Did they ever pay "US" back dollar for dollar?
Did Japan ever pay back the 2.1 Billion Dollars the U.S. taxpayers spent ( $22 Billion in todays money) to rebuilt corporate Japan after they bombed Pearl Harbor?
This^^^^^^
Plus Japan's contribution to the United States does not come close to the amount we are and have been paying to protect Japan and have troops their and in that regions for decades, and decades to come - all after they attacked us in WWII. We have spent billions upon billions of tax dollars on Japan for defense and will continue to do so.
And every time a Toyota vehicle is purchased, even if it its made here, the profit goes to Japan, never to return because we have a net trade deficit with them. So, if you think you are saying a big FU to GM because of their bailout by buying a Toyota, Nissan, etc., you are not and really need to look at the big picture.
Some might say Japan is doing us a big favor as a buffer between us and the Chinese. And the Ruskies. Let's not forget, our friendliness gives the US a place for bases off the coasts of both major antogonistic Superpowers. Perhaps a case might be made that given today's technologies we no longer need proximity for certain tactics, but truth of the matter is, holding territory still has validity in the art of war.
Every time you buy a GM (insert Dodge, Ford) with overseas parts the profit from manufacturing those parts is going where? Every time a US car mfg puts Chinese (insert Korea, Japan, etc) tires on their vehicle where do you think the profit from those tires goes?
As myself and others have pointed out here, corporations will do what they need to make a PROFIT, nothing else matters.................NOTHING. Not their employees, the City/ State they originally started, their traditional work force (unionized or not) , not even the families of the Corporate Board. Profit drives the whole s-h-i-t show.
Nothing you or I or anyone else can do about it unless you hold stock in the corporation and vote on corporate matters. And you better hold a controlling interest in order to get things to go your way, or have enough other stockholders on board with your idea to overcome opposition. You're still screwed if any person or group controls 51% and doesn't like your ideas.
Buy GM if that makes you happy. Some of us buy Toyotas (insert other "foreign" vehicles) not because of who owns the company, or because GM f'd the US of A, or because their daddy bought Toyotas for 40 years. Some of us buy Toyotas etc because we like the vehicles, they meet our needs, they last a LONG time, they're economical in the short and long terms, and we're providing jobs to American workers in some places that need those jobs. Perhaps some of the "profits" go overseas, but those American workers in Toyota plants live in American towns, pay American taxes, shop in American Piggly WIgglys, and buy American rifles (Some might like Spanish Double Shotguns though).
Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, the Globe has become Globalized. That's the real big picture.
Geno
PS lest anyone think I'm a China supporter, guess again. I attempt to buy as little of anything made in China as I don't support increasing the standard of living of their "corporate" (read that as ChiCom) leaders, even if it does help their general population some. Still, it's unavoidable in some cases.
