Unemployment and Education
Americans aren't happy.
Some Americans are furious about government spending, others are angry about illegal immigrants, and more are enraged at corporate America. At least one of the three - Americans believe - are responsible for the near 10% unemployment rate.
Also, let's not forget the significant few who scream, "Obama is Muslim and he's killing our jobs!"
At the core of this nonsense seems to be Americans' self-centric behaviour of blaming everyone else but themselves: "It's the government!"... "It's the Mexicans!".... "It's the cruddy economy!".... but it's never "me."
Consider the following notions: 1) I can't find a job because something else or somebody else is failing. OR 2) I can't find a job because I lack the skill set companies want.
Which sounds more reasonable?
Remember the good old days when there were people whose jobs were to record the entire company inventory on paper? Well, something called a computer database came along and threw those jobs out the window. What about managers whose jobs were to facilitate communication and coordinate teams? Technology killed those positions, too; companies use e-mails now. Then there were those car manufacturing jobs of which America was oh so proud. Unfortunately, manufacturers use robots now.
The truth is that technology has outpaced American education in the last thirty years. What used to be decent, middle class jobs aren't even jobs anymore. Not only is 10% of the population jobless, but "the middle class" is vanishing at an extraordinary pace.
Americans need to educate themselves high level skill sets - skill sets the modern economy needs.
What annoys me is that nobody in America is willing to acknowledge this fact. Why would they? In a nation of anti-intellectual citizens, which "bold" politician would dare to step up and say what nobody wants to hear?
Regardless, even if somebody shouts and everybody listens, it's not clear what the solution is. How can an entire generation of thirty to fifty year olds re-educate themselves for the modern economy? Not many in America have savings to afford higher education. Assuming enough people can afford classes, there are not enough teachers and education institutions to facilitate the training. More importantly, can people past their youth even learn effectively?
It would seem that any kind of education initiative would need to come from the government; yet how will that happen when much of the government doesn't even recognize the problem? Obama is the loudest voice for education at the moment, but with two wars, a terrible economy, and an useless congress, how much can he really do?
To be fair, this is not just America's problem. China - the fastest growing economy in the world - is staring at the same conundrum. After all, why is the Chinese government so reluctant to raise the Yuan's value? - perhaps because increasing the Yuan will move jobs away from China and leave a massive population of manufacturing workers unemployed? No government wants to do that, especially a government fearing 1.3 billion citizens.
The difference between America and China, of course, is that the latter understands the importance of education. The current Chinese population largely comprises low end workers, but the next generation is primed with higher level education and fit for the shifting economy. America, on the other hand, continues to bicker about its economical and political issues. Now, I am not suggesting that national expenditure or healthcare aren't significant issues, but will solving either make American workers anymore valuable and attractive in the current job market?
