In response to Justin Joliffe's post

 Justin raised the question of whether or not generics would overtake the expensive brands and whether that movement would increase outsourcing.

I don't think the generics will overtake the more expensive brands. There will always be people that will buy the name brands no matter how much they cost because of the perceived value that come with them such as status. Also, with things like food, some generics just don't taste as good as the more expensive brands that they are use to. Labor seems to be the most expensive variable in the manufacturing process, so most likely if the expensive brands take a hit, they most likely would alter labor first. I don't think the movement is wide enough that the profit margins would change enough to make companies that don't already to outsource though. I have always used generics anyways when quality is not compromised opposed to the expensive brands anyways. How big of a price change would pay between the generic and the name brand if quality is slightly compromised?