Because of massive Chinese subsidies to several industries, no free trade exists and markets have failed. To survive, U.S. and European companies must seek government support to open Chinese markets and to protect themselves from subsidized products domestically.

China's real estate bubble is very real. Local, regional, and central government entities have financed massive overdevelopment throughout the country primarily as a form of job creation, with "ghost cities" being the poster child of the problem -- and tip of the iceberg.

Without much fanfare, in 2009 China overtook the U.S. as the world's leading papermaker. They did it in much the same way they became the world's premiere manufacturing beast: innovative engineering, a smart game plan, cheap labor, and massive government subsidies.

Wal-Mart, the retail leader in the outsourcing American jobs, has clearly been feeling the pressure of the growing Made in USA movement.

The implication made by the Romney ad plays on the fears of millions of American manufacturing workers who face the very real threat of having their jobs outsourced. These workers don't deserve pandering, nor do they deserve falsehoods.

By indulging in political theatrics that cast China as the evil empire, the candidates are distracting us from the much more fruitful pursuit of figuring out what we can we do here at home to make American companies both more competitive and more prodigious sources of quality paychecks.

Ten years after the United States officially ended its yearly review of China's trade status, no one can credibly argue that China is any freer or more attentive to human rights, nor can they claim the United States is better off economically.

President Obama seems determined to make China's trade policies a major theme of his reelection campaign, and if so, I say bring it on. China's predatory trade policies have been a key factor in the weakness of our overall economy.

It's past time for America to stop being a spectator to global trade abuses, with our hands bound by either our diplomatic sensitivities or corporate short-sightedness in valuing short-term profits over the long-term viability of our national economy.

When we allow companies to just import stuff that is made by exploited workers in countries where people do not have a say, we are granting not-having-a-say an advantage over having a say. We make democracy a competitive disadvantage.

Simply put, our patent system is so dysfunctional and expensive that most Americans are priced out of the patent system. Until Congress makes it easier to protect American technology, that technology will continue to be manufactured overseas.

The United States continues to be at the forefront in innovation, but this likely will not always be the case. It is worth asking whether we should care.

It is not cheaper to make things in China. It is more profitable. That is a different economic concept, one that has made the 1% rich at the expense of the rest of us. Here are four hidden costs that are not revealed on a Made-in-China price tag.