I don't think that China's cheap labor is any longer the threat it once was. What we have is automation displacing people as workers. They are never late, do not take sick days, no vacation, no retirement, no hospitilization, will work 24/7/365. Yes they are expensive to purchase, but the pay back is relatively quick. Secondly when the bubble burst happened, businesses found they could get the job done by about half the work force, they are not going to change that back. Those remaining on the payroll have got to produce or be replaced.
No it truly is not what it appears to be. We have to accept the blame for our employment situation and then find a workable remedy. It may very well be another "civilian job corp", to rebuild our sad infrastructure. One thing for certain we need consumers with disposable income to stay viable in the world.