Your Turn: History proves that 'Buy American' sentiment hurts economy

Many moons ago, I learned about the Hawley-Smoot Tariff from my high school history teacher. The name of this infamous piece of legislation tickled my proverbial funny bone to the point of red-faced asphyxiation, but thank God, I stopped laughing.

In reality, the Hawley-Smoot Tariff was nothing to giggle or guffaw over because it contributed largely to the plummeting economy of the Great Depression. The bill, passed in 1930, effectively shut off America's borders to imports from Europe, which at the point had achieved an all-time high. This brazen example of lawmaking upset our trading partners across the pond to such an extent that they began their own tariffs on American goods. This reaction snowballed into an avalanche that crushed the economy into That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named, The Great Depression. Ah, how quickly the tables turn. Let's fast forward.

The year is 2009, and America faces an economic crisis as nasty and unforgiving as ever. Unemployment rates steadily raise, the stock market plummets toward rock bottom, consumer confidence scurries for the emergency exit, Bernie Madoff got caught swimming naked, and the Detroit Lions lost every game this NFL season. How could it get worse? I'll tell you.

Behind the closed doors and in the hallowed halls of Congress, a new Buy American sentiment has grown from a whisper to a roar. Barack Obama's ambitious stimulus package includes stipulations regarding construction, specifically the usage of steel. The proposal states that foreign steel could be used only if there were no domestic sources for the product or if foreign sources pay a 25 percent markup.

The intentions of the policy are noble but misguided. Barack Obama wants to put Americans back to work. He and his peers in Washington understand the desperate times we all face, but protectionism will put more Americans out of work than the small amount it would employ. America is the largest exporter in the world.

Enacting a high tariff on our trading partners will ensure further devastating consequences. What will happen when China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union don't feel like playing ball anymore? Hundreds, no. Thousands, no. Millions of people will lose their job.

Not to mention that America does not have the manufacturing capacity to supply its own needs. The nation once lauded for its manufacturing muscle no longer exists. The Rust Belt is real. Look at Cleveland, St. Louis, Akron, Detroit, Pittsburg, Minneapolis and Canton. Once bastions of industry, these cities now face ruin because their economic base disappeared. It would take decades, not presidential terms, to invigorate these areas with new manufacturing prospects.

Remember, we need shovel ready projects, not form a committee

then a subcommittee then a review committee then pass a bill to piss off all our allies

then form a scout team

then a sub-scout team

then a shovel-purchase commission

then shovel ready projects. People need opportunities to work, but Buy American will not provide those opportunities.

President Obama and the rest of Capitol Hill should dust off the history books in the Library of Congress and re-examine that quirky Hawley-Smoot Tariff. The darned thing almost destroyed our country the last time we tried it. Let's not do it again, because this time it's no laughing matter.

Davis McCoy Chambers is a junior

studying media management.