It's been a few years since my history classes so forgive me if I err, but wasn't Atlanta [& the surrounding area] the hub for textiles at some point? And, does ayone else shudder to think what would have happened had we had *our current* manufacturing climate/base back in the early 1940s when WW2 came knocking? We were able to simply retool our factories *then*...but what if a similar situation arises *now*...we don't have anything to retool!?! We'd better hope China is fighting on our side should something happen, or else we're screwed!
On a related note...for those folks who are drawn to Chineese produced goods and the economic advantage they carry [regardless of quality] the market continues to grow, and can now carry your *frugality* into eternity...a couple of companies in the U.S. have now started pushing Chineese made caskets! The first year or so they were of noticably poor quality, and distribution was almost non-existent, but they've addressed and fixed a lot of the issues, and more and more funeral homes are getting on board. When a sales rep came by our offices, we told them "no thanks", but I wonder if the decision will be so cut & dry several years down the road, if more and more of our local competitors jump ship to the Chineese products?