As a consultant and a collegiate education professional I have seen both sides of the coin. I can say that liberal arts courses are absolutely necessary for producing a truly "successful" engineer. Will you make money in engineering without learning better communication skills...
It's funny, I took micro, macro and engineering economics and it seems like most people in our country don't remember anything taught in any of these courses. StressGuy hit it on the head. This country runs a continuous trade deficit, meaning we by more products from oversees than other people...