Many who think that American manufacturing is dead also believe that there is no way we can compete with the rest of the world when countries like China are paying their workers so little.  The best counterpoint to this argument is Germany, a country that is on the cutting edge of manufacturing AND pays fair wages.  According to a post by blogger Meteor Blades on the front page of the Daily Kos:

German workers are now paid almost twice what Americans can make. (And they get health care and an average of 35 paid vacation days; we get 13.)

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