then 'laisser les Americains crever du froid en noirceur' ... **let the Americans freeze in the dark**.

Our manufacturers haven't asked for a handout. Our bankers neither, in fact bank CEO's are giving themselves pay cuts. American banks came here looking for support from Canadian banks.




Really???

USA Slips Behind Ecuador in Environmental Ranking
DAVOS, Switzerland, January 23, 2008 (ENS) - A ranking of 149 countries based on indicators of pollution control and natural resource management released today at the World Economic Forum puts the United States in 39th place, behind Ecuador and Albania.

Compiled every two years since 2002 by the Yale University Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the 2008 Environmental Performance Index is based on 25 indicators.

These indicators are grouped into six categories - environmental health, air pollution, water resources, biodiversity and habitat, productive natural Resources, and climate change.

(Article continues)

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2008/2008-01-23-01.asp

Evidently you haven't noticed.
Bush is gone, and part of Obama's plan is to build a long needed modern electrical grid for the NE US..

With Hydro-Quebec technology since Hydro-Quebec is world leader in the field.