I blame China and Greespan for the loss
Thanks to the politicos and government bonds, the Chinese practically owns this country.
Greenspan's an idiot; he should have his mouth sewn shut, IMO. He's like the scumbag, out-of-office ex-pres pols, who just can't shut-the-hell-up.
China; that's another very complex matter. Short take: until American corps stop sending all the mfg-ing operations to those cheapie, chi-com scum, we're in for a long-haul deficit and a very bumpy ride, economically.