I’m all for jobs for Americans. I see the government as responsible for creating an economy that provides jobs for all who can and want to work. But demanding that all goods purchased by and for the government should be made in America is short-sighted.
It’s good that we’re aware — especially since the pandemic and the rise of China — of the security, or not, of our supply chains. We want essential goods to be supplied by reliable partners.
But that’s just the thing. We’re not alone in the world. We have reliable partners in the North American free trade area, in Europe, in Japan and Australasia, and elsewhere.
If companies in those countries can produce goods cheaper than we can, then buying from them just enables them to buy goods that we in turn can produce cheaper. That’s a win-win for both of us.
— Rick Wicks
Anchorage
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