I don't want to repost Brian Albrecht's Excellent but long post, as times change so do establishment rules and building practices. Yes, steel in consumer goods has largely been replaced by plastic - whether that's a good thing or not is debatable. The switch cost a lot of jobs in steel, but it is likely that as many were created in the plastic industry, and there were cost savings in the transportation of (for example) TV sets with cases made from plastic instead of steel. The Interstate highway system is not really complete; there are many areas where it needs to be widened, resurfaced, and in some cases - I'm thinking on/off ramps - completely re-engineered. Plenty of well-paying jobs can be created. There has in business a change in that the CEO used to be evaluated on his/her long time track record, now it's the next quarter. It is in the CEO's best interest (if he/she wishes to keep that high-paying job) To cut costs and increase production regardless of the firm's long-term progress. I freely admit to being a bit of an environmentalist, so I'm not going to get very deep in an environmental discussion in this post except to point out that Cleveland's Cuyahoga River hasn't caught fire in the last half-century. Middle class jobs have not disappeared, it simply that a greater percentage of Americans don't want to get their hands dirty; in another post I pointed out that two different waste disposal companies here in SW Florida simply cannot hire enough drivers - jobs that pay well. Both companies will pay for an applicant's CDL if they agree to stay for a year. The trucks that are used are clean and have AC. Around here, if you see anyone doing work outside (except heavy equipment operators) the workers are normally Hispanic - many with questionable documentation, but if you want fresh produce there seems to be no reasonable alternative. In his book The Restless Wave, John McCain points out that Americans wouldn't pick Lettuce in Tempe Arizona for $50 per hour. He was right. People have been saying that the world is going to hell in a handbasket forever. The same people have been resisting change forever, but growing up in the USA for a surprisingly (for me) long time, I think that overall, the world has gotten better over the last half-century. Most of us have done well enough that we can play with our cars - a pretty expensive hobby.
