What happened to America?

[Uben]

Plastics. I got it figured out! Once plastics became used, products no longer needed to be hand-crafted. There went the jobs. Then, electronics came along and eliminated even more jobs! Then, you had to have a college education and be a stratagezical wizard to make a living.

I once thought America started its decline when they quit using orchestral music in cartoons. Nope. It was plastic.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. So I guess we should get rid of all the plastic

and make all that stuff out of wood instead.

[Webster Green]

2. Steampunk.

Totally! :thumbsup:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. GMTA!

[Uben]

11. The world's largest landfill is in the Pacific........

...and it's twice the size of Texas and is made of plastic. It took 70 or 80 yrs for us to do that. In a hundred years, you'll be able to walk over it to Asia. In 200 yrs, you'll be living on it! In 300 yrs, you'll be eating it!

HA! All this was kinda tongue in cheek. But.......what if?

[pansypoo53219]

14. i have found wood shipping boxes at estate sales. pills used to come in cute little metal tins.

y mom found a cute aluminum box for some hair product. i go to a butcher who uses butcher PAPER. we COULD try reusable packaging too.

[monmouth]

3. According to my dad it was the television. LOL....n/t

[asjr]

7. And then came the internet!

[patrice]

5. Jobs exported for tax breaks & off-shoring nt

[socialist_n_TN]

6. My vote goes to Ronald Reagan

Things REALLY started going downhill after he was elected POTUS.

[piratefish08]

8. technology magnified our fuck-ups and consolidated our wealth and power.

[patrice]

9. Trade & anti-monopoly laws (& anti-illegal employers of immigrants/migrants) laws not enforced

[Curmudgeoness]

10. Or maybe it was plastic.

When the whole country became huge consumers, we demanded cheaper products. Used to be, we bought a toaster, used it until it broke, then bought a new one. With easy credit, people "redecorated" their whole kitchens and god knows they couldn't have that same toaster. Throw it away, use plastic to get a new one.

[Blue_Tires]

12. Holy damn that guy in "The Graduate" was right all along!

It IS the word!

[Nye Bevan]

13. Actually, it all began with the invention of the mechanized loom in England.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite