Boycott Ralph Lauren and KOK

No doubt you all have heard of the treasonous injustice the U.S. Olympic Committee committed purchasing fabulous uniforms designed by Ralph Lauren in America but
manufactured in China.

And even though it makes me sick to my stomach to think about our Olympians lifting heavy things and running really fast in efficiently crafted Chinese singlets, there is something far worse to be angry about.

For years, Kilroy’s on Kirkwood has been handing out free T-shirts on Thursdays — designed and printed in America but manufactured in Mexico. We need to burn all of the KOK shirts that were not made by American textile manufacturers and start again.

I had never felt so betrayed by an American company like KOK and Underground Printing.

Then I started to look around the house to see what else is made by
foreigners.I nearly seized in horror when I realized the only thing made in America in my house was me. Even my favorite Fourth of July KOK tank was made south of the border.

This must change, for America.

I believe our juniors and seniors need to get Midwest-wasted in shirts made in America.

We should also pour American distilled whiskey down our throat-holes and vomit delicious, American-made pepperoni breadsticks into American manufactured toilets. Just like the founding fathers intended.

Thankfully, just about every member of Congress is behind me on this issue.

“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,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., wrote in a letter (most likely typed on a computer made in Asia) to Lawrence Probst, chairman of the U.S. Olypmic Comittee.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., agreed when he said, “There is no reason why U.S. Olympic uniforms are not being manufactured in the U.S.”

Economists say these foreign countries enjoy a concept called “comparative advantage” in the textile industry. They tell me a country has a “comparative advantage” at producing something if it can produce a product at lower cost than anyone else.

I’m not entirely sure what this means, and I prefer to ignore their black magic anyway.

Ralph Lauren and Underground Printing need to stop exporting American jobs to China and Mexico, even if it means they need to pay a comfortable American wage to do it. They are hurting American textile workers who don’t exist anymore.

“Today, there are 600,000 vacant manufacturing jobs in this country, and the Olympic committee is outsourcing the manufacturing of uniforms to China? That is not just outrageous, it’s just plain dumb. It is self-defeating,” Israel said.

Yeah, what he said — I hate how convenient and cheap the world is with global trade.

As a citizen of the greatest country that has existed, ever — the United States of America — I think we should stop trading with the outside world.

I’m glad that even in this age of partisan politics, where Congress can’t work together on anything substantive like passing the budget or funding the government in general, we can all agree — America first.

­— nicjacob@indiana.edu