The Wild East?

Op-Ed Columnist - A Word From the Wise - NYTimes.com: "Does the Obama team get it? Otellini compared the Obama administration to a “diode” — an electronic device that conducts electric current in only one direction. They are very good at listening to Silicon Valley, he said, but not so good at responding."

Thomas L. Friedman brings up the question of who is in charge in the US--Multinationals or the Government. But what about if the Multinationals are doing business on what could be called enemy soil? Does the lower cost initially encountered become more expensive later on?

I remember reading in The Economist about an investor that came to China with a $450m investment in a car part factory. What happened was that the Chinese were siphoning off know-how and money to start a competing factory down the river. The "illegal" competition won out and the original factory had to close. The investor that had dealt with money other than his own ended up losing all the money. He apparently wrote a book about his endeavour. I wonder if the risks in China are still that high?

An amateur investigator of globalism wonders if it is possible to control your investments in Asia or if you simply are moving civilization over there? Are we closing shop and leaving everything to the Asians? In that case I, for one, would prefer to have a little less growth and develop our civilization further were we currently are instead.