For Sale: America

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In fact, the question of what constitutes a truly American icon has become befuddling. A Sohio gasoline station? British Petroleum owns that company now. An Allis-Chalmers farm tractor? The West Germans manufacture those. Ball Park franks are owned by a British conglomerate; so is French's mustard. The take from Las Vegas' Dunes Hotel and Country Club, one of the best-known American gambling and entertainment centers, will soon go to its new Japanese owner. The latest hit recording by Country Singer Kenny Rogers is a foreign-owned product; his record label, RCA, is now West German property. And what about breakfast (or a diamond ring) at Tiffany, or drinks in the literarefied atmosphere of Manhattan's Algonquin hotel? Those vintage landmark buildings are now Japanese possessions.

The foreign buying spree has inevitably become controversial. How does foreign investment affect America's industrial strength and ability to compete? Just how much overseas investment is good for the country, and how much of America should foreigners be allowed to buy? What other kinds of control might follow? What will happen if nothing is done to stem the buying tide? Warns Lawrence Brainard, chief international economist for Manhattan's Bankers Trust: "By the end of this century, the U.S. may have the most modern manufacturing sector in the world, but it won't own it." Says Democratic Representative John Bryant of Texas: "America has been selling off its family jewels to pay for a night on the town, and we don't know enough about the proud new owners."

The proud new owners know a good thing when they see it, and the reasons for their rush to buy are abundantly clear. To start with, U.S. properties are going for unprecedentedly low prices because of the fall of the dollar. The U.S. currency has plunged some 40% in value during the past two years against such major foreign currencies as the Japanese yen, the West German mark and the British pound. The result is that while prices of real estate and commercial properties may seem high to most Americans, everything with a dollar-denominated price tag looks like a tremendous steal to holders of other, stronger currencies.

At the same time, America's industrial rivals are flush with cash, either ! their own savings or the billions of dollars that import-hungry U.S. consumers have been spending on Japanese video gear, South Korean appliances and West German autos. Those wealthy nations are eager to use this money to tap the $1.3 trillion U.S. marketplace, where immense diversity and opportunity act as both a model and a magnet for the rest of the world. In addition, foreigners are eager to gain access to the advanced fruits of American research and technology, as well as to enjoy the benefits of U.S. rates of corporate taxation, which are appreciably lower than elsewhere.

Buyers from overseas are especially attracted by American political stability, which is particularly alluring to those with long-term investment prospects in mind. And foreign investors continue to be impressed by the wide- open nature of the American economy and the freedom of its capital and equity markets. Says a Japanese banker in Tokyo: "We are amazed at the way Americans are willing to sell out their companies. In Japan, owners of companies hold on for life."