BAC updates: the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) certainly has its ups and downs, but you’d think that the “Buy American” clause wouldn’t be one of the more controversial elements.

Well, turns out that it’s actually “protectionism” to ask that taxpayer dollars be given to assist the nation’s economy. At least that was Canada’s beef, and they yelled loud and long until the US finally gave in (as the government seems to do with anyone who yells loud enough and long enough, whether their arguments actually have merits or not — I won’t even get into my rant about casinos that accept Visa!).

I’ve been seeing a lot of right-wing pundits lately who like to link “Buy American” with “Buy Union”, which is weird because you’d think “Buy American” would be a fundamental Republican party platform. Of course, most Republicans have fallen hook, line, and sinker for Neoliberalism (Isn’t that ironic? Dontcha think?), which says that keeping your business close to home isn’t just stupid, it’s hateful.

Of course, there are few things that New Republicans hate worse than tampering with the flow of money (especially if it’s towards them). This may tie them to Old Republicans, who hated Commies — possibly because the best way to make a Republican go apes**t is to hint that property and religion aren’t the best things ever.

And, of course, those Unions are a buncha Commies, aren’t they? Some mutant breed, half-Commie and half-Mafia (how does that work, then? Is their front an olive oil collective?).

Oh, I could go on and on, but for better or worse I have to go and dot the Ts and cross the Is on my loan refi. And then I have to track down some casinos that allows deposits  for USA players…so it may be a while before I get to this site again!

Are you a patriot?

Are you in favor of the free market?

It may be that saying yes to one means saying no to the other.

If you are simply a thrifty consumer, you want the best deal. You want to pay as little as possible for the goods and services that you need and desire. It is certainly the easiest way to decide; you know what you need, you look at the options, and you make your decision based upon how little it costs you. Whether it comes from one country or another doesn’t enter into the decision.

That mirrors the corporate approach. If you are a company, you don’t really care in which country you are manufacturing, distributing, and marketing your product…except to the extent that you need to know the applicable language, laws, and particular motivations of the buyers. All you really need to know is where you can have these things done with the least expense, or the most favorable conditions (of which expense is usually the main consideration).

If you are purely a patriot (and I mean that only in terms of buying products at this point), you will only buy products that support your own country, bolster your own economy, and put your fellow countrymen to work — regardless of price. You want your money to stay within our borders, you want your community to be responsible for its own economic health.

Therefore, as a patriot, you cannot wholeheartedly support the freedom of markets. You must be willing to pay more than the bottom line, both as a consumer and as a company.

Or, on the other hand, you must admit that patriotism is not of overriding importance and resign yourself to buying and selling outside your borders.

There is a middle ground, which we will explore in the next section.