During the past twenty years the income distribution has become more skewed. Part of the problem is the restructuring of the US economy faced with intense international competition. As was pointed out in the Chapter on manufacturing automation the US economy developed many weaknesses after WWII. Also, investment since 1970 was directed at reducing energy usage because of OPEC and improving the environment. Nevertheless, the expansion of the economy in the past twentyfive years was sufficient to absorb the baby boom and a greater percent of women and minorities in the labor force. While the economic expansion created a large number of jobs, economic performance was far from perfect because real wages for most workers decreased over this period. Today, US wages are no longer high compared with other developed countries. Nevertheless, family consumption actually increased during the past 20 years due to the increase in two income families and fewer children. While in the short run the decline in the baby boom may actually lead to a shortage of new workers, the question remains will advancing automation mean a decline in living standards and decreasing political stability?