Idiots, Doing Idiot Things, Because They're Idiots

There's been an uproar about the U.S. Olympic team wearing uniforms that are made in China. While the idea of always "buying American" is counter-productive and, well, stupid in a free market, I would agree that the Olympics are probably one time where we should throw counter-productivity to the wind, embrace stupidity, and put our athletes in uniforms made in the U.S. Having said that, I have to take issue with this quote from the article.

"There is no compelling reason why all of the uniforms cannot be made here on U.S. soil at the same price, at better quality."

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York - she of increasingly liberal tendencies and subsequent decreasing intelligence - is responsible for the above quote. 


(Side note: I Googled Kirsten Gillibrand to get a little information on her. She's married to a British chap, who I have no problems with aside from the fact that he's a dirty redcoat. But he looks like a Brit. A week ago, I sat in a restaurant at a table next to a very British-looking family. Lo and behold, when they placed their orders, their accents confirmed my suspicions. And it has got me to thinking - why do British people always look British? Among Caucasians, I don't know that you could find one nationality that is easier to pick out than British. "Pale skin, bad teeth, weird hair - must be a Brit.")


Back to the quote at hand. She is absolutely right, you know. There is no compelling reason. There are actually 2 compelling reasons why all of the uniforms cannot be made in the U.S. at the same price and better quality.

1. Better quality always comes at a better price. This isn't ground breaking. Anyone who has compared a Mercedes to a Geo Metro knows why the Mercedes costs more. You pay for quality. So right off the bat, if all other factors were equal, the uniforms would cost more if they were made of higher quality. 
2. All other factors are not equal, however. Things made in the U.S. cost more than things from China. Mrs. Gillibrand is likely the only person in the free world not to know this fact. Part of it has to do with stupid liberal policies that drive up the cost of labor (minimum wage being one of them), part of it has to do with stupid groups supported by liberals that drive up wages to a ridiculous level (unions), and part of it has to do with the fact that American businesses don't treat their employees like animals. The point is, we pay more for things made in the United States, because it costs more to make things in the United States.

It doesn't take any amount of intelligence to figure this out. Say I offer you two t-shirts and tell you to pick out which one will cost less. The first one, I explain, was made by someone making very little money and is made with cheap material. The second one was made by a well-paid employee and is made from high-quality material. Would you say the second one is cheaper? If you answered yes, you're an idiot. 

I suppose that's the point of this post. We've got a bunch of people running this country who, under the criteria outlined in the last sentence of the previous paragraph, are idiots. These idiots are doing idiot things. Why? Because they're idiots.