"The numbers are huge and devastating to the economic health and stability of this nation."
As evidenced by what? Our miniscule unemployment rate, record DOW averages, and shrinking deficit?
We have lost what I will refer to as strategic positions in sensitive industries. Food, banking, manufacturing, (even defense) and technology have had their centers of ownership, management and production moved offshore to countries which subsidize the acquisition of American companies to acquire proprietary information and in some cases dual-use technology. If you think there will never be another war, it's alright. If you think the next war will be like a video game, it's alright. I say, however, that administrations from Eisenhower on have squandered both our retail power as the world's largest market, and allowed foreigners to acquire large pieces of these strategic industries in the name of "free trade" and "less regulation". Make no mistake, the modern corporation is not interested in classical economics...when you have to have the highest stock price in order to control your destiny as a corporation, when CEO pay is based on a quarter's earnings, when the government will stand in the way of no merger no matter how it distorts markets, "optimization" is a concept that goes away, replaced by "maximization" Add to this the lack of Christian enlightenment in the common education, and yes, our economy is in trouble. Not because of current numbers, but because it is detatching from the historical roots of our free economic system.