Ah, “that isn’t the point”. Actually, that is exactly the point, as we’d be competing with Chinese labor costs.
If that “wasn’t the point”, I’d be running Raptor Engineering’s hardware without a shed of a doubt. I, and many others, would. If price wasn’t the issue, a whole lot more people would even be running on a project such as Librem 5, or a project such as Fairphone 3. These are expensive products; not meant for the poor in the world. If you’re going to produce it all in-house in Europe, you end up with an even more expensive Fairphone 3. The hint is that people already complain about iPhone prices, even though quality of hardware is ace. Middle incomes can hardly afford such prices. There’s a good reason Apple picked Mac Pro to be assembled in-house in USA, and even that isn’t fully produced/assembled in USA.
They’re never fully transparent, as the “enemy” also listens; hence the need for things like secret services. It isn’t a matter of black or white which is why such a democracy index is useful.