This is a great commentary in The Christian Science Monitor by Paul Sedan.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - One thing the financial crisis shows is that the United States is in trouble because Americans have stopped making stuff.

It used to be that we made a lot of stuff: televisions, clothes, washing machines, radios, typewriters, shoes, telephones, and furniture. And we also used to make the stuff out of which stuff was made: steel, aluminum, plastic, rubber, glass, and electrical components. Today that's largely made overseas. They send us their stuff and we send them our money.

It also used to be that Americans liked to make stuff. Think of all the things Thom as Edison invent ed. Or consider Henry Ford, who made the car affordable, perfected the assembly line, and paid workers a decent wage. Countless others, such as my grandfather, worked as toolmakers and machinists because they liked to work with their hands. Today we rely on people around the world to do that innovation for us.

To read the rest of the article go to http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1128/p09s02-coop.html

(Photo of handbag by flickr user A Continuous Lean used under a Creative Commons license.)