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2010-10-19 16:45:25 UTC
Many people thought the industrial revolution would destroy the middle class, because things like textiles, machine tools and glass, could be made faster with much less labor.
It used to take one person 3 days to sew one shirt, then, with a machine, that same person could make 10 shirts per hour, prompting economists to speculate that such efficiency would cost millions of jobs, and focus all the wealth to industrialists.
It did just the opposite - and the cheap products meant everyone could afford new clothes, glass bottles, and a new car.
Outsourcing also enhances productivity by freeing Americans from mundane, low paying tasks, like making toasters, or T shirts, freeing the labor force to grow the economy.
And even under the Obama, and even despite all the outsourcing, the economy continues to grow
So why are "progressives" so frightened of the future, and why do they cling to the past, and preserving old, obsolete industry?