On a more serious note from my last post, what about these sentiments? I mean, one could make the argument that people buy BMWs and Mercedes at least a little for the status.
But, I doubt many anesthesiologists are buying Apollos to make the other hospitals' anesthesiologists jealous. What is a person to do when other countries just plain make better stuff?
Clearly, if there's a major quality gap, then alternatives are acceptable IMHO.
However, when we're speaking apples to apples, with minor differences in "neat" features, I think we REALLY need to consider the domestic manufacturer.
Indeed, we can even "clue them in" on what "might have been" a deal breaker, so that they may incorporate similar features in future models. This happens all the time, and many of our competitors are experts in industrial espionage. This is reality and I'll quote sources if need be.
Someday, my friend, it may be YOU who gets laid off because some Indian dude (from India) can do your job for 1/4 the rate that you require. That hits home a little more now doesn't it?
We need to consider ALL of the ramifications of our decisions, such as local prosperity, the trickle down effect, property taxes, contributions to US institutions (including higher learning), scholarships, internships available to US students (like Gimlet indicated), and overall prosperity of America.
We MUST consider this in our decision making. Period. OR, we can continue with our "free market" ideology which we're the only fools on the block practicing.
To elaborate, I've heard many on this forum complain that while GM has made major quality strides, they just "can't stand the fact that it's now "Government Motors" and that they took TARP funds.
Yet, these same hypocrites think NOTHING about buying a Chinese product (generally 51% owned by the Chinese GOVERNMENT) over alternatives at any local store..... Give me a break.
One of my best friends is in Mergers/Acquisitions for a US firm (regional). He was doing a deal with an American firm doing business in S. Korea. He was DUMBFOUNDED at how SO MANY S. Korean manufacturers with very modest cash flow were able to secure loans in order to buy expensive equipment/machinery (from places like Germany, btw) given their cash flow. Well, my buddies client says, "it's highly subsidized by the Korean gov't, because they feel very strongly about manufacturing being a major component of their future prosperity" (end quote).
We need to change our paradigm....
cf