Rebecca Cullers of Adweek claims that marketer and so-called “consumer advocate” Alex Bogusky has a “foolproof way of bringing back 1 million U.S. jobs.” Bogusky says in a YouTube video, “It’s as simple as this: Every time you buy something, ensure it was made in America.” He immediately backs off that absurd claim and urges people to spend “just 5 percent more on things made in America.” Either way, his plan is rooted in faulty economics and corrupt morality.
The economic fallacies inherent in Bogusky’s plan are known to anyone who has taken an introductory economics class or read Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson or a similar work. These fallacies involve ignoring crucial economic facts, such as:
- When Americans purchase imported goods and services for less than the American-made alternatives, they have more money left to buy other things they want and need. This is not bad for Americans; it’s good for them.
- When people in foreign nations sell more goods and services to Americans, they also buy more goods and services from American exporters. This too is good for Americans. Bogusky’s plan would, among other things, destroy export-related jobs. That would be bad for Americans. . . .
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