Keep in mind that U.S. students aren't pursuing technical degrees as much as they were - for example, per the ACM, we've seen undergraduate enrollment in computer science decline from 4% of all undergraduates nationwide to under 1.5%. Matters aren't improving.

If you go to the NSF website and poke around a bit, you'll also notice that fewer American students are going to grad school. Oh, the classes still have students - students from foreign countries. Not Americans. Interestingly, tuition for those foreign students is about triple what it is for U.S. students.

So, we're not making things, we're not thinking, we're even letting others do the innovating. We are on track for third world status - but with accumulated debts from our golden era.

Add in some other factors - Peak Oil, for example - and we are toast. Our plutocratic leaders could not possibly care less.