Quote from Hydroblunt:
The reason I do not buy that argyment anymore is because it simply does not hold value in today's economy. When agriculture was on its way out, industrialization was on its way in. It was not that farm jobs were dissapearing it was that everyone was moving to the urban centers. And still, US is still one of the biggest agricultural nations in the world.
Very true! The technological advances of industrialization decreased the demand for agricultural labor, but these same advances made it possible for us to consume far more than ever before. And to support our growing demand, we had to increase trade with other nations (essentially outsourcing the imported products' creation). Prior to industrialization, we were primarily a self-sufficient and self-contained economy. Nowadays, though we might still be one of the biggest agricultural nations, agricultural labor is certainly not the greatest proportion of our jobs. Technology has simply made it possible for fewer farmers to create more output, and the end result was not the demise of all the people who were laid off by outsourcing and technological advance but the transition of those persons into other professions.
When the low level manufacturing jobs were being lost because Japan & Mexico were making better & cheaper products, it was the consumer making the decision not the companies.
Amen, brotha!! That is why I can't stand people who blame the "greedy corporate raiders." In the end, it is the consumer who is ultimately responsible for the economy and its changes, not government or business. Remember our power to boycott, people! We aren't victims here--if you don't like a company that's outsourcing its labor, then don't buy from that company. And if you can't find a company that doesn't outsource, then don't buy at all--otherwise you're just part of the problem. It's like those various environmental activists who were photographed driving SUVs around in the woods. If they're gonna attack the public for driving SUVs (and vandalize Hummer dealerships like over here in Souther California), what the hell are they doing driving anything other than a horse?
Also, there were huge growing industries in finance, law and technology, along with the slowly appreciating medical & engineering fields. Now, almost every position that was just recently created in the past 2 decades is being outsourced. What new sector of jobs is there to replace it? Marketing idea men? Yeah right.
A 4 year degree is worth sh*t nowdays while MBA graduates are fighting for whatever jobs are out there and more than willing to take positions that are meant for 4 year grads. Where is that next level of jobs where you can just hone up your skills, educate oneself and get a reasonable job?
Nurse, doctor & pharmacist is all I can think of and I'm not even too sure whether there are enough of those to handle the new incoming graduates. Low level service jobs will have to do until all consumer debt is maxed out.
Come on now--we've got legions of people out there looking for a way to get ahead--the next big thing. SOMEBODY is sure to think of a technological advance that will explode into a new industry. You can't be serious to say that today is the end of human innovation and invention. Some scientist or entrepreneur is gonna make a technological breakthrough that will begin a whole new field of employment, just as the invention of the personal computer created the entire IT field. I owe the last 14 years of my career in computers to the guys who made PCs commonplace (thank you, Bill Gates!), and most of our entire generation owes their careers (or at least their lifestyles) to the guys who invented the transistor.
Tomorrow, it might be cold fusion or teleportation--both of which would turn the geographical, political, economic, military, social and technological regimes of today TOTALLY UPSIDE DOWN. Imagine--with teleportation, most geographical advantages would be removed. The freight industry would collapse, as would the airline industry. People could instantaneously travel between Japan and Britain, forcing a more rapid movement towards one world currency. We could teleport hand grenades into the stomachs of dictators, rendering most of the current military technology obsolete.
All it takes is one scientist, entrepreneur or philosopher to drop the pebble that turns into a landslide, and you can't tell me that with the pressures that are coming upon us Americans that no one will come up with a new idea that will keep us all employed for the next few decades.
