May 7, 2004

Strong economics and decaying industries

Very interesting observations by Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution regarding the decay of US heavy industry and the striength of our economy. bq. I was privileged to take the Washington-Trenton train, round trip, over the last two days. As you may know, this route takes you past some of America's most spectacular industrial decay. (I recommend bringing Philip Glass music on CD with headphones; it makes your trip feel like the Koyaanisqatsi movie, experienced live.) bq. Some Europeans might regard the decay as reflecting our economic weakness. But they have it backwards: our willingness to let industries decline is a significant source of our economic strength. A country with no declining industries is a country that doesn't have many better new ideas. He also points to an interesting NY Times article opn how the French are dealing with the same issues. Good stuff! Posted by DaveH at May 7, 2004 1:03 PM