Studies have repeatedly shown that most U.S. consumers would rather buy American even when the cost is higher than imported goods. It is not …
Studies have repeatedly shown that most U.S. consumers would rather buy American even when the cost is higher than imported goods. It is not a given that buying American will automatically cost more, but it’s good for the U.S. economy and economic growth even when it does. Even more, it’s also good when prices rise due to higher U.S. wages. Most economists say that the U.S. consumer has rarely been stronger. Some of that strength results from higher wages, some from increased savings, and some from government payouts (unemployment compensation, stimulus checks, etc.) during the pandemic. But the simple fact is that our economy does better when U.S. consumers have more money in their pockets and are ready to spend it, and that isn’t likely to happen if workers’ wages are stagnant or falling. We can only be as affluent as consumers as we are wage earners. We shouldn’t focus on whether we have the lowest prices in the world, as we did for decades while advocating free trade and free markets when wage gains (when we actually experienced them) often didn’t keep up with inflation. Instead, we should focus on protecting our manufacturing jobs to keep Americans employed in this sector so we can stop depending on China for our wants and needs. After all, Americans don’t care about low prices if they don’t have jobs because jobless Americans can’t buy much anyway. Alexander Hamilton believed that Americans would choose secure, higher-paying jobs even if prices were slightly higher, rather than insecure jobs with lower pay and lower prices. If prices in America rise due to higher-cost domestic manufacturing or other increased wages, workers who are secure in their jobs may simply cut back on spending a bit or be more selective in their purchases. The key term here is “secure.
