Really????? Team USA: Made in China

Excellent news, the Republicans and Democrats in Congress finally agree on something.

They are all pretty much equally torqued that some idiot on the U.S. Olympic Committee decided the athletes' clothing for the opening and closing ceremonies should be made in China.

That's right, you heard us right, China.

Not surprisingly, lawmakers on both sides are chiming in on this one -- one of the few times lately they are actually agreeing and scrambling over top of each other to be the ones at the top of the moral ground.

So how did this happen, one might ask? One would think that it would not be something anyone had to tell the USOC.

Apparently not. In fact, officials are defending the decision, saying the American designer, Ralph Lauren, supports the games and that where the items are made should not matter.

Au contraire.

If we were talking about his donation, that would be fine, but we are not. Where Mr. Lauren chooses to produce his line is none of our business.

But he is, in essence, a contractor with the U.S. taxpayers. So, it matters when it comes to this job. An American team's accessories and clothing should be made in America.

And if Mr. Lauren's company wants to design and produce it, great, but it must be made in the U.S.A. Period.

Is this worth an international incident? No.

But is it something that proves just how out of touch bureaucracies can get with what really matters? Heck yes.

At a time when millions of Americans are unemployed or underemployed, it is unconscionable that money like this would not be directed to American firms and it needs to be fixed -- pronto.

That is the right thing to do.

Published in Editorials on July 13, 2012 12:45 PM