This is the mantra of those who support the globalized economy...."yes, maybe we lost millions of those production jobs in the "nuts and bolts" manufacturing industry, but, by golly, we've got Microsoft!"  The problem is, of course, that the math doesn't work.

"High value services"....nice phrase...However, as I'm guessing you know, with the internet communications available, engineers, etc can be located anywhere.  For years American companies have been outsourcing engineering to India, China and other nations where the labor cost is cheaper.  The same, of course, is true of "high end" tech. manufacturing. Here's a little news clip which might interest you. "Microsoft is aligning Nokia's operations in markets where Windows Phone is successful. Lower costs in Vietnam relative to China are also a nice incentive to move manufacturing. Brazil and Mexico sites also get a bump. "    

With the globalized market for labor, we are at a huge disadvantage......Gary Crum