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Originally Posted by Eric5273
Actually, most of that sort of technology was designed in Korea and Japan. 
It's not just the manufacturing that is shifting to other places, but the research and development is too. If you go into some of these great American universities, you will find that most of the students studying in areas like Science and Engineering are foreign students who will then go back to their countries after they graduate. Most of the computer technology is now being developed in places like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
Another area where the US has always been a world leader is in Medicine. But in recent years, even that is starting to disappear as we continue to fall down the list of industrialized countries in areas such as infant mortality and life expectancy. Western Europe is now purchasing more medical supplies from Cuba than they are from the United States, and even American drug companies are doing more and more of their research overseas.
As a whole, there has been a "dumbing down" of society in this country, and it is affecting us on all levels. If there is any kind of transition going on here, it is that we are falling from our spot as the #1 world economic leader. The only thing today that keeps us a world power is our military. And if you study history, you will find out what happens to countries who lead the world in military but not much else. That will be our fate as well... |
Yeah, aerospace, NASA, the internet, satellite systems, mass production, the M1 Tank... all invented in Japan or Korea. I had no idea.
No, military power is not the only thing that keeps us the lonely world superpower. An $11 TRILLION Dollar economy does. An economy that is FAR more efficient than Japan's or Germany's, and one that still has plenty of natural resources. American workers work longer hours, and accomplish more than any other worker in the world. The average American works 45 hours a week; the average Japanese works 36; the average German works 37. We also actually have a positive birth rate. In some 25 - 30 years, Germany and Japan will have more people NOT working than working. China is worse off. There are five men for every one woman. In some 25 years, you'll have a select "lucky" man who are married, and hundreds of million of Chinese men without mates. Do the math... China also has huge infrastructure, poverty, and corruption problems.
All I'm saying is that the whole "made in <fill in the blank>" is way overrated when one considers the fact that we have become a services economy. Where something is built is of less relevance now in a world economy. Where the brainpower is locate is far more important.
Juan
12-10-2006, 11:30 PM
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