I can't begin to tell you the personal heartbreak that Carol & I felt after reading the private & confidential hardships received re the original subject message. Many educated & highly trained readers of this blog are suffering big time with poor or virtually no economic prospects. What has happened to our country is a crime.
I can let you know of this one though - "Doug: There are no blue collar jobs AKA factory workers. America unanimously decided decades ago no smoke stacks and greasy manufacturing plants will be allowed. We elected leaders who were pro-active in forcefully eliminating these "dirty" companies. We gave unprecedented powers to government organizations like the EPA to tax and punish these smoke stack companies into bankruptcy. We (America) accomplished our goal. Jobs were never part of the equation, you are not advocating a return to the toxic days of the sixties & seventies are you? Of course, I am playing devil's advocate but we cannot eliminate all of our manufacturing plants then act surprised because America is unemployed. Remember, we get the government we elect."
I have been saying for many years now that there can be no household economy with the husband paying the wife to cook and for wife paying the husband to cut the grass. Money MUST come into the household from an outside source. This is not any different for a City, State or Country. If we fail to "make" products (physical or intellectual) we will never have a viable economy again. No profits, no jobs! I am convinced The FairTax holds the secret for our freedom and free global economy.
ReplyDeleteDoug, It's a sad state we're in. Granted, there was a lot of air and water pollution at the time, but instead of finding a solution to the problem, they just threw the baby out with the bath water. Sadly even if these industries could be resurrected, we don't have people who can do the work anymore. Today's young people are not interested in that kind of work. I don't know of any kid who wants to be a steel worker, for instance. They're all looking for that "corner office" job.
ReplyDeleteWWII started a manufacturing boom that continued after the war with workers who were happy with those jobs but then decided they wanted their children to have a college education so they would not have to do the same kind of work. If we are serious about bringing manufacturing back, we need to start training a new generation of tradespeople. If we provide the workers for those jobs, there's a good chance they'll come back. I believe there are lots of kids that are not really college material that would benefit by this approach. Contrary to popular belief, college is not the answer for everyone.