America’s economic engine is compromised. Forces at work over the last 30 years have sapped our nation’s vitality. How did it happen?

In 1985 we established a business to manufacture food scales for Weight Watchers and its franchisees. The specialized scales were designed and built around a mechanism produced in France.

Our U.S. company imported the mechanisms from France and sourced all the other parts and packaging from local U.S. companies. The scales looked great, worked great and Weight Watchers loved them. Life was good.

However, things were not so good for our French supplier. In 1987 they moved their production to a facility in Northern Ireland. Their costs went down; ours did not.

In fact, since we now had to pay with Irish Dollars, a currency undergoing a volatile appreciation, I was forced to buy Irish Dollar futures in an attempt to hedge the effects of rising costs. It was gambling and there was no good end in sight.

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America’s economic engine is compromised. Forces at work over the last 30 years have sapped our nation’s vitality. How did it happen?

For me it started in 1985 while working on the turnaround of a small athletic equipment wholesaler. Up to that time all of the specialized footwear that the company sold was manufactured in Italy. In order to grow its business, the company engaged a small Korean factory to produce its own brand of footwear. The shoes were superior to the Italian-made models and sold at a much lower price. Life was good.

The good times were, however, short lived. Within the first year, Korean labor rates rose, product costs started to climb and competitors entered the market with production based in other Asian countries. What had been an exclusively Italian niche had, within less than two years, moved to mostly Asian manufacturing, with little or no regard for U.S. shoe makers in the process.

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