No. of Recommendations: 8
Canada fairly represented what Reagan said. Yes, the edited to make the message more suitable for a short ad format, but as to the Reagans meaning and intent...Canada nailed it.
Keep in mind, it was the 80s. Saint Reagan was in the thrall of Milton Friedman, who advocated zero tariffs and offshoring everything, so the people who still had jobs and money, could buy the stuff they wanted cheaper.
Of course, Reagan was a hypocrite. He imposed "voluntary import restraints" on Japanese automakers to protect the big three, and he imposed a protectionist tariff on imported motorcycles, because his buddy Malcolm Forbes liked Harleys. And what were the reactions of the foreign companies? Honda, Nissan, and Toyota started building factories in the US. iirc, the Honda plant in Marysville started out building bikes. Now, it is a major operation, employing over 4000 people. While visiting my aunt, in Columbus, I opened the newspaper to see a big ad "support the Ohio economy, buy a Honda".
In principle, I have no problem motivating domestic production of goods. The problem is the precipitate way his nibs is doing it. The abrupt way tariffs are being imposed, far faster than manufacturers can adjust to, makes clear the objective is shifting the tax burden from "JCs" to Proles.
Steve
