The Stimulus Plan: saving jobs and “buying American”

News Correspondent Richard Lui

There are dinner tables across the United States that have heard the stories of Mom or Dad losing their jobs plus how companies large and small are cutting people that have worked there for years. Bloomberg estimates that more than 530 thousand such stories were told in January alone. These are manufacturing jobs, service jobs, and everything in between.

The government has responded with a stimulus package with a price tag of more than $900 billion dollars to put a jolt into the arm of the economy. One key issue is whether to direct much of the spending from the stimulus plan to U.S. companies, in order to “Buy American” in an effort to re-circulate taxpayer money to help domestic jobs.

The House has already approved a bill that says all infrastructure projects must use U.S. manufactured steel. While the Senate has been debating its version which at one point said all manufactured goods purchased with stimulus plan money must be made in the U.S. The Senate as of this writing has now moved toward the House’s version looking at steel provisions only, with former Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain wanting to eliminate that altogether too. President Obama appears to be weighing all options as a compromise bill makes its way to his desk.

The “Buy American” debate is front and center for so many families - from the manufacturing heartland in the Midwest, to the tech industry in the West, and small businesses that span the East and South. One side of the argument says these are the jobs that could benefit from stimulus money. On the flip side, there is concern trading partners would implement their own “buy domestic” provisions in response, and that would hurt U.S. exports, and lead to more U.S. job losses. MSNBC.com writer Tom Curry talks about one study’s estimates that point to a net potential loss of up to 54,000 jobs because of other countries’ reactions to “Buy American” provisions.

This is a difficult debate, an almost emotional or cultural debate. Many of us remember the lessons of the past, from the 80's when foreign automakers first started to gain traction in U.S. markets. There was both a formal and informal reaction at the time. The government took formal action, while people took on an informal “buy domestic” discussion. Most prominent in some minds was the stigma of driving a foreign car and what that meant about your commitment to the country.

So where are we today? Should we have “Buy American” provisions in the stimulus plan? What are the arguments for putting in language to spend taxpayer money specifically on U.S. products? And what are the arguments for leaving it open to spending on manufactured goods regardless of where they are made? This should be a good discussion. Let us know what you think, and we will be sharing your thoughts on Morning Express with Robin Meade.