On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:55:49 -0500, Vic Smith wrote:


My view is we can only go downhill without factory jobs which produce
the goods we use, and that the only thing that kept the economy alive
for the last dozen or so years was debt and the real estate and equity
bubbles. But it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong. Here's an
interesting chart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...or_composition
Problem is I don't trust it, even if it means a damn thing. Leads one to
believe these are Jan, 2008 figures. Looking for historical figures, I
found this,
http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/List_of...or_composition
which leads one to believe they are 2005 figures. Same numbers.
Geez, you mean I can't even trust the internets? I give up.

Interesting charts, but you'll note, if you pull China out of the top ten
world economies, the rest have close to the same sector breakdown. I'll
admit we are a little low in the industrial sector, by world standards, a
lot low, by my standards. I agree with you that industrial jobs are what
made this country great, and I have to admit I've never been able to get
my head around the benefits of this "service economy".

From an economic standpoint, however, our balance of trade deficits are
far more damaging, long term, in my mind. Still, with all our problems,
this country is incredibly resilient, and we are heading into a
recovery. The leading indicators I was referring to, can be found he


http://www.businesscycle.com/

http://www.conference-board.org/econ...se_output.cfm?
cid=1