Honda just announced last month that they are building a brand new $550 million plant in Greensburg, Indiana. Toyota has also invested heavily in plant upgrades in Indiana recently. I don't think they are avoiding the U.S.

I do agree with you in regards to a national healthcare system, and I don't understand why G.M. and Ford aren't lobbying hard for this. Given their size, they could be a major influence in government policy regarding healthcare reform. There are a lot of nay-sayers on 'socialized' healthcare, but in 2004 the U.S. was spending 16% of its Gross Domestic Product on healthcare related costs, the highest by far among industrialized countries. The quality of our care also ranks very low among our counterparts. People gripe about the effect a govt healthcare system would have on taxes, which is debatable... but think of the savings in insurance costs. It would also make the U.S. a much more attractive place to locate industry for global companies. It doesn't help that we are also among the most obese countries.

In other news the front page of yesterday's paper said that Health insurance premiums are expected to increase 10% again this year, far outpacing inflation as usual. At some point this will reach a critical mass, and something will have to be done.