If US manufacturers can't compete with Chinese labor costs, can

someone please explain this to me?

I have watched for 30 years as Shenango China, Anchor Hocking, Libbey, Oneida, Buffalo China and Syracuse China have all cut back or shut down manufacturing in the US because they "can't compete with low wages in China". Yet, when I've been in Europe, I see glassware, tableware and dinnerware made in Italy, made in Germany, made in Switzerland. How come EU companies can compete with China to serve their local markets and US companies can't?

companies.

...willing to do as they are told for slave wages? They obviously believe in their system more than we do ours.

Or they fear theirs more, which amounts to the same thing.

low tech, hands-on manufacturing and American companies can't? Maybe the European companies are better run, maybe there is a degree of protectionism involved, but something is different.

Governments can provide single payer much more cheaply than corporations can middleman their way through for-profit ventures run by predatory executives.

anybody that is out of work gets their version of unemployment without exception or qualification, so they are far more motivated to keep people working. IOW, companies don't save any money by putting people out of work.

Way more time off and a shorter work week are two important factors.

exist to preserve domestic industry rather than line the pockets of the investor class.

GREED! Big corporations in the U.S. can increase profits by outsourcing. When the big guys outsource it puts the smaller guys in a bind to either follow suit, or go out of business. It's all about the size of their profit.

Now I also agree with the post saying it has to do with universal health care. If we had that here, it would be a different story. That's another reason republicans are against any kind of universal health care, they just want to lower the wages in this country to par with third world countries, and they can't do that if we have a health care program that takes the burden of paying for health care off of the business's.

We can compete, but the republicans want slaves, not workers!

while American capitalists are greedy war mongers, or is are there laws the Europeans have that we don't that place limits on capitalism?

support the commons including education and health care, executive pay is a fraction of what American corporations pay, and they are more concerned with having the maximum number of citizens employed so are far more innovative in producing employment.

China demands that our companies move the factories there or thay
will not play.

We have sold our soul to China. We have traded foreign policy for
trade. China helps us with Foreign Policy. They get all our companies.
Common Sense tells you --For the average American, they are going
to buy WalMart KMart etc--this is what they can afford.

Our companies moved there because they could not sell more expensive
items made here. When you hear competitiveness, this means cheaper
labor.

Unless our leaders decide to study Trade Policies and make adjustments,
salaries must go lower and lower. Americans WILL have lower living standards.

This recession is world wide.

Just saw your post after I posted mine and realized I should have searched to see if anyone else posted it

:(
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4649372&mesg_id=4649372