[MNJohnnie]

Care to hazard a guess who the world's largest manufacturer is?

Japan?......Nope.

India?.....nope.

China?......nope.

HUH! The USA has the world largest manufacturing base?? But HOW can that be! Pat Buchanan and the rest of economic isolationists have been telling us for decades that we shipped all the jobs over seas. HOW is it possible they were so utterly WRONG?

[algernonpj]

HUH! The USA has the world largest manufacturing base??

Not for long according to WSJ:

In 2007, the latest year for which data are available, the U.S. accounted for 20% of global manufacturing; China was 12%. The gap, though, is closing rapidly. According to IHS/Global Insight, an economic-forecasting firm in Lexington, Mass., China will produce more in terms of real value-added by 2015.

Jobs and manufacturing have been going offshore because the so called 'free trade' agreements put American workers and American (not global) corporations at a distinct disadvantage.

In these agreements, US sovereignty, & national security are sacrificed to open borders needed for the unimpeded movement of goods and natural persons, i.e. units of labor. US business (not global corporations) and US workers are placed at a severe disadvantage by onerous taxes, extreme environmental regulations, political correctness. Countries such as China and India are excused from even minimal environmental regulations,from what we would consider even minimal humane working conditions, and any semblance of political correctness.