Evidently no one knows what this topic is about and no one even bothered to read the links. Certainly no one has done any meaningful reading on the topic. Again I direct you to (gasp!!!!) find a library and check out two books - "Who Stole the American Dream" by Hedrich Smith and "Plutocrats" by Crystia Freeland. Tons of more books out there by serious historians and economists on the topic of the New Economy, etc.
I understand the temptation to fall into the mainstream media/political speak trap of reducing this to a hate thread about unions, Republicans and Democrats, that easy to understand stuff that means nothing. Not what this is about.
In summation, America had business leaders who were in it for the long haul to benefit not only them but to create a market here at home to keep the demand high. The good news is that there are still those kinds of CEO's out there. But globalization gave rise to CEO's who were more and are more about pleasing Wall Street instead of Main Street. Killers like Jack Welch, for instance, who earned the nickname "Chainsaw Welch," would come in, get rid of thousands of workers and jobs, move most if not all operations overseas - in short, sell America out for the quick buck - and make a handful of people rich at the expense of the American economy.
Yea, I know we all want easy answers as to why industry and manufacturing - things that built the Middle Class from the 50's to the 80's when Americans saw unprecendented chances to simply live the "American Dream" - has been moved overseas. It's the New Economy - the Global Economy.
Much as you want it to be about rich and poor, that's not what's being discussed here. It's the hows and whys the New Economy has wrecked America and driven us down to 4th from last place in many economic indicators (wages for instance). The good news is that from what I've been reading, some have learned a hard lesson with the greed of the New Economy (many even got in trouble big time), and it could be rebounding for us.
