Please take the time to read this important article from Andy Grove

[Jeff at Zektor]

This is a very poignant article from Andy Grove, co-founder of Intel, about all of the outsourcing to China and Asia in the past decades. It definitely hits home as all of us have felt the recession over the last couple of years.

Here's the link:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-01/how-to-make-an-american-job-before-it-s-too-late-andy-grove.html

Not an advertisement, but proud to say we design and build here for just this reason along with a number of other manufacturers here on C4Forums.

I think you will find it a good read.

Jeff

[dgbrown]

Outstanding piece Jeff. I wish more folks would support our Made in the US businesses. It doesn't have to be exclusively but at least give it consideration. Job creation is a huge issue for the economy - sad to say, we just don't manufacture much here any more.

On a related but non-technical subject - Any fishermen out there should check out Avet reels. Designed, milled, assembled and sold in the US - right in California. Great quality product !

Edit for spelling.

[akg4y]

Good article, but it marginalizes the biggest problem with the proposed solution. The simple fact is for many businesses it is much cheaper to move operations offshore, which can in some cases make the difference in a sustainable business versus going bankrupt. Regardless, if it increases profit margin there is incentive on an individual corporation level to go for it. The proposed solution in the article is to increase taxes on such activities and if it causes a trade war, "fight to win." That sounds great rah rah lets make a movie about it and cast Mel Gibson as Braveheart to give the motivational speech, but practically it is infinitely more complex than the majority if not all of us could comprehend.

Starting a trade war with China doesnt just affect a few people, it would impact literally every facet of our society. Material costs could potentially skyrocket. Daily use products would become more expensive, which, in a society that already doesnt know how to save money would be devastating. The simple fact is it is more expensive to live in the USA, our healthcare costs are out of control, our liability and legal compensation is out of control, and the cost of hiring an uneducated untrained worker for a basic position that requires only on-the-job training is infinitely higher in this country. Id wager that just the cost of providing healthcare insurance for a position like that is more than the total cost of an employee in other countries.

Im not saying the article doesnt make a lot of good points, it definitely does, but the problem is not as simple as "fight to win."