The American Spectator

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p> BUCHANIANA br> Re: Paul M. Weyrich's Pat on Bush's Back : /p> p>This man [Pat Buchanan] has become a joke and I give him no credence. He is a known anti-Semite and isolationist so why even read his writings, let alone rebut him? Americans recognize a man who keeps his word, as Bush has done, and will re-elect him no matter where Buchanan's analysis strays. br> -- Darlene Lager br> West Covina, CA /p>

Paul Weyrich puts his finger on a potential vulnerability -- for Bush and the economy both -- when he writes that "(Bush) doesn't worry about jobs being exported because free traders believe the benefits to the American consumer outweigh the disruption to communities when factories shut down."

The problem with that is that the people living in the disrupted communities are the purchasers of the goods and services American businesses need to sell.

AOL may save a couple of bucks an hour by firing Sammy Slacker from its U.S. customer service center and hiring young Sittarondan Bichee in Calcutta for a third the price. But young Sitta isn't going to going to be subscribing to broadband access in the USA. Likewise, Ford may cut costs by laying off Joe Sixpack in Detroit and hiring Jose Trabajedor down in Mexico for ten bucks an hour. But Jose isn't going to be buying a $20,000 Focus from a Ford dealer in Akron.

And neither are Sammy and Joe. Even if they find other work, two $20k/year workers do not equal one $40k/year worker for discretionary buying power. They won't buy the broadband services, they won't buy the new car. The businesses that are patting themselves on the back for exporting the job have missed the point, that their employees are their customers, and this is going to slow the economic recovery.

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Taxes, Education, Trade, Bill Clinton, Television, Business, Movies