Unfortunately, my generation (thirty somethings) and the twenty somethings behind us, are not the "greatest generation" of the WWII era. From the looks of most of the people that I went to high school and college with, this country is going to be in a world of hurt if all we have to relly on is the "all American know-how" that we were famous for through out the last century. Contrary, most of the 50+, 20-25 year old males that I have hired in the last ten years would find it hard to pour piss out of a boot (let alone the fact that if they could figure out how to do it, they would not, because it was "icky"). Granted there are always exceptions to the rule, but the general attitude is "work only for enough money to entertain myself, and then only if my parents won't supply the money". The fundementals of American culture that made America a supper power in the decades around WWII, have slipt away from us. There is no more "go out and earn it". So although I don't deny the fact that we can be inovative, and profitable, the simple fact is that the Japenese, Chinese, and Indians are far more "hungry" both figuratively and literally. America will become more "european" in its attitudes and social systems, capitalism(the very best and most efficient form of economics on the planet) will and has already been undercut by the many, many, many "rights" that all of us Americans love to sue one another over. While we will be busy worring about where the left over hydrogen cells will be stored, what will happen to the neiborhood if we let a fusion reactor be built, and why we should "have to live" next to an old steam RR, the up and coming economies of the world (mostly China) will most likely be the inovators. This will matter not to the average American, because for the price of a few fish heads, we can have all the "icky" stuff done overseas..........
Long and the short of it, whatever inovations we might have, will quickly be bought up by multi national corporations, and built "overthere", employing a "Chang Duc Wa of America" sales force, all the while being listed on NYSE, and your and I 401K will help support there stock price. Again, though, all of that stuff, whatever it may be, will need to criss cross this country, and I believe that in the long (really long) run that a great deal of it will travel by train.
