>Two economies that were wrecked during WWII -- Germany and Japan -- are less shareholder driven than the US and therefore actually able to produce quality goods and services.
That's true, but it seems like you're blaming Jack Welch for this. I think it was something that was going to happen anyway, and is simply a product of American culture.
You've got it backwards. The current state of US business is ideologically driven and wasteful. Two economies that were wrecked during WWII -- Germany and Japan -- are less shareholder driven than the US and therefore actually able to produce quality goods and services.