The price of oil may have a damping effect on imports but I wonder if the labor costs in assembly would make it impossible to have local labor compete successfully. Even China is beginning to feel the effects of cheaper labor elsewhere.

I think, compared to the major brand sets, they could be comparable maybe a bit more cost, but made popular with the serviceability and fact it is domestically manufactured.

When you figure the shipping, the cost of mandatory committments for huge quantities and requirement for money-up-front that Chinese companies offer when American companies go to them, I don't know why America's businessmen think it's a good deal.

I've been involved with outsourcing as an engineer a number of times and I've seen huge problems. The vendors made us pay for 5,000 up front, didn't follow our prints in their use of materials, sent us a non-representative sample for prototype inspection and then delivered poor quality and late.

Our US vendors that we ditched saw the lower-priced materials, heard about the early pay (in the US, most or our PO's are paid even late of the 90 day-maximum), that we accepted 5000 of an item we'd only sell 1000 of. It's hard to explain to your former vendors.

But it sounds good to other MBA's running companies and they've all convinced each other it's better. The lower purchase price gets them the spotlight, the kudos, the raise, etc., while the lower quality gets blamed on someone else (engineers), and the extra quantity on the shelf is someone else's problem years later.

It is good idea no-doubt. How pragmatic it is ? This is a big question. The cheap TV's and other electronic stuff from China and the far east have no doubt made many things afforable to the public at large.They also heavy contribute to the the green house effect, the largeamount of disposable electronic and plastic waste cannot be effectively recycled. The US OEM's would prefer a reliable Chinese supplier than a US supplier who may twice as expensive and deliver inferior stuff. We have been using stuff made in the US for generations, we do not know if the younger generation of the US workforce is as efficient as their fore-fathers, who were highly efficient and uncompromising and worked towards exacating standards. I still remember, a US made florescent tube light fitting which my grandfather bought in 1950 lasted for 21 years, the tube choke lasted for a full 30 years. This is a tribute to the US workmanship. The best present day tube fittings last between 3-5 years tube light Hrench have given a true picture of the US scenario.

Modular construction and easy repair should be the order offuture day consumer electronics. US should take a lead in designingsuch things to reduce the green house effect and play an importantpart in reducing electronic/plastic scrap which pollute the earth.

how to keep and increase local jobs: buy local.

The touble is that manufacturing is not a level playing field. Unskilled labor will always be cheaper on the other side.Our stratagy should not be to encourage protectionism, Instead we should take advantage of the fact that America has the best colleges in the world an they aint catching up any time soon. We have to make education more affordable. Outsouring skilled/highly skilled labor is much harder.