“AMERICAN manufacturing has never been in more trouble than it
is now.” Thus the glum introduction to an official report on
competitiveness released in 1990, the last time America hosted a
G7 summit. Its moroseness matched the nation's mood. Neurosis
about the strength of Japan; gloom about the deficit; woe and
decline on every side.  How times change. The country that
presides over this year's rich-world gathering in Denver is
feeling triumphant, even euphoric. “Is this a wonder economy or
what?” asked Business Week. “On top of the world” chirped
Newsweek. Notwithstanding signs of a slowdown in the second
quarter of this year, the economy has been growing faster for
longer than most economists thought sustainable. Unemployment
has fallen well below the rate at which wage pressures have
traditionally started to grip. And inflation is nowhere in
sight. Producer prices fell for the fifth consecutive month in
May, the longest string of declines since the 1950s.  Some back-
slapping is in order, for sure. But toda