Talks about the execs receiving bonuses after receiving bail-out money have never ceased.  The government has also tried to urge investors to buy government toxic assets while the US automakers asks us to reject foreign imports.  Do these appeal for economic patriotism make sense at these times?

It may sound cold but economists say that the capitalist system works best when individuals act in their own economic self interest – and not to try patriotism into own account.  And consumers are doing just that.  Whether we are buying a car, industrial products or other goods, we tend to buy the best product at the best price.  So Buying American seems to be more like a slogan than anything meaningful.  That is because we don’t know how much of any product is really made in the US.  Buying a product to help the domestic economy according to mainstream economists will take away the U. S. company’s incentive to become globally competitive.

Does Buy American still makes sense at this time of crisis?