I wonder if our flashlights will soon be coming from India and at least the hard to understand communication will be the Queen's English.
I saw a report on TV where a small furniture business owner from Louisiana was in China negotiating with his offshore manufacturing provider. The factory manager was demanding larger orders and higher prices due to the increasing wages he was having to pay.
The furniture business owner was showing the factory manager the rough edges not sanded properly that would show though the final varnish coat if not corrected.
He ultimately decided to reduce his business in China, increase his business in India and bring more of it back home to create local jobs and less hassles where he could justify doing that.
In another segment, a Chinese economist based out of Hong Kong said that their days of increasing business and productivity was largely now in the past (or rather they had already seen their best days) as there are now rising wages and labor shortages in China.
So, look out for DX Bombay where you can get a very good torch my good sir for just a pittance and we wish you a good day!
Or maybe the business will come back to the U.S. Maybe to Louisiana where Billy Bob says now "I seen that order some where I knowed I did. I'll get that thing out directly just as soon as I can"
There will be a disclaimer on the website pointing out that shipments are a little slow in bird season and again in fishing season but "we's fixing to get better and that's the damn truth".
And speaking of Indians. Perhaps it's not as simple as Dr. Kaku makes it out to be, but it does make you think. As for the other guy, whoever he may be, I couldn't agree more.+
Another point we tend to overlook in the West is that there are huge untapped markets in China and they're not necessarily going to buy Western products. Sure, luxury items will always sell and people will always want their dream car, whether it's a VW (extremely popular in China), Changa (Ford) or Mercedes but those will continue to be out of reach for several generations for millions of people. And they are going to buy Chinese. It's obviously not as simple as that but a lot of what they're now making for us, will not bear a Western badge and brand name in 10 years. They're not the Japanese. They are actually smarter than the Japanese because, by and large, they prefer to let others make mistakes and then they go and learn from them.
Actually... historically Japan was nowhere near the title innovator. They excelled in perfecting a known technology to new heights. Often a dozen times better then the base concept.
Many times they stole a concept and develope that into a masterpiece.
Having hunted and fished in WA & LA got to say WA game regulations suck and no wonder they aren't of doing outdoor sports. Typical "Left Coast" crap like waiting till the Indians catch their limit of fish before season starts so no one knows for sure when the season starts. Or Indians are allowed to use gill nets while everyone else has to use barbless hooks. Or getting anything done in July because the weather mandates everyone to take vacation. Union dominated jobs and welfare friendly Wa, no wonder manufacturing would set up in La.
Everyone here does outdoor activities (not sure hunting and fishing is a sport though) most people just don't kill the wildlife.
The Indians and their gill nets are ridiculous. However there are very few fish in Puget Sound. I'm a diver so I know that firsthand. The laws are a bit less restrictive down the Strait of Juan de Fuca closer to the coast but the waters are over fished in general. Rockfish aren't sexually mature for several years so their stocks are easy to wipe out and it takes a long time to replenish..
I'm originally from the South so take those Billy Bob comments with a grain of salt :)
I don't expect a flashlight maker to set up shop in Washington however or a T-shirt maker, towel maker, etc.
In that area (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), I'd only bet on Vietnam making any real difference, and not a huge one at that. Laos is landlocked with a population of 6 mil and no industry and the government isn't worth spit. Cambodia is better, since it has a better population (15 million), and at least has some ports. From what I read they don't even have dedicated cranes, they unload ships by forklift, though. Going there, it feels like some kind of poor, back-country extension of vietnam. They run the airline, own the bus companies, and the couple miles inside the border between the two were shanty casinos with las vegas names...
Vietnam is better off, with access to decent amounts of investment, hard currency (from the worldwide diaspora sending it home) and what appears to be a very good amount of internal investment in infrastructure. But you're still only talking 80 million people over a fairly limited area.
80 million isn't anything to sneeze at, but compared to the billion+ populations of India and China, it's not going to make a huge difference.