Member-only story
Are We “Making a Living?”
Two old friends met after not having seen each other for years.
“Bob!,” said Frank. “It’s been such a long time. How’re ya doing?”
“Well, Frank,” replied Bob, “I guess I’m making a living.”
And that was the typical opening of a dialogue between old friends, former neighbors, former co-workers, or members of a church or synagogue. Indeed, that was part of the social glue that bonded people in an earlier time. What is missing from that exchange today is one little item: the truth.
Much of America’s Gross Domestic Product used to be based on manufacturing. This process included taking raw materials from the soil and gradually converting them into finished products that would be sold around this country and, later, around the world.
In the “glory days” when America’s manufacturing was the behemoth of its economy and of exceptional importance and reputation around the world, no one cared about how we poisoned the air we breathed, the water we drank, or the soils we farmed. Our sole goal in this period from 1936 to about 1960 was to dig, convert, finish, and sell. We had no purpose other than to expand our markets and enhance our profit…
