A "Buy American" drive in President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan is sparking protests from trading partners and drawing cheers Domestic Businesses, manufacturers and Unions.
The House of Representatives passed an 819 billion dollar version of the economic stimulus package Wednesday that contains a "Buy American" provision generally barring the purchase of foreign iron and steel for any stimulus-funded infrastructure project.
The massive stimulus plan of tax cuts and spending has moved to the Senate, where lawmakers are working on their own version that extends the "Buy American" initiative on iron and steel to include all US manufactured goods.
"It's time for economic patriots to stand up in our country. We need to ensure that our laws are aggressively implemented to ensure that American taxpayer dollars are used to put Americans back to work and help renew our economy," said Leo Gerard, head of the United Steelworkers union, which supports the "Buy America" campaign.
Some business interests warned that such measures could trigger trade wars that only will exacerbate the slump in trade volumes and economic growth stemming from the financial turmoil.
"Since 95 percent of the world's consumers live outside the United States, American workers would be the first to suffer as 'Buy American' provisions trigger retaliation by other countries -- that is, 'Buy German,' 'Buy Chinese,' and so on," said Chris Braddock of the US Chamber of Commerce.
"We certainly aren't against companies and governments 'Buying American,' but we are against the government arbitrarily mandating such a requirement, because it would harm our economy in numerous ways," Braddock said, citing the trade wars that eventually sparked the Great Depression.
There is no doubt that our government taking on a policy to 'Buy American' might be a shaky policy at best in the World Market in which we live but -
What about the Domestic Impact that Baby Boomers Buying Power can have on the economy of the United States?
Baby Boomers presently buy over 40% of the products and services in the United States. There is no question that Baby Boomers purchases have a great deal of impact on our US economy and in our time of recession the buying power of Baby Boomers is increasing considerably since Baby Boomers in general have been less impacted than other demographic groups.
What if Baby Boomers just decided to 'Buy American' wherever possible?
Could Baby Boomers buying power really make a difference in the economic recovery of the United States of America?
Baby Boomer Magazine has undertaken the chalenge of researching and reporting on how Baby Boomers can play a serious part in the economic recovery of our United States of America, our home. 
JUST FOR BABY BOOMERS: Share your experiences, remembrances and opinions about "'Buy American' Stimulus Drawing Cheers from Domestic Businesses, Manufacturers and Unions" with other Baby Boomers on our "Baby Boomer Forum"
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