Originally Posted by Brad M
The exhaustion of our energy supply may end affluence as we know it.
Ultra cheap transportation has allowed many good American jobs to be exported to low wage countries. This has turned us into a vulnerable debtor nation and crippled our manufacturing capability. If transportation costs revert to a point where it again makes sense for Americans to produce the products that we ourselves consume, I'd see that as a good thing - a restoration of balance and common sense, not a disaster.