Yes. Also, people tend to forget that out world is actually a pretty old place. The history of the economic scene of the last 2000 years teaches us that there is plenty of space for changes.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Histo...

Maybe to some, but in my eyes they had an amazing amount of contribution to basic science and technology in EE - especially during the 80s.