#NCSEN: Kay’s Nicaraguan Pants

sock puppetIt looks like Big Boy Pants will be facing off against Nicaraguan Pants this year.

We’ve written extensively about Thom Tillis using the powers of his office to benefit very specific contributors and allies. Well, it appears his opponent in this year’s Senate race — Kay Hagan — has similar proclivities:

Kay Hagan, a North Carolina Democrat who was elected to the U.S. Senate with the help of out-of-state liberals, has proven to be a disappointment for progressives. The legislative ranking for Hagan from That’s My Congress shows that she has given more support to conservative legislation than to liberal bills in the 113th Congress.

Hagan’s last significant legislative act in 2013 won’t do much to improve her image. On December 20, Hagan introduced S. 1883, a bill that will preserve a special loophole for “certain trousers, breeches, or shorts imported from Nicaragua”. The law allows corporate outsourcers to evade paying import duties on the pants.

kay hagan nicaraguan pantsWhat is the public good created by this loophole? How does it benefit Americans to have pants imported from Nicaraguan garment factories rather than made in the USA?

There is no benefit. The loophole Hagan wants to perpetuate will make business more difficult for American manufacturers of trousers, breeches and shorts, reducing the number of jobs available to Americans who are still looking for work in the wake of the Great Recession.

Breeches are being made in the USA. See here and here and, ironically, Bit of Britain.

Todd Shelton makes trousers here in the USA. So do Orvis and Red Ants Pants.

Land’s End still makes shorts in the USA. So does the All-American Clothing Company. So do Voler and American Apparel.

If it wasn’t for politicians like Kay Hagan, we would have more all-American clothing companies, and more clothing companies offering more made-in-the-USA clothes.

THAT is a progressive web site bashing our very own Senator Sock Puppet.™  The Hagan legislation exempts someone who imports “certain trousers, breeches, or shorts imported from Nicaragua” from paying tariffs or duties. Gee, that’s very specific.  It sounds like this was introduced to benefit a very specific person to whom Madame Sock Puppet may or may not owe a favor. 

Perhaps a ”little bird” will fly by and help us identify said beneficiary.  (It appears the bill has been stuck in committee since December 2013, though.)  I wonder what her union buddies think about legislation like this? 

It would be nice if we had politicians in Washington with the mindset of cutting the cost of doing business domestically. So you don’t have to look offshore to keep your business afloat. (But, we’re not holding our breath.)