Personal Dork Assistant

Sock City!

On those rare occasions when I browse the clothing racks, I've always wondered why the clothes came from so many different Third World countries: India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, etc. Turns out that there were trade quotas in place to give them a slice of the pie. However, those quotas are set to end alongside 2004. And guess who's setting up to be off and running in 2K5? If you thought the US-China trade deficit is bad now, just wait until the clothing quotas go away. It's surprising that only 16% of US clothing imports come from China, but that is sure to jump in a big way very soon. The combination of outside (but often Chinese) capital, cheap labor, and strong government support has created entire cities specialized towards filling each drawer in your closet: one for socks, one for ties, etc.

Datang produces an astounding nine billion pairs of socks each year - more than one set for every person on the planet. People here fondly call it Socks City, and its annual socks festival attracts 100,000 buyers from around the world.

Hey, they can promote these specialized garment-making cities as tourist spots, too. Sam's already said he'd hit International Necktie City (a.k.a. Shenzhou) and buy a zillion ties so he won't have to buy another Christmas present for the rest of his life. Not sure how Michelle would feel about that, but I'd wait until after the wedding before letting her know.