here are only enjoying the fruits of their labor. It seems to me, a lot of stuff probably could be outsourced without skill- and brain-drain, but some we should prefer to keep here regardless of the facts that it seems a benefit to pay USD for real products. from a purely economic point of view, economics is the reverse of religion. it's better to receive than to give. having people make stuff for us to consume is a sign of economic success. the problem can come when they decide not to and we have to figure out how to make stuff for ourselves. but in reality that's not what I see happening. I see us importing labor content more than intellectual content, and supplying intellectual content here domestically. Or at least that's what I want to see... Tom Hickey Reply: December 24th, 2010 at 11:29 am Peter D: It seems to me, a lot of stuff probably could be outsourced without skill- and brain-drain, but some we should prefer to keep here regardless of the facts that it seems a benefit to pay USD for real products. I think we should be looking at the global economy as a closed system and asking what the issues are and what will make this system work more efficiently and effectively in light of the vast asymmetries. As I see it, the major problems we face economically are over-supply and under-demand, as well as unsustainability owing to externalities. There is also the problem