i am not too familiar with the working conditions of the big name brands, but my best guess is that they make their workers do the same work for the same wages. But they charge more because the american consumer likes to buy brand names. just an estimated guess, but the markup probably has to do with advertising, brand name recognition costs, and satisfied CEO's who are able to justify higher prices with good sales margins.
question #2-its a sad state of things, but low end electronics are not made in the US, but asia. its been this way for a while. not really surprised about that. it is cheaper to make products in a foreign country and ship it here, then make it here(US).
