Quote:
Originally Posted by Argie's Wife
secondcurve.... I'm surprised by your response...
"Please stop this protectionist, liberal nonsense.... Steve, I expected more from you!"
I've never heard anyone berated for supporting the local economy. I'm flabbergasted by your post, really.
Yes, it's a global economy. That's exactly why I prefer to do local business, when possible.
When I have to make decisions on budget items and warrant articles for my town and school, and I look at where our money is going that's not a department within the town or school (like to a service contract), two of the things I look for is (1) affordability; (2) location.
Keeping money in the town, county, and state is just good business.
Local businesses employ local people. The money they bring in or pay out to their employees goes back to the local economy.
Doing business locally keeps a community unique. It reduces an environmental impact - less shipping, trucking, etc. and no postage, right?
You establish a relationship with the business owner - the guy your bought your tires from on Saturday might be you kids' baseball coach next spring or sits next to you in church on Sunday.
You can bet you're going to get better service by doing business locally - not to mention the craftsmanship. Because of the global economy, the local artist has to have a great product or s/he will be out of business pretty quickly. And then there's taxes...
Why not keep your tax money within NH? (Considering we have no sales tax, what's to lose?!)
And look at what NH has to offer for great products/gifts... whether it's Grade-A maple syrup, handmade soaps, pewter ornaments, jewelry, gift certificates to skiing or restaurants or museums or for other local services - why not make a point to look for that special something for that special someone within our state boarder? We live in a unique state - celebrate it!
I've watched too many great towns and cities in my home state of Maine, and now my home state of New Hampshire close their mills and factories because of this global economy. It's not a liberal mantra; it's a conservative one. I am no fan of NAFTA and what's it done to us.
It's a sad day when my LLBean sweater is made in China and my Bass shoes are made in Mexico.
|
Argie's wife:
Even Obama, of all people, gets the fact that you have to look as the world as a whole when assessing trade. Please see the below article. By the way, if more of us thought like you we would be keeping our money in Massachusetts and New Hampshire would still be a forest:
Appealing for broader access to fast-growing markets in Asia, President Barack Obama says the United States is in the Pacific region to stay and that both sides will benefit from stronger trade relationships.
On a mission to help create jobs at home, Obama noted that while U.S. exports to the region have increased by more than 60 percent in the last five years, competition has cut into the U.S. share of trade here.
"We want to change that," Obama declared in a speech Saturday at a regional economic summit.
The president hopes to double U.S. exports within five years and views selling more goods to Asians as one way to help meet that goal while simultaneously creating and sustaining jobs for Americans. India, the first of four countries Obama visited this week and a booming nation to boot, has a population of more than 1 billion people.
At the same time, Obama said healthy competition needn't rupture relationships between and among nations.
"There's no need to view trade, commerce or economic growth as zero-sum games," he said. "If we work together, and act together, strengthening our economic ties can be a win-win for all of our nations."
Obama was blunt about his reason for touring Asia this week.
"For America, this is a job strategy," he said, before rattling off numbers showing that every $1 billion in exports supports 5,000 jobs at home. In turn, he said the flood of U.S. goods to Asia-Pacific nations will give those consumers, many of whom are enjoying higher standards of living, more options to choose from when they go shopping.