I think this thread fits in with another that described the US as becoming a nation that exports raw materials and imports manufactured products....

I don't think we can blame other countries for trying to keep their people employed. They are acting in their best interests.

However being an exporter of raw materials does not provide many decent higher skilled jobs for our kids.  As a father of 8 kids I have always been concerned about the fact they need some places to work productivly in this country. Maybe it is time for us as Americans to start to act in our own long term best interests.

We cannot all be working in "service" industries flipping hamburgers (of imported beef) or doing big financial "deals" with funny money. We need to make things. And we need to make things that develop and use our creative, engineering and manufacturing skills as well as the advertising and marketing skills being used to sell us all of these imported widgets.

If you look at the things in your home - say the new flat panel tv set - are there any of these made in the US anymore or is there anyone in the US who even knows how to make the latest design flat panel TV's or computer displays???  These seem like a very important technology to the future and we need to have the knowledge and ability to build them in the US, in my opinion.

I don't mean to carry on but there is more to life and our country than just "cheap".  I hope we can trust the labels on the toothpaste etc above.

Thanks for the post, John.

Jim at Dawn