On Dec 21, 2008, at 12:52 PM, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Do Americans overspecialize in these? Or do other countries have as
> many as we do? Sometimes it seems like scamming and hot air have
> been central to our economy forever, not just since Enron or Madoff.
Other countries encouraged them to america - and to other places, I believe. Isn't that some sort of cultural paradigm?
But the webpage for the town of Tombstone is pretty well done and it paints the history of the town like this ...
"During World War I, Tombstone was a major producer of manganese for the government. In World War II, Tombstone was extracting lead for the cause. After both conflicts, Tombstone faded into obscurity, just to be resurrected at a later time. The citizenry of Tombstone decided rather than depending on a vanishing mining industry, they would focus their time and energy on tourism and restoration. Good call!"
There may have been some victims of lead poisoning among those who retained their huckster character.
martin