Boosting U.S. products adds jobs

By Eli Fishman

Congress has begun consideration of restrictions on the Pentagon's foreign purchases. The House passed a version of the 2004 defense authorization bill that would strengthen buy-American laws.

Under the new legislation, 65 percent of components in items purchased by the Department of Defense would have to be U.S.-made. Under current regulations, there is a requirement for only 50 percent to be U.S.-made.

One of the supporters of the change, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, expressed serious concerns about the machine-tool industry in her state that has seen revenue plummet 17 percent this year alone.

Federal government defense-related spending this year will top $600 billion. Total U.S. retail spending is estimated at $3 trillion. This means that for every dollar people living in the United States spend on food, cars, clothing, shoes, electronics, gasoline, CDs, computers and every other product imaginable, the Pentagon spends an additional 20 cents. The proposed requirement for the Pentagon to buy more U.S.-made goods amounts to tens of billions of dollars. This translates to an addition of hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

This legislation is a significant development for two reasons.

First is the huge number of manufacturing and related jobs it will create in an economy desperate for good-paying employment opportunities.

The second reason is far more interesting. This legislation represents an awakening of lawmakers to real measures needed to permanently improve the economy and the American standard of living.

Fortunately, Congress has stepped in where our leaders and leader wannabes persist in the cluelessness.

On the Democratic side, Joe Leiberman and John Edwards are calling for more tax cuts. The Howard Dean Web site asks that you check back later for an update on issues related to the economy. John Kerry has offered no specific plans.

President Bush continues to proclaim the success of his tax less-spend more budget-busting plan. Apparently, a lot of political advisers feel the tax-cut agenda is a sure winner. Of course, none of these arrangements stands a chance of having a positive effect on the economy.

The fundamental problem is that we continue to export all our decent jobs to low-wage Asian countries. The only solution is to stop doing that.

The tax cuts and reduced interest rates are feel-good ideas that will have no lasting impact. To maintain a solid job base in America, we need to enact protectionist legislation. President Bush began with tariffs on imported steel. Those tariffs will save thousands of jobs in the U.S. steel industry. This new legislation proposed for the Pentagon is another giant step in the right direction, possibly creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

If this new legislation is enacted, there will be a negative reaction from France, Germany, China, Russia and others. I think we should just deal with it. Tell them, "Yeah, whatever."

Eli Fishman is the owner of Cape Shoe Co. in Cape Girardeau.