Work News, thanks to Make or Break, by Jon Gertner, in August 28th's New York Times Magazine:

In 2009 the United States produced 2% of the world's lithium-ion batteries for cars. The expected production for 2015 by the Department of Energy is 40%. This thanks to the Stimulus package, which also contributed part of the $375 million along with state grants to the automotive battery industry.

The amount set aside for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was $787 billion.

Information companies provide fewer jobs than other industries:

Facebook has 2,000 employees globally,
Google 29,000
while General Motors 200,000.

The automotive industry contributes to 20% of all the jobs in manufacturing in the U.S..

There's a need to create 17 to 20 million jobs to match the next ten year's demand.

" US corporations, by offshoring so much manufacturing work over the past few decades, have eroded our ability to raise living standards and curtailed the development of new high-technology industries"
Gary Pisano, Willy Shih, Harvard Business School professors