U.S. Citizens Need a ‘Buy American’ Push

To my knowledge, no major political figure is making a point of encouraging the American people to buy American-made products.

“U.S. Economic Outlook Better Than It Seems?” (July 20) reported that the United States ran a trade deficit of $9.2 billion in May of this year; yet since then, not a single one of our leaders has said much about it. Certainly President Clinton hasn’t.

The $9.2-billion trade deficit in May meant that the United States bought $9.2 billion more from other countries than other countries bought from us. Had the people of the United States kept that $9.2 billion at home rather than buying foreign-made goods with it, they could have used it to pay 4,600,000 out-of-work Americans $2,000 each for working in May.

But they didn’t. Instead they sent the money and the jobs to other countries.

I am astounded that this seemed to go unnoticed by our leaders. I can’t understand why Clinton or somebody else high up hasn’t gone before the American people and said something like this to them: “Hey folks, stop buying those foreign-made goods and start buying American-made goods instead. How can you expect your fellow citizens to get jobs and pay taxes if you won’t buy what they make on their jobs?”

GENE POMERANTZ

Woodland Hills