Originally posted by: Sahakiel
Even if you just think about this for a second, I'm sure you could see that buying only goods which were mined, manufactured, marketed, and sold within the border of the United States would be economic suicide. At the very least, the US would run out of raw material very fast. A prime example is the raping of US forestry with something on the order of 80% of the forests from only 150-200 years ago already razed and plowed over by the end of the last century. Imagine what would happen if the US suddenly had to rely on its forests to provide for all paper products. Plastics and petroleum based goods would require the expansion of oil drills and depletion of US oil reserves not to mention the gasoline in US cars. US uses a few million barrels of oil each day just to drive to work. The electronics industry would probably collapse because the extra costs suddenly imposed on them would lead to skyrocketing consumer products nobody would buy because they can't afford them. Food would probably be one of the few industries relatively unaffected along with other industries which rely on freshness.
So, perhaps you should think a little carefully about closed economies. Unless, of course, you wouldn't mind paying higher prices for just about everything across the board and doing without certain luxuries because the supply became so low only the uber rich can afford them.
Manufacturing an item here does not preclude obtaining the resources somewhere else. Nowhere in my statement did I allude to anything as radical as you have postulated. I simply feel that moving our manufacturing base offshore is a grave error. I neither suggested a closed economy, nor an Isolationist Foreign Policy. I simply said we, as Americans, should buy American made products and not simply the cheapest item. Cheap does not equal good value. If the tool breaks during use, my time to replace or repair that item is time I am not being productive. Cheaper is not always better.
Furthermore, our Nations dependance on Foreign Oil is our Achilles Heel. There is absolutely NO GOOD REASON our nation hasn't embrace BIOMASS Generation and Solar Generation of electricity, other than our Nations "uber rich elite" is in bed with the Saudi's over Oil. They have been since the 70's and they are the lap dogs of the Saud and Bin Laden families.
Oh, one more thing.
Naturalized citizens already swear an oath of loyalty upon receiving their citizenship. Naturalized citizens are often more educated about the US government, politics, and history than natural born citizens.
Also, what makes you so sure swearing an oath of loyalty actually prevents dissention?
You miss my point entirely. Where HUMANS are required to swear loyalty to the Nation, CORPRORATIONS are simply given free rein to rape our economy for their own profit margin. NOWHERE are corporations held responsible for the loss to the Nation by their greedy actions. There are no "Corporate Police" to enforce the laws of the Nation on the Corporate Vilolators. They are only held accountable in the most heinous of instances. The ENRON CFO's wife who absconded with MILLIONS of employee money is only serving 5 months for her part in this multi - million dollar theft. Have any of the employees whose retirements were drained been made whole? When these thieves replace the money that they stole from the employees whose fiduciary interests they were obliged to protect, that will be time to reduce their sentence. Until then, they should be PUNISHED.
If you or I had stolen that money, we would still be in PRISON. They are afforded special treatment, so they can "give testimony against others yet to be indicted". Let's see some indictments FIRST, then let's see some restitution, then perhaps some time off, but a sentence of 5 months is ludicrous. There are single mothers who serve more time for shoplifting to feed their families, let alone lining their pockets to the tune of a few Million dollars.
This is not about protesting unfair government policies. Studies show that Naturalized citizens vote more regularly than "born here" citizens. Perhaps it's because they appreciate in a different way, the freedoms we have here.
Dissention is not precluded by any citizen. It is our right, our DUTY even, to protest that which we feel is unjust.