The U.S. has gotten too top heavy.

This is happening all over. What many people don't realize is that "first world" countries not only have been relying on "third world" countries to subsidize their lifestyle, but it has gotten to the point where they HAVE to. As you point out, so many people are going to school for administrative jobs that pay more, and the result is fewer and fewer people actually know how to MAKE things. Everyone knows how to talk about things, but no one knows how to make or fix them. This is just another bubble that will burst when all the third world countries start to get wealthier, and we will have a real problem when we find out that the only way people can be rich is by making sure other people (usually people in "other" countries,) are dirt poor. In some countries, you are considered very poor if you can only afford a place to live where your children all have to share a room. In other countries it would be a luxury out of wildest dreams to have a weather-proof house with heat at all, let alone one with a kitchen full of appliances, a living room, and a bedroom. There is enough to go around the whole world, but only if the top-heaviness you mention stops completely. No one needs more than what feeds their family and keeps it safe. What we consider "poor" in Canada is actually a wealth of safety and security, and very few people realize it.

A lot of production has left the country because of the tax system. We have the second highest corporate tax in the world. Add to that the unions that make unrealistic demands in regards to wages and benefits and it's cheaper to move to another country. GM, I heard the other day, is spending millions on another plant but it will be in Mexico--no unions, more favorable taxes. I think that if we had some real, effective tax reform the country would start to prosper again and businesses would be more likely to return to the country or stay here.

The world economic system is undergoing a sea change with many Asian countries like China and India are becoming stronger and more competitive. The U.S manufacturing base has become less economic and prohibitively expensive due to high cost of labor and other inputs.U.S needs to make drastic reform in its monetary and tax policies to improve its economy.It needs to take all steps to increase productivity in all economic and production sectors.

It is the same thing in Western Europe, maybe worst : you can't put import taxes in the same economic zone. Western Europe industries have moved in Central and Eastern Europe, where the life level rises. The problem is that the minimum salary in my country is at $1850/month when it is still at $200 in Romania. We need years to upgrade these countries at our level, and during this time our life level will not move... Good for the industry, good the countries where the investments are made, but bad for the citizen of the "old" rich countries...