>P.S. Almost all our furniture was made in North Carolina and it is so well made. It should last for generations. At Costco the other day I saw Thomasville furniture – made in China. As I have been a woodworking nut since I was a kid, I examined the quality. Third rate is being nice. Profit is the motive. I am getting angry at the thought of this topic. It is frustrating to see problems and no solution. Talk about feeling powerless! I will express my personal right to revolution – that is my vote, at the upcoming Presidential election. :)

Do you really think it'll change many things? Which one has the most influence, government or big corporations?

Like you said before the situation is complex. Which is better vote for a political party hoping that this will lead to changes for the better or put pressure on the big corporations.

For example. Why do people shop at Wall-Mart (I picked this company just as an example). Because many are in a difficult economic situation and they can't really afford to go elsewhere. But in the end who do you encourage when you go to Wall-Mart. Chinese workers. So the more you shop at Wall-Mart the more you encourage Chinese workers to ship more stuff. The more stuff they ship the less expensive it becomes. And because it becomes less and less expensive american companies can't compete with these prices and eventually could be forced to close shop. So perhaps those that lost their jobs could become new customers for Wall-Mart. And another cycle begins...

Can this be stopped? Yes but it takes courage from the government to act on that vicious cycle. Not an easy answer like "There are many jobs at MacDonald". Governments know the solutions. The next step (to implement those solutions) is the hardest part. It looks like they're still hoping that things will get fixed by themselves.