[Number 3]

Just some examples, and I am trying to remember and at the moment too lazy to back check the facts.

In a recent study of top universities, none were in China. Yes they graduate 4 x the number of engineers per year, but in schools that are not well thought of.

In a college class in China, there is a course in the design of Medium Duty Trucks. The course does not include the development of design solutions, but is rather the disection of the blue prints for the 1982 Isuzu Medium Duty Truck as reverse engineered.

GM had a the Spark ripped off by a Chinese company. GM was able to prove that the math for the car was sold to the Chinese by a tool maker in Taiwan. The proof? The Chinese version had 3 design changes that GM had not yet implemented in the parts yet but had changed in the math.

So today, I am not worried.

On a side note, my wife and I discuss this topic among others. I joking say that the U.S. will remain dominant in the world until the technology catches up to the space ship in Roswell, NM and then all bets are off.

But what do you think makes us so dominant? I think part of the reason is you can still make something of yourself working to implement an idea. An idea and hard work and you can make something of yourself, you can CREATE WEALTH. In most of the rest of the world, this is much more difficult, the government wants a bigger cut and success is not as beneficial. If you have an idea in China, you may be having a discussion with your local party leader on the who will benefit from it. Will it always be that way? I don't know.

Another sense check? People from around the world still want to come here. As much as we like to think our government is oppressive and gets in the way, people still want to call America home. Why? Not sure, I was born here. But I think it is because you can still work hard and make something of yourself here, unlike many other countries.