XPost: alt.folklore.computers   
   From: lynn@garlic.com   
      
   some of it is similar to automobiles, ... in the 40s and 50s, there   
   was a large percentage of individuals (with automobiles) doing their   
   own work ...  after market modifications, service, etc. in the 70s &   
   80s, automobiles became much more of a consumer appliance. even now,   
   you can still find huge amount of aftermarket autombile work that goes   
   on ... but it may not be as visible ... not because there is so much   
   less ... just that the consumer appliance sector is a lot more   
   vislble.   
      
   as an aside issue the automobile transition from significant consumer   
   effort to much more a consumer appliance somewhat coincides with the   
   growth of foreign autombile sales (that were considered much more   
   reliable and higher quality). this uptake of foreign automobiles by   
   the consumers ... then led to import quotas. in the 70s, there was a   
   newspaper article (washington post?, i remember running across it on a   
   business trip) regarding the american automobile industry reaction to   
   the quotas. supposedly the quotas were to give the american automobile   
   industry breathing room and additional profits in order to totally   
   remake themselves into more competitive operations. the article   
   claimed that instead, most of the additional profits were going to   
   salaries, bonuses, and dividends ... and therefor should be taxed at   
   100percent as unearned profits.   
      
   --   
   Anne & Lynn Wheeler | http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)