In a show of support for American workers, Hilda Solis the US labor Secretary, traded in her black limousine for a Chevy Equinox. Its not clear why the Secretary of Labor even has a Limousine, but that is a separate issue. Shortly after talking up her new purchase, it was discovered the Chevy Equinox is assembled in Canada. It did not take long for her staff to track down that some portion of the parts in a Chevy are actually made in the United States, which is a miraculous save of here diligent staff (who likely have GM on speed dial given how the administration basically controls GM).
So, with new information in hand, Solis spokesperson Carl Fillichio changed the story (politicians call this a Pivot) to explain how great it is that our dynamic economy builds such a great vehicle using the best talents of an open market.
“Modern automobile manufacturing is a global industry and General Motors is a company whose reach extends far beyond the boundaries of the United States. Cars assembled here in the U.S. are made from globally sourced parts, just as cars assembled in other countries utilize parts made in America. Not only is the Equinox the second fastest selling SUV in America—a good sign for the overall health of the U.S. auto industry—66 percent of its parts were made in America. That’s up from about 50 percent just a few years ago.”
The problem is "Buy American". The $787B in the stimulus finding had a clause that said all the projects funded had to use parts certified as American sourced. In the grand scheme of things, who cares how this applies to Mrs. Solis's Chevy Equinox. What is important is that a large fraction of the $787B "Must have" stimulus was held up as contractors went through extensive verification that the parts they were using in infrastructure, weatherizing, clean tech, etc all came from American manufactures, American plants and American labor.
Stimulus was a bad idea. It took on $787B in debt for projects that only temporary funded a screwed up economy, making things worse. The further hypocrisy of "Buy American" makes it worse. The President and Congress insisted that the "Must spend" dollars had to be injected in the economy right away, but only if American parts are used. Contractors spent time and money to keep the left's political base on board. The left needs to decided whether stimulus spending was critical or not, but putting your foot on the gas (stimulus) while pressing the brakes (buy American) does no one any good.
