[john70t]

In terms of made-to-break stuff, the U.S. doesn't have too much of a moral advantage over China for the most part but there are definitly exceptions. It took the Japanese kicking the cr#p out of our manufacturing for a couple decades to show us many consumers will pay more for well made products. The Escort versus the Civic is a good example.

Nowadays, mostly everything is made there. I just bought a ($18!) pair of vice-grips brand made in China out of cheap cast steel with the mold lines and the orange peel quite apparent. So much for American brand name.
On the other hand, I bought an extremely nice Logitech joystick for $40, also made in China and even Mercedes built a factory there.
Economists: please feel free to educate me on this, but the problem is that when our tax laws allow for unrestricted trade, the Chinese take every factory U.S. companies build there and build a copy a mile away. So far the copies are selling mostly to the Chinese market, but ask the software and music industries if they've made a single dollar over there!(hence the Napster thing-moneys gotta come from somewhere).

How could America compete with a country with more resources, more educated and dedicated people with better family infrastructure who are willing to work for less pay and a goverment regulatory overseerer that's corrupt/flexable enough to make stuff happen?

De-value the dollar, educate our kids(when's the last time Bill Nye the science guy was on primetime), and most importantly make the basics work: cheap health care, education, and mass transit. Restructure building code and township taxes to make city living viable again and leave the countryside open for food production/hunting etc..
Will it happen? Sometimes it only changes when it breaks.