The divide between "producers" and "consumers" is largely artificial. Producers make the most money when their customers have a lot of it, and most often the customers get that money by producing something else. Think "traders," and it works out more accurately.

The "consumer" as "helpless sap" is a trope older than I am. Of course, all of the people selling this idea are (due to their inherent coolness or something) capable of spotting all these tricks easily.

An entire planet is catching up to where the U.S. has been for years. It's going to be a bit tougher than it was in the years after WWII when Europe was a smoking wreck and the rest of the world still pushing oxen around. Say, there's that "winner" they were talking about in that other thread. How'd that work out for everyone?