I myself am from a former steel/rail/textile boom area and have seen the effects of the exodus of big manufacturing in the states on a local level. I suppose a

I myself am from a former steel/rail/textile boom area and have seen the effects of the exodus of big manufacturing in the states on a local level. I suppose a service economy isn't "icky" in and of itself - it's that people often operate with a simplistic evaluation that an improving economy (GDP or whatever) is a healthy economy. Meanwhile certain manufacturing sectors have atrophied to the point of nonexistence with disastrous effects on many communities. And what has picked up the slack over the last 50 (?) years to keep us all peachy with the economic shift? The service sector. There's lots to talk about in regards to why the shift occurred, but one contributing factor is the unsavory (unethical?) labor systems abroad that we so conveniently continue to overlook. p.s. Some might argue these days that a service economy is "icky" when a fair amount of the services are financial services.