So clearly, this topic is flame-bait. I get that, but let's try and have a reasonable discussion without too much name calling... please.
The Harbor Freight Tool thread tangented (yea, I made that word up) onto this topic:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/hf-tool-passfail/50437/page1/
And rather than thread jack a useful thread, I figured I would start another.
The question is, should you buy American? That isn't as easy of a question to answer as it might appear on the surface. To begin to answer the question, you have to first define what is "American"?
For example, is the Toyota Tundra American? Well, Toyota is very clearly a Japanese company; however, the assembly of the truck is completely done in America (Indiana), by Americans. So, if you buy a Tundra are you buying American?
Another example, the Chevrolet Impala. Converse of the previous example, Chevy is an American company, but the assembly of the car is in Canada. So is it American? (Note: it does appear that with the latest model some assembly has been moved to Detroit area).
Now, we could go deeper and discuss components on each of these cars which come from any number of American and non-American companies and manufacturers, but I think you get where I am headed.
To pick an example that isn't a car company: is Apple an American company? Founded here, employ a lot of people here, manufacture their products in China and other low cost markets.
The point is this: the world is flat, and getting smaller each day. Technology brings us closer together and makes marketplace competition closer. Because of that, there are very few companies that are purely "American" these days. Most companies are global, even if their customers are only domestic.
Do I buy American? Yea, when I can and when it makes sense to do so. My family shops at a grocery store that only sells produce and meats from farms within the surrounding 50 mile radius. Not only am I buying American, I am supporting my local community and eating better / healthier in the process. Is everything I own American? No. Do I always prefer American products? No. A lot of times, American products are produced at a lower quality in an effort to compete at a lower price point. I believe this to be the wrong approach. I try and buy the best product for the money.
When companies shift jobs overseas, what is the impact? Well, short term they get a cost savings and there may be some domestic job loss as a result. In the long term what happens is that the standard of living in the off-shore location increases, as that does so does the labor rate. At a tipping point, the cost savings fail to out-weigh the service / support / quality / PR aspects and the jobs begin to move back on-shore. Think about customer service and phone support. Several years back there was a significant shift to off-shore that role to India. In the years since, the cost of living has increased in India and rates have gone up. The rates, while still cheaper than the US in most cases, are not covering the loss of customer retention. Meaning customers dissatisfied with their service experience are not continuing to do business with that company. Most companies (Dell Computers is a good example) have since moved that role back on-shore.
I believe you should support "good" companies, or companies that align with your beliefs and moral standards (green, fair labor, etc.), and then support companies that provide good products, serve as innovators, and/or are good stewards of business. And then of course buy American!