[sit-rep]

On a second note...

Retail sales on the net, or off, is a fine job. The company makes 5 to 25 percent, they have a few employees, and a lot of people need to buy things so there is a definate job security. What about the floks who hold the other side of the scale? It is my understanding that manufacturing is what made this country. Don't we need the other end of the spectrum to be complete? To be self sufficient? Or because we are now a global community, self sufficient is not a necessity?

[LS]

It is one of the myths of the 1990s that we lost manufacturing. In fact, there is an excellent article, in the latest American Enterprise, I think, on how manufacturing ROSE as a % of US GNP in the 1990s. The example you give is a good one. It is American software designers who are developing and producing the key software that allows these on-line businesses to thrive (micro-businesses, or those with fewer than 5 employees, is the fastest-growing sector of the economy!)

Now, are we "at risk" because we do not actually produce the plastic CD or its "jewel box?" I think not.