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To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (43143)	12/12/2003 7:09:33 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Not everybody can afford buying American. Ann, the mass of the US population can't afford to buy American. You may be a minority that can act like that.

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (43143)	12/12/2003 8:47:07 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Hi Ann, I commend you for acting on principle. And I find myself disappointed that Amazon is on the list of scoundrels. My particular passion is about Nike. A company that is completely berzerk about compensation. I haven't checked the figures lately, but their pay to celebrity endorsers is outrageous vis a vis what the subcontract assemblers of their products get. For example, Tiger Woods is to receive $20 Million per annum for the next few years as a poser and clothes model: news.bbc.co.uk Meanwhile, the folks who actually make the Nike product are forced to work in sweatshops for below living wage levels in such Third World countries as Viet Nam. Attempts to organize these workers are met with the harshest of reprisals. Here's an outrageous letter containing quotes from a Nike V.P. decrying the values of American democracy: saigon.com In this letter addressed to Phil Knight, workers' rights activist accuse Nike of outright anti-Americanism: Dear Mr. Knight: We have followed the deeply disturbing reports of the January 11, 1999, letter from Nike Vice President Joseph M. Ha to Mr. Cu Thi Hau, President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor. This letter alleges that "a few U.S. human rights groups, as well as a Vietnamese refugee who is engaged in human rights activities, are not friends of Vietnam" and further, that their criticism of labor practices in Nike's factories is "the first step for their political goal which is to create a so-called 'democratic' society, modeled after the U.S." More on Nike: saigon.com

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (43143)	12/12/2003 11:12:06 PM
From: yard_man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

total red herring -- the whole buy American thing. Trade will always be imperfect -- there is no way we can or should expect to be able to enforce our labor laws, our environmental laws or anything else on every other nation and THEN engage in FAIR trade. Absent this, buying only American goods produced at whatever prices that such controls produce here -- will not make us richer as a nation or a people -- and clearly will not help us individually. the notion is silly. What we can do is involve ourselves in international trade and buy from the cheapest producer --in the end, this benefits everyone, in spite of the imperfections or things we'd like to correct by fiat.