A Once Great Country Being Ruined For Most, page-10

I ponder and am thinking the "cost of living" is ttotal cost of bare necessities to function in society. The reason it is so high can be attributed in some part to the loss Manufacturing and FTA allowing a plethora of imports in all facets of product and produce. We no longer manufacture goods, so the skill set had change to "Sales". When you manufacture goods it goes Producer - Sales - Enduser. Now it goes Overseas Producter - Overseas Exporter - Importer - Wholesaler - Retailers - Sales (add few more sales because everyone down the line add their cut) - Enduser.

So the more a Country manufactures the skillset increases, the less the skillset decreases to 'middle men' dives quality down that cost more to the Enduser.