At the wages manufactures have to pay, it's almost impossible to make anything here anymore. Remember when $15K per year was a decent living? It should still be that way. Because those countries we're having to outsource to, that same $15K per year is a decent wage.
Since Reagan, the USD has lost 75% of it's buying power. Probably more in the last 6 years.
A very popular misconception
Th problem is management will not invest in high volume modern production equipment
If the machine is pumping out 10,000 widgets a day it makes no difference to the price of the widgets if the single worker operating the machine is paid $ 1 /day $ 100/ day or $ 1000/day.
Now MBS'a invent all sorts of economic markers for efficient running of a business.
One of these is the profit to equity ratio and the screen jockies on Wall st live & die by PE ratios.
The highest PE ratio you will ever make is by importing something and directly selling it on the WWW so it can be dropped shipped from the supplier.
Thus no CEO wants to have anything to do with making anything unless the company can get BIG & I MEAN REALLY BIG subsidies from the governments for doing it
If you ever go to Brazil, have a look at the VW factory
An airconditioned glass walled building inside and outer shell
Inside are hundered of robots & automated assembly machines and not 1 single human being
AFAICT things are ever worse n the USA
Untill some one shoots all of those over educated idiot accountants with MBA's who can not understand the difference between
"All profits originate in the board room "
&
"All profits are made in the board room"
If you really want to see what is happening, look at the % increase in renumeration of executives & directors ( including bonuses ) and those on the shop floor for the past 20 years
In OZ executives had increased their pay packets by 3500% or 35 times if you like
Workers have increaed 42%or slightly less than 1.5 times
CPI increases were 57%
So yes workers down here are going backwards