[P.O.E.]

IMHO, it's a purposeful squeeze-out of the middle class. Many of the traditional "jobs you can fall back on" are filled around here by immigrants, and the hi-tech jobs go overseas where the tax & regulatory burdens are lighter.

It's only a matter of time....

[hedgetrimmer]

You bet its on purpose! Multinationals and the US government are busy implementing sustainable development. You will see this term on nearly every US government website and the websites of the OECD, WTO, INF, UN, NAFTA, GATT you name it. Here is an explanation of how "sustainable development" works:

Everything Must Change, according to USAID administrator J. Brian Atwood. The pursuit of "sustainable development" will require nothing less than a "comprehensive revision of institutions, practices, and attitudes on the part of every human being." The result of this plan is "downward harmonization" - the reversal of U.S. living standards to the conditions existing in most Third World countries.

http://www.tribulationalinstitute.com/usaid_and_world_bank_unite_churc.htm