Economy & Budget

Buy an American Car With Your Rebate Money

I don’t want to sound like a protectionist or a nativist or somebody who doesn’t support the global economy. But what Mike Huckabee said about the economic stimulus package makes some sense to me. In talking about the Chinese lending us the money so that American consumers can then buy products made in China, he said, “I have to wonder whose economy is going to be stimulated the most by the package.”

That’s a valid point.

As a Republican who believes in the free market, I am not comfortable with the idea that the government tell people what to do with their money.

That being said, I do think the president should suggest in his State of the Union that instead of buying Chinese-made flat-screen televisions, consumers — and only those who can afford it — should use the rebate as a down payment to buy an American car.

Buy a Ford or a Chevy. It will help the economy in Michigan, and in Ohio, and frankly in much of the country.

And if you don’t buy a car, buy something else that is made in America.

The upside of the weaker dollar is that it makes American products much more competitive on the world marketplace.

So check out the bargains. Europeans are flocking here to buy our cheap products.

We ought to use some of the money we are borrowing from the Chinese to buy not Chinese products, but American products

If we are going to have a stimulus package — and it looks like we are — it would be nice if consumers would take that money a buy a new car or anything else that is made in America.