Bravo Zulu ebear. The political climate in any country will always have an effect on that countries industry.

This is a point that many people seem to miss: that politics and economics are inexorably entwined. If you go back far enough, you'll find that "economics" was once called "political economy." The classicists understood the relationship. It was only later once the foundation grants and endowments started rolling in that the word "political" was excised. After all, you wouldn't want too bright a light being shone on your nefarious affairs. As Goebbels said: he who controls the information...

This is also why virtually no academic institute teaches Austrian Economics: because Von Mises, et al understood the game and refused to play. They were honest brokers, and thus were banished.

On the other hand, maybe what I've just said is really dumb and should be eliminated.

There are a lot of people in the world who'd like to eliminate people like us. Unfortunately for them, we just spring up again out of nowhere. You'd have to assume this was something basic to human nature that can't be repressed.

ebear