How the mighty have fallen

It seems that business and government officials are looking to import help for the last functioning industry in the United States - retail.

The United States has long imported its food and fuel, its cars and clothes. Now the faltering economy has sparked a push for another type of import: shoppers.

For the first time, lawmakers, businesses and even White House officials are courting consumers from cash-rich countries such as China, India and Brazil to fill the nation’s shopping malls and pick up the slack for penny-pinching Americans. They are wooing travelers with enticements such as coupons, beauty pageants and promises of visa reform. The payoff, they say, could be significant: 1.3 million new jobs and an $859 billion shot in the arm for the economy over the next decade.

“They’re their own little stimulus program,” said David French, senior vice president for government relations at the National Retail Federation, a trade group.

Manufacturing is dead and technology is selling out to the Chinese as fast as they can sign their deals so retail is the only industry left. Expect the Chinese to buy Wal-Mart soon.