Investment.

Heavy industry had long been one of the hallmarks of the American economy. However, during the 1980s, heavy industries and those sections of the country that relied on those industries did not fare well. Long-term trends offer a partial explanation for the downward trend, while other causes were more immediate. From the 1950s to the 1970s Americans invested no less than 3.3 percent of the nation's total income in new industrial plants and equipment regardless of the business cycle. This pattern came to an end during the 1980s; at no time during the 1980s did American investment in new plants reach 3 percent of the national income. The trend can also be seen in the amount of plant and equipment supporting the average nonagricultural American worker. Between 1950 and 1980 the figure rose from $26,000 to $43,000 (in 1980 dollars). Again during the 1980s another major trend...