You hit a big point when you say "The US economy is based on ideas more than the ability to manufacture now.".  And Emma touched on the ecomony, and persceptions.

About a year ago, I read an article in Forbes that hit on these things (I KNOW it was about a year ago, as I read it while waiting my turn with my CPA to do taxes).  The article was about how our persceptions of how our economy are fouled because of the tools we use to measure GNP and trade deficits.  Those tools were developed in the 1930's to give Roosevelt a way of measuring whether his initiatives were helping or hurting. So the things measured were things of consequence in that time (e.g., sales of hard goods and crops).  These measurements are no longer effective in the "intellectual age".  In measuring the trade deficit, royalties to US entities for intellectual property are not even considered. I could go on, but you get the drift.  If your measurement tools are no longer relevant, the results of measurement are pretty useless.

Emma hit on the economy and people's perceptions. That, coupled with the quote from you (above) makes one take pause.  I don't mean to sound like a socialist (heaven forbid!), but coupling these thoughts with the above does suggest a problem with the distribution of wealth.  Who owns the IP, and is getting the $ for it?  Corporate America. Is there even a mechanism for "trickle down" in this scenario?  I don't think so..... Stock market maybe....

Just some ramblings....  As for EDIG insights today/recently, I gots nuttin'!

SGE