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Article: Cokie and Steven V. Roberts: A bad wind blowing from Washington
- Article from:
- Oakland Tribune
- Article date:
- February 19, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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THE UGLY ODOR of protectionism is wafting through Washington, and
President Barack Obama should shut it off before it gets stronger.
The huge economic-stimulus bill he signed this week contains two
provisions that seem, on the surface, to be saving American jobs. In
fact, both clauses could be highly counterproductive, destroying far
more jobs than they defend.
The first amendment, dubbed "Buy American," requires construction
projects financed under the bill to use only "iron, steel and
manufactured goods ... produced in the United States." Sounds good,
particularly when the unemployment rate is 7.6 percent and headed
higher. But what if other countries retaliate by imposing similar ...