[Norm640]

More people need to pay attention to how America is moving from a manufacturing, industrial economy to a service economy. We are losing our base. The only way we can stop this is to 1)be more protectionist, which is required sometimes, or 2)use WTO/NAFTA/GATT weight to implement reforms to cheap labor in the rest of the world--like not making it so cheap. Otherwise, this truly does look like a predicament that only benefits the rich.

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[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Wow, wish I could hang around and watch the coming firefight.
This should be good.

I agree with the major premise of the article, by the way.

[Chi-townChief]

"More people need to pay attention to how America is moving from a manufacturing, industrial economy to a service economy. We are losing our base."

After all, it's only been happening for the past 45 years.

[junta]

I'm one of those "resources", and yes I'm mad as hell that some soft dengenerate white liberal elite abuses their power and discriminates against Americans such as me, but what the hell am I supposed to do, vote GOP?

[bankwalker]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know the official definition of first, second, third world,etc. I would appreciate it.

[Proud_texan]

Two things I don't understand.

Was there this much concern as America moved from an agricultural based economy to a manufacturing based economy? Do were eventually "run out" of economies or are we innovative enough to push new frontiers?

Would Americans be willing to pay $500 (or whatever the price might be, it would certainly be a lot more expensive than it is now) for a VCR in exchange for keeping a manufacturing based economy?

It occurs to me that Japan, in addition to other things, has tried both models and it doesn't seem to be working out very well for them.

[goodnesswins]

DAY of SUPPORT....FLY your flags (US, a British one, Hungarian, Australian and Japanese one, too if you have them)....and put up your BUSH/CHENEY signs, (and the BIG W's on your SUV's) for the STATE of the UNION next Tuesday, Jan 28th, if you support the President, our MILITARY and the United States of America. PSST....pass it on.

[Viva Le Dissention]

If Wal-Mart has its way, nothing will be produced in America. The retailing giant wraps itself in the American flag, but it gives its suppliers price targets. Suppliers find that in order to meet the targets, they must move production offshore.

Huh, imagine that. A company trying to increase its profits. That IS startling.

[Marobe]

occupations that will be most difficult for the government to destroy. Only two come readily to mind: school teachers and lawyers. ROTFLMAO ! The author is correct about the anti-American attitudes of most corporations in the US, especially the financial wealth management types and the insurance industry. He needs to reassess the teachers in America especially those funding the NEa one of the biggest communist orgs to be embraced by the Federal Government. Look at the Constitution, there is no where in the original document that allows for the feds to take on duties assigned to the states, ie, education programs. AS for lawyers,'sooner shall a camel pass thru the eye of a needle, than a lawyer enter thru the gates of Heaven'.

[sauropod]

Eff Karl Rove.

Really! 'Pod

[Fiddlstix]

Bump

[yoe]

”Karl Rove, the Power Behind the Bush, told Tancredo never again to darken the steps of the White House.

I’ve no doubt what so ever that remark about Rove is true and it is frightening. One thing mentioned several times is about the cheap labor...do you call $15 –20.00 an hour cheap? That is the going price for border labor these days, legal and illegal.

I will say it again – We The People are the First line of defense and it is being left up to a few living close to both north and southern borders do clean it up while the politicians just sit and do nothing. A moratorium on immigration should be applied immediately and NAFTA put on hold as well until someone (s) with some common sense and leadership can effectively hold the line and straighten this mess out and those someone’s are going to come from the private sector, i.e., civilians not anyone connected to the government. One exception might be Tom Tancredo and his group. Another is Chris Simcox and his Civil Homeland Defense. One more time here is what is being done:

Protect United States Borders, North and South

We will deter and prohibit illegal entry into the United States

We will force the U.S. Government to Protect U.S. Borders

We will be relieved of duty and go home....he means when the government does its job.

.

It has been nearly a year and a half since the Twin Towers were hit and still this unwieldy and bloated government can’t get their act together to make the changes that should have been in affect within weeks after that terrorist act. They are running in circles hanging onto their turf and the citizens of this country are being hung out to dry. Get on the phones to your elected, forget e-mail – they do...write or call them and put their feet in the fire. If you think Carl Rove has too much power, let the President and Vice President know, better yet let Laura know!

[valkyrieanne]

Twenty years is optimistic.

[Fledermaus]

While there are good arguments in Mr. Roberts piece, I'm not so pessimistic.

But your comment that we should use GATT, etc. to "not make others labor cheap" is ridiculous. Your solution is to raise the price of labor everywhere so the U.S. doesn't have to compete? Talk about anti-capitalism.

First, you can't do it. Second, those third world countries can't be compared to our economy when to them $20 a week is a fortune. If some American company went to some backwater in Indonesia and started paying $25,000 a year for workers, there would be riots in the streets against those new "rich people".

Having work in Mexico would keep the majority of illegals out. Thinking you can create jobs in Mexico by paying everyone like Americans would never work.

I'm no globalist and I want the U.S. to remain strong and I want the borders protected. But thinking that only a manufacturing job base will do that is short-sighted. Using the slight "Service industry" also is a cheap shot and discounts our financial, computing, legal, management, and teaching industries. And yes, they can be called industries.

By having politicians pick and choose industries is disasterous. If they had their way, Texas Instruments would be forced to still manufacture slide rules so as to provide some stupid assembly line job to someone at $25 an hour.

But I guess having some unionized Democrat voting person making $35 an hour plus overtime for anything over each four hour period (and after 35 years of work hasn't got a dollar to their name), 60 days off a year and full medical benefits and guaranteed 50 cent a can Coke in the machines, free lunches and education grants to their snotty kids, working in a steel mill that hasn't spent one dime on modernization since 1955 mostly due to government regulations, is the way to go.

So it's better we all pay $500-1000 more per car so 60,000 dinosaurs in Pennsylvania, rich with electoral votes, don't have to learn to save and retire or find another job?

That's sad. I've had many different jobs over my lifetime and I would never allow those constraints to stop me. I guess growing up poor Arkansas trash made me a little more resilient!

[Dajjal]

BTTT

[sneakypete]

Will America be a Third World country in 20 years?

Yes.