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[Smoky Pond]

Well said. I actually had a statement regarding the lack of a global level playing field when it comes to outsourcing. I didn't want to toss that political hot potato, so I removed it. But since it's already been done.....

I've been to the other side of the globe, to the largest country on earth. No health care, no social security, $0.25 to $0.65 an hour wages, government subsidized loans. We can't compete with that and we shouldn't have to. We make a big fuss about "children" working in sweat-shops and boycott those products. However, we have no qualms about driving those same childrens parents into the ground, working under unsafe and unhealthy conditions.

What has to change is the mindset that some of us use when making a purchase. You can't just shop on price. We have to insist that the things we purchase here are made in countries that provide the same kind of health, retirement, and safety benefits to their workers as we do here.

Also, for those that believe there is a technology answer to this puzzle lurking out there, or possibly improved productivity or better efficiency, here is an example: One of our facilities manufactures several components for a tier 1 automotive supplier. The material already comes from that big country I just mentioned (this is driven by the customer and not our choice). This work has now been placed on open bid by our customer (the whole world can now bid on it), and our favorite big country has gone to our customer with finished prices that are equal to what we pay for the material alone! No magic answer there folks! This battle has to be fought by the consumers. We have to insist that this type of content be kept out of products like the automobile. Sure the cars will be cheaper, but it won't do any of us any good if no one can afford to buy those cars!