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Sorry, Icepick, but I think you're wrong. I work in electronics manufacturing and my company has plants all over the world. Our locations in Mexico, China, Hungary, Malaysia, etc. pay their people pennies on the US dollar. Other locations like Singapore, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and Brazil are very comparable. It's all based on the standard of living in the location we're talking about. Management in these countries is compensated roughly in proportion to the US. If my industry is any indication, this economic recession has done more to damage manufacturing in the US than anything else. Consumers, and in turn, our customers (companies like HP, Dell, Cisco, Lucent, etc.) are demanding the lowest cost no matter what. That has required moving work out of the US and closing plants here. It's a continuous chain of events as long as people don't care where the manufacturing is going. You should hear the Mexican guys crying about the work moving from their factories into China because China is cheaper. Of course, it's all work that moved from my factory to Mexico five years ago. If you believe, as I do, that manufacturing is the engine of a good economy, this country is headed for trouble. Textiles and small appliances are almost all gone, electronics is moving, and heavy manufacturing is just beginning.
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