The problem with the previous post's argument is that it's a very myopic view of the situation. We live in a very different world than that of 20-30-50 years ago, so comparing # of manufacturing jobs is not a valid statistic. Tell me - how many people are employed building wooden cart wheels these days? Do you think wooden-cart wheel makers were upset when their jobs were replaced due to technology? And Dell shipping jobs overseas - the job of the president of Dell is to maximize profits for his shareholders, not to keep a local town afloat. Cheaper production costs is a large part of that equation. When the argument states, "somethings' gotta be done!", I hear no follow-up suggestions. Well, with cheaper labor outside of our borders, the main governmental option is tariffs - which artificially inflate the costs of goods that come in to this country - and hence, costs of ALL of our goods. So, in effect, YOU are now subsidizing the people in that town. You're ok with that? Well, given a choice, most of the market will go for the less expensive product (quality being equal) every time. So then Dell loses sales and market share - not good for Dell.

So lower labor costs help keep the down costs of goods that we all buy. It's unfortunate, but true, that many people in this country are caught - under-educated, but overpaid (in a macro-economic manufacturing sense). The answer? Look at India and China - they are taking many of our MIDDLE-level jobs due to three main reasons - internet access, cheap labor, and higher education. Many of us in this country are WAY behind the times - we're stuck our heads in the sand for too long and have become lazy. So now we're seeing the world catching up with us - they're in shape and we're breathing hard. Time to hit the gym and get back to school, people (and this goes for myself, too. I've got an MBA, work in IT, and I'm not crazy about learning more tech - but ...)

Cheap labor abroad is evil? Tell that to the companies who built the railroads across this country, who built the subway system in Manhattan and other cities, and who built the Hoover Dam and other great infra projects. Cheap labor and the means to use is how things get done. So, yes, it's easy to look at our slipping statistics and role in the world economic community, but instead of crying "something needs to be done", how about making suggestions for improvement. Ex - a friend of mine has developed a software package and uses a foreign developer to keep his costs down. Take advantage of the situation instead of railing against it. The upside - the US is the most creative country in the world - no one holds a candle to us quality and quantity of film, music, fashion (maybe Paris), intellectual property, higher education, infrastructure, justice system. We need to maximize our strengths and realize that inexpensive labor is not a reality in this country. Other than illegal migrant workers, of course.