[SunkenCiv]

I agree. Once the equipment (and personnel, where needed) is up there, it's just a matter of extruding so-called lifting bodies for the unmanned trip to the ground. IOW, we'd not be beaten by the high payload cost to orbit, because whatever needed to be built for the whole process could be built using something much smaller that could be sent into space at the beginning of the process.

Of course, there would be fewer jobs on Earth... but since there won't be any oil everyone will be toiling in the fields anyway. ;')

George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

[RightWhale]

Yeah, I think you got the idea.