One of the reasons that jobs are leaving America is because of the price of imports and the cheap labor abroad that produces them. Companies are finding it harder and harder to compete against products coming into our country that are priced below what it cost them to make them here in America. The only place left for them to cut costs is in the area of labor. So they have to send their services or manufacturing facilities overseas where the lower cost of labor allows them to produce cheaper, more competitive products and services. Then they ship those cheaper products and services back into our country. Unfortunately, this whole process results in lost jobs here at home. Even though we tell everyone to ‘Buy American’ who among us isn’t always out looking for a bargain or to save money anywhere we can.

In the past, attempts have been made to limit imports coming into this country so as to protect our companies from those cheaper products and labor. But this form of isolationism has always backfired on us. People always find a way to get cheaper products even if it means illegally sidestepping import regulations. And other countries are forced to impose the same import limitations on our industries which results in even less products and services being produced here at home. It becomes a Catch 22 situation – you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

I propose a different kind of solution to protect our businesses which will allow them to compete in the global market and to keep more jobs here at home.

We put a price limit on all imports coming into our country. All products and services coming into America must be priced at or above the average price for that product or service here in this country. This will give our businesses, which may be able to produce and sell (at a profit) the same product or service at or below that average price, a chance to compete with those foreign competitors. It will also give an incentive for the businesses that are currently selling that product or service above that average price to trim their costs and/or reduce their profits so they too can sell it at a more reasonable price.

This regulation will give the America people a chance to buy high quality products produced here or abroad at a fair, global market value. It will give importing nations a chance to have access to our market as long as they give us a fair price for their products and services which will not put our companies out of business and the people they employ out of work. It will keep more jobs here in America because more businesses will be given a fair chance to compete in a global market against competitors who are forced to play by the same rules.

Some will say that the American company that is currently marketing a product or service at a price above the national average will be forced to cut cost to lower their price to the average or below it. To do that will most likely mean reducing the labor force, reducing wages or hours worked or perhaps outsourcing or moving their businesses overseas. But one must ask – why can one company make and sell the same product at or below the national average price and others can not. Those that can must be doing something right and those that can’t must be running their businesses incorrectly. It could be that their cost of labor is too high for some reason, their raw material purchasing mechanisms are too costly or their manufacturing or marketing processes are not efficient. Or perhaps they are just asking for too much profit. They still have a right to sell their product or service at any price they want but other more efficient American and foreign companies will have an advantage over them at the cheaper price. This will make importing into our country attractive for those foreign investors who can beat the higher priced companies but at the same time will not allow them to undercut the more reasonably priced American companies.

We can not become isolationists because other countries will do the same with our products and services – not allow them to be imported into their countries. And it makes no sense to have such a wide disparity between prices for the same product or service produced here in America and abroad. Instead, we must set a fair standard for pricing and establish a level playing field for all companies both within and out side of America to compete for the same global dollar while at the same time we protect Amercan jobs.