Hightower Lowdown

allelujah! Just when you thought every last manufacturing job in America is being shipped off to foreign shores, here's a headline in Business Week announcing that Ford Motor Company is planning a new factory "to make family sedans in the heartland."

Oh . . . uh, never mind . . . it's China's heartland they're talking about. Instead of Iowa, Illinois, or Indiana, Ford is cutting a deal with Chinese rulers to make cars in the central province of Sichuan. Business Week notes that this is a "major victory" for Ford, since it has lagged behind its rival General Motors in moving manufacturing to China. It's good to know that balance is being restored, huh?

You'll also be proud to know that Jim Sasser, the former U.S. senator and our former ambassador to China, helped broker this deal. As ambassador for the last several years, ol' Jim made lots of buddies among the officialdom over there, and now that he's moved outside government service, he's peddling his influence with those same officials. Sasser is Ford's new "senior consultant," and he traveled to Sichuan with the corporate vice chairman of Ford to make introductions and seal the deal.

Congress promised more exports to China when it passed Wall Street's China trade bill last summer. They were right. Already, Ford is exporting our investment dollars, jobs, and technology.