Reply #114: They became auto mechanics, of course

[jmowreader]

Which may explain why the guy who fixes the company van has an anvil in his office.

The problem with relying on tech and new ideas to save America is that as soon as they figure out a new technology, the Koreans start manufacturing it and the Indians provide the tech support for it. Today I was selling lumber and noticed some new refrigerators we got in. Made in Korea. A refrigerator is a shitty choice of product to make overseas--you can't get very many in a SeaLand container, and they're not very expensive so the shipping economics don't work. But they're made in the Pacific Rim because labor costs are low and ecological standards are even lower.

The solution is to make sure the tech and new ideas you invent don't make economic sense to produce somewhere else.