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tw, you bring up some good points. I bought a Japanese car in the early 80's because Detroit's product was so inferior. I won't dispute for a moment that healthy competition is vital to ensure that companies put out good products at reasonable prices. There were any number of reasons why Japan over took Detroit in the 80's - more efficient, stream-lined production lines, more competant CEO's, workers who took pride in what they did, etc, etc. However, low end wages and government subsidies were not important factors (if they factored at all) in Japan's success.
Japan had a better product. China does not. What China has is a massive cheap labor pool, a banking system which gives its domestic industries capitalization loans for lower rates of interest, and a government which subsidizes labor expenses. This is not healthy competition. It is competition bases on unfair labor practices and government subsidies.
You can still buy an American-made car. I dare you to find an American made TV or VCR or even steam iron. This is not because China makes better products. It is because China is still, bottom line, a communist country where workers get a very small hourly wage and the government takes care of company retirement benefits and subsidizes industry loans. It is NOT free market competition.
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