The Loss of Small Business in America

The first loss was in the heartland of America, in what we call the Midwest - that used to manufacture much of the world's goods. I grew up there, in Ft. Madison, Iowa. My father was a small businessman - one of many. Back then, it was easy to start a small business of your own, and live comfortably off of it.The same was true of farmers, the family farm was an important part of the economy - and part of  the American Way of Life.

But business became Big Business. The farms were replaced by Agribusiness - that required the investment of a huge amounts of capital. I saw this as a shocking development - but no one else did. 

Young men, such as me - had to look for other places to work. And soon the only places left were in the Computer Industry. 

This was a lucky break - but most Americans could not take advantage of it. They could not understand computers - and did not want to try. This would have required a huge effort, that they did not want to make.

There are now two Americas - the remnants of the Industrial Economy (that is declining) and the Computer Economy (that is growing).