[Jim Robinson]

"Some were abhorrent, like the triangle trade, which involved slaves and agricultural materials. The Erie Canal linked the farms of the Midwestern U.S. with the consumers of the Eastern Seaboard and Europe. The invention of electronics and personal computers created heavily traveled trade routes linking factories in Asia to ports"

We no longer engage in slavery on our shores, but we've recently gone that way offshore. Why is Chinese labor so cheap?

Back in the 90's when we were in the software business we hired a guy from China. He told us that they basically treat their factory laborers as slaves, pay them with a bowl of rice a day and work them until they drop dead. And there's never a shortage of workers willing to replace the dead ones. Of course, that was 20 years ago. May be different now. But the labor is still cheap. And I think it's cheaper yet in Vietnam.

[gleeaikin]

Overseas labor is cheap which is why we use Vietnam and Bangladesh. Pay is better in China than the 90’s which is why they are also using Vietnam.