"Dude, did I steal your job?" and Boycott American Cars

[MSgt213]

Jan. 24, 2005 | Indian programmers, working in the United States under H-1B visas, demonstrate their anti-Americanism by driving only Japanese cars, writes one poster to an Internet newsgroup. At first glance, the accusation seems like a typically unfounded generalization, the kind of spiteful, xenophobic posting made by an out-of-work engineer enraged at the people he or she blames for taking American jobs away.

Except, as N. Sivakumar writes in "Debugging Indian Computer Programmers," Indians permitted to work in the United States via H-1B visas do tend to buy and drive Japanese cars. And for good reason. If a worker residing in the U.S. under an H-1B visa loses his job, he has to leave the country immediately. This means, quite often, that he has to sell his car right away. Cars with high resale value are at a premium, and according to Sivakumar, that means Toyota Corollas and Honda Accords.

It's an intriguing twist. The buying-Japanese habits of immigrant Indians are not a sign of anti-Americanism, but instead proof of their economic vulnerability. The ironies don't stop there. In this globalized world, Japanese cars sold in the United States are often built in the U.S. as a result of incentives set up decades ago to try to protect American jobs. Meanwhile, many cars sold by American companies are built elsewhere -- in Mexico or Korea, for example -- to take advantage of cheap foreign labor.

Ah globalization, the wonders it has wrought. As Sivakumar points out, "Globalization is as American as mom and apple pie." And Sivakumar is all for it, just as he is, fundamentally, all for America, the land of opportunity. He is dismayed by the racism and bile he encounters on the Net, as well as the "dirt and dog pile" that an unknown neighbor dumps on his car's windshield every morning. But he loves the country deeply, just as he loves the country he grew up in, Sri Lanka, and the county his ancestors came from, India.

http://www.salon.com/tech/books/2005/01/24/indian_programmers/index.html

[politicat]

1. Which is funny, since many "japanese" cars are built in the US.

Subaru is built in Lafayette, Indiana. Honda is built in Ohio. Volkswagens are built in Pennsylvania.

And American cars tend to be built in Brazil, Mexico and elsewhere.

I will buy Subaru or VW from here on - their unions treat their workers better than the unions for Chrysler or GM.

Pcat

[FloridaPat]

2. Yes, he has to leave the country immediate, but it's not enforced.

There are a lot of Indian companies that bring them over, so they just find them another job. So all those programmers that came over for 2000 fiasco didn't leave.

[Cats Against Frist]

3. I've been saying this for a while

If you want to get back at American companies who outsource, and there's no American alternative, buy foreign! Sony is a good one -- they're both foreign AND they contribute to the Dems.

Rather than buying a toaster from an American company based in China, buy a Japanese toaster.

[amazona]

4. yeah it's a difficult issue

I agree for immediate resale the Toyota Corolla/Camry and Honda Accord/Civic can't be beat. I sold one of them recently and people all but beat down my door to throw the cash in my face. Wish I had a way to get others cheaply.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[AndyTiedye]

5. Mosta my Fellow American Programmers Prefer Beamers & Porsches

The only American-made thing on one of those cars is the license plate.

My most recent automotive purchase is a Ford Escape Hybrid.
It is the first American-brand vehicle I've bought that was actually made here.
I have owned a Ford that was made in Korea and a Chevy that was made in Canada.
The "Japanese" cars I've bought recently were made here.

I'm not sure about the Civic Del Sol. (Why did Honda stop making those?
Fun to drive, almost 40mpg, and a convertable that isn't a ragtop.
I'm gonna keep mine until it falls apart, or until Honda reintroduces
it as a hybrid).

The Big Three don't do small cars very well.

They are really truck companies.