An idea I certainly can't argue against. It saddens me to see all types of manufacturing jobs being lost in this country - if you're in the mood to be depressed some day, take a ride to Bethlehem, PA, and look at what has become of what used to be the biggest steel mill in the world - what's left (i.e., what hasn't been demolished) is just rusting away. I know that the economy is global these days, but somehow or other I think we ought to be able to compete more effectively than we are now. We're getting ourselves into a box - sure, it's great to outsource, or to buy cheaper foreign goods, but unless we expand our employment base with meaningful jobs, there will come a day when we (Americans) won't be able to afford even cheap stuff, because people won't be earning enough money here anymore. We really need to revitalize our industrial base - I'm not sure how, but I think it'd go a long way to curing a lot of this country's economic ills.
