"Mickey Mouse Economy"

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38654017

And, you know what? This guy's absolutely right. One thing that conservatives and Rust Belt Democrats can lament upon together, I think, is that America doesn't "make" anything anymore. Wealth just sort of passes through us the way a worm enriches soil.

No state perceives this more starkly, of course, than Pennsylvania. (I know, Michigan, I know. Just let me make my point.) Where we differ is what to do next. The union-Democratic vision for America, to the extent that it differs from a ribald kleptocracy, is one in which the economic dynamics of the early 1960s are held frozen by legislative fiat. Americans would be able to carve out cozy middle-class lives for themselves performing useful but menial jobs and could not be fired. When the cost of living rises, wages would rise to cover it. And nobody would be fired. Nobody.

If you majored in Economics, or took Econ 101, or performed satisfactorily in high school algebra, or have ever balanced your checkbook, or run a lemonade stand, you know that's not possible. So what to do next, really? Well, we're sitting on enough coal and natural gas to make us the engine of the world economy for generations. How about we start there?