Should it be legal for the federal gov to purchase goods from foreign

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   andrew savageposted 12 years ago

   Should it be legal for the federal government to purchase goods produced outside of the United States? What are the reprecussions of the government purchasing goods from outside of the United States?

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      psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Of course.
      1) Some good are not even available in the US
      2) Even "US made" stuff is often partly made overseas
      3) They have a duty to spend our tax dollars frugally
      
      Buying local is sometimes a good idea, but not always.

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   JaxsonRaineposted 12 years ago

   Of course! Why not?
   
   Trade is good.

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      andrew savageposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Is it good if it is your money that is going directly overseas via a government agency instead of the traditional private enterprise?
      Should the government be required to procure the capital goods necessary to be self-sufficient? If we were in debt would it be unwise to purchase goods from outside of our own homeland when we have bills to pay?

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   JaxsonRaineposted 12 years ago

   Comparative advantage.
   
   Consider Country 1 and Country 2.
   
   In Country 1, a worker with machinery can produce 6 shoes an hour or 6 shirts an hour.
   In Country 2, a worker without machinery can produce 2 shoes an hour or 3 shirts an hour.
   
   Now, with two hours of work, each country can produce the following:
   
   Country 1 - 6 shoes, 6 shirts
   Country 2 - 2 shoes, 3 shirts
   
   Total = 8 shoes, 9 shirts.
   
   But, if they know about comparative advantage and are willing to trade, then they can produce the following:
   
   Country 1 - 9 shoes, 3 shirts (1.5 hours shoes 0.5 hours shirts)
   Country 2 - 0 shoes, 6 shirts (2 hours shirts)
   
   Total = 9 shoes, 9 shirts
   
   Working together, they can create more wealth with their time, then they can trade. Country 2 can trade shirts for shoes, and country 1 can trade shoes for shirts, and both can end up with more than they could have made on their own.

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      maxoxam41posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It is an idealistic view. Realism would imply that westerners sought for natural resources and agricultural produce in counterparty they sold their manufactured goods. However the game has always been rigged by westerners exploiting to their benefits Africa's, South America's and Asia's commodities. In doing so, the West got richer and the South got poorer or "in development". Is it without counting on the legislations favoring their interests. Davos privileges superpowers.

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         JaxsonRaineposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         In reality, people are better off when they trade. Why would you ever trade for something that is worth less than what you are trading away?
         
         The parts of the world that the West trades with are better off than if we didn't trade with them.

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      andrew savageposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I understand why private industries partake in exporting their jobs overseas, but why would taxpayers in need of jobs that provide a live-able wage tolerate paying into an open system that progressively loses money?
      If our government only purchased goods from its homeland would we not save money in the long run? Many government officials advocate buying locally and thinking globally, but how can anyone take them seriously when it is currently legal for federal agencies to purchase supplies from other nations, let alone nations that the USA is in proxy-wars with?

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   maxoxam41posted 12 years ago

   Trading seems to be an obligation. A new trend is building though, with the BRIC, the ALBA formations... countries trade in a fairer fashion. Let us remember Chavez who instigated this movement of fairness from the shackles of the west. They use another currency to free themselves from the dollar domination.
   However it is an interesting question knowing that during a crisis shouldn't we privilege our economy versus a foreign one? Shouldn't we encourage local production versus international? Shouldn't the government penalize through heavy taxation any offshore production arriving in our households in their final destination with an insane profit margin? Shouldn't the government be independent from the pressure of lobbying? To those questions, I answer positively yes.

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      andrew savageposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. Perhaps the problem is that American culture is losing the desire to work. Granted that many people with college degrees do want to work and are working, it is becoming a problem for those without college degrees as blue color jobs are almost all but gone, save the building construction industry, resulting in a competition for simple jobs in convenience and retail. Is there anything useful that Americans can learn from the initiative measures of Chavez?

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   JaxsonRaineposted 12 years ago

   Only if you want to hurt the country.

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      andrew savageposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Currently it is legal for federal agencies to purchase from nearly any other nation. Currently, most of the supplies the Department of Veterans' Affairs purchases are made in China.

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   Springboardposted 11 years ago

   I certainly think that it should be a strong consideration by the federal government to purchase goods from mostly American suppliers. Anyone who has followed me for any length of time knows I am not a protectionist, but I am also not a huge fan of globalization in the sense that I think that American manufacturing has not benefited by globalization, but rather has taken a back seat. This has put many Americans out of work, and I think has been a large contributing factor in stagnant wages, and widening of the gap between the rich and the poor.
   
   Ultimately I think the full extent of capitalism should reign. It is survival of the fittest. It is about stiff and strong competition. And when it comes to the federal government, for the sake of tax payers I do think the dollars have to be looked at when comparing ANY purchase made by the federal government.
   
   I do not agree that buying foreign made good by the federal government should be illegal. I do think that strong efforts should be made to buy as many goods and services from American companies producing in America as is possible to do.

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