Pat, yes you are correct, the traditional USA is falling away rapidly. It will not return either, the USA is now under the control of the international monetarists, and their goal is the pursuit of profit above all else. We were lied to, as Perot tried to point out back in '92, by the corporate cartels who saw a way to enrich themselves beyond the dreams of avarice, by de-industrialising the USA while maximising profits. To enable them to do this, their hired henchmen in the congress did the dirty work vis a vis unfair, unbalanced and irresponsible trade legislation. We can thank the "permacrats " for this. Now these financial interests suck the public dry of its last few dollars as a result of their criminally irresponsible, irrational and desperate, investment practices. This talk of a "jobless recovery" is an affront and an utter farce. Our currency is being devalued, and the nation is stuck in intractable wars, yes Pat we are headed down. A long way to go down too.