China has surpassed the United States in consumption of raw materials [free reg req'd]. To those paying attention the past few years, this will likely only come as a small shock. To those of you new to the land of the reality-based viewpoint, this should come as a major fucking shock.
Continue with me below the fold...
China overtakes the US as the focus of the world's raw materials trade, surpassing the US in consumption of grain, meat, coal, steel and many industrial products such as television sets, refrigerators and mobile phones. Only when it comes to oil does the US consume more.
We, as a country, truly have lost the edge in manufacturing and production of goods. There are so many comments to make but I think the one I'd point out as most damning is how the education system in our country continues to be dismantled and weakened. We soon will not have the engineers, scientists, thinkers, planners, or dreamers to take us into a newer New Economy. If we are truly going to gift the Third World with manufacturing, we surely are not going to replace it with service industry, are we? I've seen entire cities, of over 1/2 million people, with no real industry base. That's 500,000 people, living near $20,000 annual median salary selling used cars, mobile phones, and bad fast food to each other. That's not an economy. That's a very sad joke.
At least, thank God, China does not yet have robosaurus!!!