A common sentiment among people here on FR is as follows:
"Oh, for the days when [clothing, electronics, automobiles, appliances, etc. -- you name it] were all made here in the U.S.!!"
There is nothing wrong with that kind of nostalgic longing, but in most cases it is based on the erroneous presumption that the number of these items sold in the U.S. would be the same regardless of whether they were made in Malaysia or in the United States. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Back in the days when all those things were made in the U.S., there weren't very many of them being sold at all (at least the more expensive ones). I'm a Generation X-er, but as a kid I can still remember that monumental point in my family's history when we got a second car for the first time. Some Freepers may even remember when clothing was a major budget item in a typical American family -- now, the stuff is so cheap that a Nike logo on a T-shirt costs ten times as much as the T-shirt on which it is printed!
Just some food for thought . . .
Historically for every dollar of goods we import from Mexico, we export 75 cents to them. Conversely, for every dollar we import from China we have at best a 15 cents export.
Why is everyone chosing China as a place of destination? Because they are undercutting everyone.
Our trade relations are investments in and of themselves. If who we import from never ends up buying anything from us, the relationship should be cut off and sent to someone who will.