Been Awhile
A faithful reader asked last week if I had quit 'blogging. In truth, I really just took off the month of December. Thank you to those of you that read, and even more, those of you that send me "leads" on topics relevant to this group.

For today's post, I will warn that I may cross the line into politics (although mention no specific elections or candidates), but this being the start (almost) of a new year, I thought I would offer something that gave me some hope -- at least n the long run. It comes from The Atlantic Monthly, in an article titled, "Are We Still a Middle-Class Nation?". Unfortunately, their January issue is not online yet, and may require some $$ to read. So with all credit to them and the author, I offer a snippet here:

...the productivity gains in heavily automated, capital-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, banking, and other routine service have going almost entirely to the investors who own the machines and the software, not to the workers who remain, and certainly not to the workers displaced into other sectors....

This is where economics turns into politics. It is doubtful in any society with universal suffrage the majority is going to sit on the sidelines and watch, generation after generation, while a handful of investors and corporate mangers reap almost all the benefits of technological and economic progress.

Here's to wishing you all a good '04 and beyond. -"it"