Political Quotes

“I have been a long-time proponent of metric conversion by the United States. I strongly believe that the American economy would greatly benefit if the United States were to join the rest of the world. Presently, the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not use the metric system of measurement. Imagine, Mr. President, what impact this has on our trade with other countries. In fact, the U.S. Department of Commerce has estimated that U.S. exports could increase by as much as 20 percent if the United States were to convert to the metric system. Unfortunately, Americans have, for some time, seemed apprehensive about making the change from our inch/pound system to the metric system. This tension between the obvious economic benefits and consumer apprehension is one of the biggest hurdles metric proponents face. An article in the February 1994 issue of Consumer's Research magazine does a fine job of exploring this tension.”