Returning to this quote from Kevin Williamson's well known article from National Review: The manufacturing numbers -- and the entire gloriously complex tale of globalization -- go in fits and starts: a little improvement here, a little improvement there, and a radically better world in raw material terms (and let's not sniff at those) every couple of decades. Go back and read the novels of the 1980s or watch The Brady Bunch and ask yourself why well-to-do suburban families living in large, comfortable homes and holding down prestigious jobs were worried about the price of butter and meat, and then ask yourself when was the last time you heard someone complain that he couldn't afford a stick of butter. That change happened a little at a time, here and there. In contrast, it's clear that the cost of butter was not a major financial concern for well-to-do families in the 1980s, nor is it a concern now.  But another of Williamson's points needs to be...(Read Full Post)