Sorry to the original poster because these last few posts have gone off on a tangent.
To SVTpilot: Look, I meant no disrespect to you or your choices of where you send your money.
However, I do get up on my soap box about foreign trade practices of Japan, Korea, and China. Can you remember when our country last had a trade surplus? When Japan was rebuilding its industrial power in the 50s and 60s, it went after us by reverse engineering nearly every product that we had in America. Japan took over the motorcycle industry in the mid to late 60s, dealing a death blow to the European and American producers. What remained was a weakened Harley Davidson, Indian, and weakened Euro producers like Triumph, Norton, BSA, Victor, Motto Guzie (sp), BMW and others. Triumph/Norton/BSA went through reorganization after reorganization. The Japanese juggernaut had singlehandedly brought the global motorcycle industry to its knees. Had it not been for President Reagan's tariff on Japanese motorcycles in the early 80s, thereby giving Harley Davidson some time to reorganize, there would be no Harley today. I paid attention to this because I had a Triumph in the late 60s and a Harley in the early 70s. Japan found ways to keep from importing motorcycles, and emphasizing to its citizens to support their homeland which they did.
Japan started sending cars and consumer products to our shores by taking advantage of our open trade policies. These first cars hitting our shores in the 50s were total junk as were consumer electronics. When I was a kid growing up in the 50s and 60s, any and everything made in Japan was considered crap. By the late 60s, our country was being flooded with TVs, radios, stereos, appliances, cameras, and you name it. By the time our government started looking at trade issues with Japan, it was already too late for many American businesses. The stuff was cheep and Americans seemed not to care until they lost their own job. Move forward as Japan wanted to be the dominate supplier of tires. They made tires in Japan but people here were reluctant to buy them because they were considered unsafe. So, Japan Inc helped their domestic tire companies buy American and Euro tire companies. This is when they bought Bridgestone, Firestone, and many other tire companies. Always through the Japanese government which allowed their domestic industries to lose money until they became dominate in that industry. The Japanese logic was that it was ok to lose money as long as they were weakening their foreign competitors. Also, the Japanese government restricted imports so their domestic businesses didn't have to worry about competition at home.
Look at today. How many Japanese car companies are there that sell in our country? Lots, and what do we have left? Ford and GM, while Chrysler is now majority owned by Fiat. Just in my lifetime, we have lost many American auto companies, including: Packard, Hudson, DeSoto, Tucker, Studebaker, Nash, Rambler, Kaiser, Willies, American Motors, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Mercury, Pontiac, Saturn, and a few smaller companies that I can't remember. There was a time when America had over 150 companies making cars. Most were small regional players that were gobbled up by larger companies or just went bankrupt. How many American companies make TVs? The last American TV company was Curtis Mathus which closed its last factory in Ohio in about 1999.
Japan has written the blueprint on how to conquer America in trade. We have seen Taiwan, Korea, and China do the exact same thing. How many of you know a friend or relative who is either unemployed or underemployed making 1/2 or 1/3 of what they used to with decreasing benefits? Do you know that buying imported products only serves to hurt American business and props up the social welfare and benefits of Japan, Korea, and China. Also, we foot the bill to protect Japan and Korea with the costs paid for by you and me. Who is dying in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep oil flowing to Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan? You know it's you and me.
I don't get down on the European countries because we have mostly balanced trade with them. I don't get down on Canada and Mexico for the same reason. We have to wake up in this country because we are only making China, Korea, and Japan stronger while they severally restrict our exports. You need to think about it like this: every time you buy something, you are placing a new order to replace the item you bought. So are you placing that order to China, Korea, or Japan? It begins with all of us. So, are you a conscious consumer who realizes the ramifications of your purchase or just a mindless consumer who doesn't think?
Oh, by the way, I saw rickshaws in Vietnam.