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Tuesday, February 12, 2008: China implicated in pair of spy cases

This morning's papers were filled with news of not one, but two, espionage cases, where Americans were caught selling secrets to Chinese spies looking for military and business information. The Washington Post outlined the friendly relationship enjoyed by a defense department official who received a stack of hundred dollar bills half an inch thick for handing data over. In a separate case a Boeing employee was caught sharing information on the space shuttle and other projects.

China, old friend, old pal, old trading partner. What the heck? We seem to have lulled ourselves into a false sense of security. China does not share our best interests. They are not our ally.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but we should all be concerned about our national security. We're building a monster, feeding it hundreds of billions of dollars while we simultaneously weaken our manufacturing base and thus our capability of building the means to defend ourselves. What happens if we ever square off with China militarily? In light of these espionage cases, it's not such a preposterous question, is it?

Saturday, February 9, 2008: Chinese inflation on its way

Over the past couple of weeks there have been several news stories about price increases on Chinese-made goods. Their costs are rising and American consumers will soon see the effects when they go shopping. The Washington Post ran a good story about it ("Rising Costs in China Seep into U.S. Market") explaining some of the causes.

According to the Post, the price index of imports from China rose 2.4 percent last year. They still have a long way to go until they are competing on a plain with domestic manufacturers. Of course they'll never get there. The story suggests that if costs get too high in China, companies will look for somewhere even cheaper to make their goods, such as Cambodia. You didn't expect these people to have any loyalties, did you?

I take no glee in anyone, any where losing their job, but when I read about Chinese factories having to lay people off, somehow I don't feel much sympathy for them. They've been only too happy to steal our jobs away. If the same starts happening to them on any scale, maybe they'll finally appreciate their role in devastating our manufacturing base. Of course, it will be the little guy over there that really feels the effect, just like here.

One would hope that if costs rise enough in China some U.S. companies will consider bringing their manufacturing back home. I'm not holding my breath, but that would be a most welcome development.