[Alberta's Child]

I would also make the case that "offshoring" is highly over-emphasized when it comes to U.S. unemployment. I believe automation has had a far bigger impact on the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs than anything related to foreign competition. We can simply produce far more units of any given product today -- and with fewer workers -- than ever before.

[BrewingFrog]

What must also be considered is the regulatory regime that is choking off business, the lawsuit brigades who bleed companies white, and the ever escalating costs of insurance. These elements are what drives companies elsewhere, not “cheap labor” per se. Labor is only a part of the reasoning.

American workers are still, by far, the most productive in the world. Sadly, our own government, at all levels, does its best to make operating a business (especially manufacturing) very nearly cost prohibitive. Slip-and-fall lawyers take care of the rest...

[Soul of the South]

Much of the offshoring of US consumer goods is due to pressure from Wal-Mart. Once great American manufacturers of consumer products (Hanes, Rubbermaid, Corningware for example) have become distributors for Chinese factories. See the story here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/secrets/wmchina.html