[The Old Hoosier]

Would you pay twice as much for the American product? You might have to, if some people on this board get their way. Competition--including foreign competition--keeps the prices of American products lower. Our standard of living would plummet if we simply decided to segment our economy from the rest of the world.

[oceanview]

IBM is not lowering their global service fees, trust me on this.

[oceanview]

then why does anyone buy Craftsmen tools (as an example)?

Cheap goods does not alone define standard of living. In fact, its say more about jobs and wage growth in our economy that many Americans can ONLY afford cheap foreign products in many cases. Furniture is a good example of this, the entire furniture industry is going to China. I guess no one had furniture in the USA 20 years ago?