THERE IS A CONCEIT AMONG THE MANAGEMENT CLASS — particularly members of that class who style themselves as left-of-center — that if we just send millions of former workers from our devastated manufacturing sector to college so they can become website designers or something, that will make up for destroying the industries that formerly provided them a decent living. One of former President Clinton’s more annoying habits has been to harp on this particular hypothesis.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but that plan isn’t going to work — at least not in a place of the scale, history and complexity of the United States. Heck, I’ll go ahead and put a fine point on it: It’s a bunch of nonsense.
I mean, look: The Swiss are few enough that they can be the world’s bankers, and the Saudis can be the world’s oil company. But the United States, if it’s going to be a prosperous place, needs to be where the main engine of prosperity is taking raw materials, making something valuable out of them and then selling those valuable things at a profit.
We can’t be a first-tier economy by selling each other life insurance and software; we need to make things — physical, need-machine-tools-to-make-them things like cars, boats, clothing, machine tools and electronics. The Democratic Party’s leadership used to know this, and acted accordingly, with all kinds of support for (real, actual) industry and its (real, actual) workers. These days, however, Democrats seem to represent members of the management class who want to send line workers and former machinists to college so they can become computer programmers. It’s ridiculous.
There are millions of ex-manufacturing workers who used to make a good living by making things here in the U.S. The “Old Economy” offered them a way to use their skills and gifts and afford the basics of life, plus a little fun. But the “New Economy” has no real place for them. Those with less than a college degree have precious few ways to support a family in anything approaching comfort. And even these avenues are vanishing.
Here’s the thing: There are millions of folks who are, to be blunt, not smart enough, or at least temperamentally unsuited — or, increasingly, too poor — to go to college. Are they to be consigned to working at 7/11 and making $9 an hour for the rest of their lives? Don’t we as citizens have an obligation to see that they have something better to aspire to — work that allows them to support their families in a dignified way, and maybe even to put something away for college for the kids and themselves in their golden years?
These questions have not been asked of Americans in any public and consistent way for years — decades, even. The very phrase, “we, as citizens, are obligated to …” is, in the libertarian, Hobbesian world of economic mercilessness we’ve allowed to flourish a nonsensical phrase full of meaningless words. We are no longer “citizens,” active participants in the building of our civilization; we are now “consumers,” defined by our economic worth — mere cogs in the soul-impoverishing machinery of “wealth creation” and economic oligarchy. Our part is to passively keep the whole corrupt machine humming. Nothing is demanded of us but to CONSUME.
If we want a different future, we must address the needs of our workers to find meaningful and rewarding work. For that we need an official industrial policy. The U.S. is the only so-called First World nation without one, and it shows.
Did you ever wonder why Germany seems to be the go-to place for high-quality goods of every sort — cars, clocks, precision instruments, electronics, cameras and other optical equipment, and so on? A big reason is that the German government has decided that it wants an economy that produces those things, and has taken specific actions to achieve that goal.
Germany’s method of creating wealth is straightforward:
1. They make it a national priority to produce a highly educated work force. And “education” doesn’t necessarily mean college — while the German higher education system is excellent, they place a far greater emphasis on vocational training. Most of the people who actually build BMW cars in Germany’s factories do not need a college education to do so, but they do need familiarity with precision, computerized machinery, pretty deep training in various material-handling skills, and so on.
2. Germany takes that highly educated work force and has it design and manufacture sophisticated, precision things for high wages.
3. It then exports those sophisticated, precision things at a high price and re-invests that money back into item 1.
Germany is the second biggest exporter in the world despite having slightly less than a third of America’s population and about 7 percent of the largest exporter, China. The Germans realize they cannot beat either China or India based on cost. America can’t either: We could destroy all the remaining unions, get rid of the minimum wage and eliminate all social benefits and taxation and we would still lose jobs to low-wage nations. Germany avoided going down America’s road toward middle class ruin by investing public resources in training their people and in research.
To break out of this losing game, we as citizens must realize — more than that, we must decide, and then act on the decision — that, to coin a phrase, the economy is made by and for us, and not us for the economy.
Matt Talbot is a writer and poet, as well as an old Benicia hand. He works for a tech start-up in San Francisco.
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Frinking brilliant, Matt! I fully agree…after my last corporate layoff I became a sewer-root cleaning technician for two of the most ho-hum firms on the planet…and became a self-employed Handyman from there…why? “Because there are more toilets to fix than corporations to work for in the US” ©PB…think about it…I have no faith in the managerial bozos that now jabber about fixes to the economy now that they’ve offshored entire technologies to third world countries…we are dunces when it comes to long-range thinking…shame on us. Stupid—really stupid. Every collar should be rainbow-colored, not just shallow and mediocre white…pb
Bitter much? Geez.
It appears Matt you are out of touch with what is going on. The USA is becoming the center of growth in the world. Matt it is slowly coming back to the USA.., For one reason and one reason only. Cost of energy. I have no idea where you and Peter Bray have been the last few years. But one thing is for certain you have not been following what is going on in the USA. Complaining and making statements that are just not up to date will not get it. This country very shortly will be the biggest producer and supplier of oil, natural gas and with that comes USA products to ship to other countries.. Huge shipments to our friends all over the world. While all of this happening we will be back big time in the mill, garment, steel, car and anything that energy needs to supply to be built. Most of our foreign friends see this. Apparently Matt you and Peter do not. Just watch Keystone, Bakken, Monterey and rail shipments of oil. Matt just where have you been. The big problem which will be solved on 2014/16 is the Liberals. Their time in office is up and they will be gone. Remember Matt and Peter you heard it first from me Bob livesay. Like it or not. Complainers and non producers are not needed.
Bob Livesay, we know your body has been here in Benicia, but your head has been and still is in that place where the sun don’t shine. You are a remotely controlled death-merchant. Not a “greenie”, you are a “brownie”, but not the kind that helped the old shoemaker all night for a saucer of milk in the dawn’s light. Your preferences will burn the earth down to a black cinder.
Matt –
Benicia used to be a center of ship building on the West Coast. What would it take to return Benicia to such prominence in manufacturing? Vocational education in shipbuilding? Changing regulations to allow profit-making businesses to utilize the waterfront for manufacturing purposes? Or?
Well we have Coda. That’s a good start! Wait? What’s that? Oh, looks like they declared bankruptcy today. I can’t wait to hear from the mayor on this once she returns from communist Cuba.
Poor Danny! Cuba has other things besides Communism.
RMS stated: Cuba has other things besides Communism.
Like spare parts for a ’54 Chevy? (see pic 4)
I loved that ol’ ’54 of mine!
Was it complete with glasspacks?
The only guy in my neighborhood that I recall having glass packs was this guy who had a ’59 Ford around the block. He was a good guy, still is as far as I know.
From the above article:
“If we want a different future, we must address the needs of our workers to find meaningful and rewarding work. For that we need an official industrial policy. The U.S. is the only so-called First World nation without one, and it shows.”
More on ‘industrial policy’ for the community to consider…. a history lesson!
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/31/whos_afraid_of_industrial_policy/
More on the lack of an industrial policy for the community to consider…
Source ; Economic Policy Institute.
http://stateofworkingamerica.org/12th-edition-press-release/
From the above article:
“If we want a different future, we must address the needs of our workers to find meaningful and rewarding work. For that we need an official industrial policy. The U.S. is the only so-called First World nation without one, and it shows.”
So much for an ‘industrial policy’ with Ms. Pritzker as a possible Commerce Secretary.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/05/02-5
A deeper look at Ms. Prtizker’s record for the community to consider…
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2013/03/penny-pritzker-obamas-likely-commerce.html
More on industrial policy for the community to consider…A history lesson.
http://prospect.org/article/industrial-policy-road-not-taken
http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/06__Foreign__Policy__State/02__Foreign__Policy/05__KeyPoints/Vocational__Training.html
America does not need to copy anyone elses solutions. We have always had our own. Just being misdirected by the Liberal Socialist at present. Sibsidize electric cars, renewable energy that is ok with the Liberal Socialist. But give any kind of incentive to American Oil or other energy companies and the Liberal Socialist go crazy. Fracking is the answer for our independence on energy and it will also produce so much tax dollars the Liberal Socialist can have an electric car now and then. Drill drill and drill more.
Blind, as usual, to all except narrow, arithmetical calculations. Reminds me of the old Plymouth Rock Pigeon Company in the early 20th century, the way they portrayed exponential flock-growth from purchase of a few pairs of homers. Hah-ha. Nature serves human wishes only imperfectly. It’s complicated. Your view of world finance is simple-minded.
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/04/149927290/the-secret-to-germanys-low-youth-unemployment
How come they lose wars. Germany is where they are today because ofr America not Germany. Americas programs for the tech skills has always been high. I do believe our inexperienced women got trained rather rapidly to do the work and help win the war. As production is coming back to America our youth both men and women will now do the work that they always have done in the past. Better than any country in the world. Germany is a bad example for anything.
“Germany is a bad example for anything.” Looks like someone is unable to process new information. Newsflash: The war was 68 years ago. The world is somewhat different now. Look it up. Also, what does war have to do with anything in this oped (another excellent one, by the way)?
Amazing how with the right group of people in office we are now seeing history (from 68 years ago) repeat itself. What is different, we have cell phones and computers. The people ruling this nation are nothing more than the samy type criminals who took over Germany.
Funny how no one who actually lived through that time ever seems to make that bogus comparison. Go read your William Schirer and don’t come back until you’re finished.
Funny how you RA think you are the only one that is right. BTW, I had family members that did live through that time. Go climb back into your hole and cuddle up to your obama blow up doll.
Who didn’t have family members who lived through that time? Anyone? Anyone? But I don’t see them going around comparing Obama to Hitler. They know better. Ask them sometime and you’ll see.
Hundreds of thousands across this nation see the same. In the little closed world where you live you are only able to believe what you are fed by the propaganda masters. Check out the abortion mess unfolding across the nation. Your dear leader was a visionary while in the Ill. Senant. He was pushing for the type of abortion the monster doctor currently on trial was caught doing. Apparently there are many more of the same type of operation unfolding now. After birth abortions, any sane person calls that MURDER. Hitler would be proud of the methods being employed by our nations Liberals.
In a nation of 400 million, I can believe there are a hundred thousand kooks who believe that kind of nonsense. But millions agree with me. That means YOU are the one in the little closed world. I live in the big, wide, REAL world where Alex Jones is a clown and no president, Democrat or Republican, is Hitler. Also, in this world, people who make the Hitler comparison automatically and forever self-marginalize themselves. Congratulations.
I see you missed the little thing about baby murder….Just pretend it is not there and all is good RA? Are you that cold and evil a person? Your ruler is an advocate of after birth abortion….MURDER….I man named Hitler loved to murder helpless people also….Your boy was at planned parenthood just the other day helping them on their mission.
I see you missed everything I wrote and just plunged ahead with your own interpretation of the world, however misinformed. What a surprise.
Kermit Gosnell is an outlier. Outlaw abortion and Kermit Gosnells will be in every county, every town in a year. And it will be your fault.
Watching, you haven’t been watching accurately enough. Are you out of high school, yet? You’re semantically confused. Your conceptual structure is simply a mess of bad definitions and assumptions.
When you say, “the samy [sic] type criminals”, are you talking about those that share common beliefs such as anti-Marxism, anti-liberalism, along with blind nationalism?
Type, sorry internet spelling police officer.
Typo..See smart phones are not that smart.
Watching you are now the enemy of the day for RA. She picks one out all the time. I usually am high on her list. But the that new second one she will be getting sooner than latter she will have double outlet for all her crap.
“But the that new second one she will be getting sooner than latter she will have double outlet for all her crap.” Is this English? Can someone help me decipher this?
Dear RA: Not to worry…you can get a “Bird Dropping Screen” which installs as a Firewall and flings Livesay’s warblings into a trash bin automatically…it leaves your monitor clean as a whistle for weeks–pb
SAimple later, no the. Second one is a for an additional filter also know as an AH. You may even try for a third with all your crap.
Watching;
If you did not see this it is a good piece by Kirsten Powers, one person in the media who is doing something about the Gosnell Murder case:
Gosnell’s abortion atrocities no ‘aberration’
Simple RA It shows that some folks do not understand American productivity and success. I do not want the government picking and choosing what industry to back with incentives. There will always be grants to help schools, highways, individuals, companies and others. The big problem with grants and industrial subsides is they come with strings. Much better off letting private investors and individuals with ideas promote there own ideas. Yes some will fail and some will succeed. The individual and companies is what make industry work. Take a good look at Silicon Valley. America set the world standard. Lets all have some confidence in our own past and future success. We still set the standards and are looked at as the great idea folks around the world. I do suggest you just look back at the last 200 years. That tells the whole story. Not some Liberal Socialist Industrial Policy. Please.
Everyone takes a crap everyday, except Bob Livesay. He keeps all his and stores it in his head to pour out on comment threads.
Another worthless reply from a “poet”
http://www.goethe.de/wis/fut/ein/en9657537.htm
http://www.wintersonnenwende.com/scriptorium/english/archives/articles/patents.html
Peter Bray does follow me and for sure read me. Just uses others for his simple minded answers. Very afraid to answer the great one.
Just watch Real American come back at me with a personal attack. She now will have two people on this run to attack. Poor RA is just a lonely person with very out dated warped ideals. I will not comment back to her on this run. Just let her use her fertilizer spreading mouth do the talking. Your teeth are getting browner by the day.. That is why you need the second one RA. Got it. OH, I got it I could use a third party like Peter Bray the complainer King does.
Again, absolutely lost. It’s like he’s making up his own language, like my son did when he was 2.
You mean personal attack like “out dated warped ideals” or “fertilizer spreading mouth” or “Your teeth are getting browner by the day.” Sorry Bob, you can’t have it both ways. You’re the biggest attacker on here, so stop whining.
Peter said: you can get a “Bird Dropping Screen”
This guy could have used one:
Da Duva
Madeline Kahn’s Cinematic debut in 1968 (Fast forward to 7:30). This film is a great take off on Bergmann.
Where do you get this stuff?
I saw that originally back in college as part of an Independent film festival. The only other film that sticks in my mind from that festival is Godzilla meets Bambi.
DDL I watch “Giant” every chance I get. It makes me sweat oil. Love that sweet smell of success.
My favorite part of that movie is how the two leads turned out to both be homosexual in real life.
the two leads turned out to both be homosexual in real life.
How’d that work out for Rock?
God smote him.
DDL it appears that RA seems to know a lot about this issue. Do you think she leads an alternative life style? She seems to be the only one that shows some interest in something that no one even cares about.
Bob Livesay shows his quality yet again. Probably never got over that boys locker room incident of ’37. Don’t be confused. We all understand, even if you don’t.
DDL and Watching: Ever notice how Real American loves to come back with insults and no answers. DDL hammered her last week and she is still in a spin. She talks big without identify herself. She seems to think that this is her lone privelege. Well when you are in desparate need of a second one I guess I understand how ole stained teeth would react. I will continue to insult her just because I love to see her reaction to negative comments about her. He He He.
Bob you’re giving us old timers a bad name. You’re just embarrassing yourself bud. Wish you could see that.
Frank not so. I just do this to get reaction from Shelby, RA and Bray. Guess what I am very good at it. Those three just go after me and fail. You just see it different than I do. I just love having fun and those three are a great comedy outlet.
Sorry Bob. Just a view from the outside from someone with no dog in the hunt.
Thanks for the reply. I do hope you understand my motives and fun I have with this stuff. No harm no foul. Again thanks for the reply.
RA~Guess you have missed the two hidden video’s that have surfaced in the last couple of days and more to come, one so far in Washington DC and another in AZ with the exact same activity going on. I think we have tripped over something that has been going on for over a decade and maybe upwards of two decades there babies are being killed by having their heads sucked clean outside of the womb, having their spinal cords cut by surgical sissors also outside of the womb, and for those little babies that are hard to kill are placed into vats of caustic chemicals to make them quit breathing and crying. I think being thrown into a furnace might just be more humane. These abortion doctors really make Hitlers doctors look mellow. Guess you are okay with terminating a human’s life if you or the mother just really does not want “IT” as I have heard on the hidden video’s over the last few days. The liberals in this nation that have this matter in the front of their platform are some real monsters. Makes me sick RA, guess you’re fine with the treatment of human beings.
So it’s the doctors who are Hitler now? Poor Hitler is getting worn out.
No liberal, or conservative, or whatever it is you are, are “pro” this kind of thing. End of story.
Now let’s talk about your side’s concern for life. Are you against the death penalty? How do you feel about war? I notice you were against any kind of sensible gun control measures after Newtown — so you only care about the kids when they’re in the womb or just out of it — then they’re on their own, right? Sixth graders cut to ribbons by machine guns don’t interest you?
Or maybe we can talk about industrial policy, which is the subject of this excellent column … Or is that too complicated for your Manichean worldview?
Who in hell (literally) makes up these videos you watch? Why haven’t you given us any links so we can assess them and trace their sources?
RMS you can not even understand what has gone on in life let alone your own. Go back to You Tube with Peter {Complainer}Bray. That is where you belong.
Clueless old poet, break away from the propaganda outlets for just a few and get a dose of reality. They are out there, watch them than take some LSD and try to figure out how to blame those you are programmed to hate.
Break the unions and you may see jobs coming back to America
Yea at 8 bucks an hour
The unions have nothing to do with it. Unions are now after Public Employee groups. That is where the future problem is. The southern half of America is where all the growth is going to be. The unions will have a very difficult time in the south. The Northeast and Washington, Oregon, California and even Nevada are going to see a big increase in production related to energy. They will not be able to stop the surge. Washington and Oregon could quickly go Republican with California making a move . It will take California till about 2020 to get back in the game and at least have about 45% of the vote and elected officials. Then the game changes. The Northeast will be a different story. But as their population decreases they are no longer the big player and no longer a factor. We shall see.
The Republican Party is dead in California and dying elsewhere. Their latest folly will be the failure of immigration reform, electoral self-immolation at its best. It would be laughable if so many innocent families weren’t devastated by it.