Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Is the world or this country just like it was in, say, 1960? I think not. Factories that required hundreds, even thousands, of workers now employ much smaller workforces that may or may not be located here. Automation and offshoring were the main culprits, creating higher profits for investors, while mortally wounding our manufacturing base.

Banks that were diligent turning down more applications than they approved now advertise "Slow or no credit? No problem" even though that same behavior created the housing crash we are digging out of now. States let our highways and bridges crumble, forgetting the thousands of jobs state and federal funds can create. Two-thirds of our states accept more federal funds than they pay in revenues, while they shout for lower taxes.

My point is both parties have changed many, many things, creating the environment that is today. Once we opened our shores to the world marketplace and their fragile economies, ours became les...