Where Will the 21st Century Jobs Come From

In this Concordia panel discussion from 2013, several prominent people discuss one of the biggest issues facing society in the 21st century:  Where will all the jobs come from?  Short answer, no one really knows.

When I went googling for info on this subject, I was amazed how little turned up.  In a 2014 article I often cite, there are believed to be 30 MILLION or more unemployed and under-employed people in the U.S..  We're the wealthiest nation on earth, and yet we have a huge problem here.  I've heard reports that unemployment in France is 30% for young adults.  One of the panelists above states that unemployment in Greece for young people is 60% at the time of this discussion.  The big takeaway here is that the world needs to create tens of millions of good jobs in the 21st century, and no one has a clue how that is going to happen.  The most amazing thing is that this is a huge issue nearly everywhere (except Silicon Valley), but hardly anyone is doing anything about it.

Billionaire real estate mogul, reality TV star, and leading presidential candidate Donald Trump says that he has created thousands of jobs in his businesses, and will create "lots of jobs" if he becomes president.  Uh... OK... how?  He doesn't say.  His business empire consists of many hotels.  Would you want to be a maid or bellboy making $8 an hour in a Trump hotel, or say work as a Google intern making $5,000 a month?  Do you see my point?  Most of the jobs Trump has helped create are low wage service jobs.  As a former taxi driver in Orange County, California, where Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm are, I'll let you in on a little secret.  Every place that has a huge tourist industry, like Anaheim, CA, also has a ghetto nearby made up of all the low wage service workers who work in those hotels and resorts.  How many high paying tech jobs has Trump created?  Not many.

The other non-traditional presidential candidate with a big jobs plan is Bernie Sanders.  His plan is to put 13 million Americans to work re-building our country's crumbling infrastructure.  This is an awesome idea.  It kills two big birds with one stone, creates jobs and re-builds things that need it.  But could Bernie, a Democratic Socialist, actually win a general election?  If so, could he get a dysfunctional Congress to actually implement this great idea?  Both are pretty unlikely.  The other idea here is that presidents don't actually create many jobs.  Growing businesses create jobs.  For those businesses to grow, you need a fairly affluent middle class with lots of disposable income to buy the products those businesses make.  As we all know, that's what we've lost here in the last 30 years or so.

So we're back to the core issue.  Who is going to create MILLIONS of high paying jobs for the former factory workers and recent college graduates in the U.S.?  There's no good answer.  On one hand, there are lots of tech jobs companies are having trouble filling.  On the other hand, those are about the only well paying jobs these days.  Whenever I look at this problem, I keep coming back to one idea.  Entrepreneurship.  To really put people back to work in fulfilling, well paying jobs, millions of unemployed and under-employed people are going to have to create their own jobs.  There's no one else to do it.  Are you up for that?  Most people aren't.  None of us were taught to do this in school.  Schools actually do just the opposite, they were created to turn people into compliant factory workers.  Anyway you look at it, this is a big issue that not near enough people are working on.  That's what this blog is about.

Panhandling or Guerilla Marketing

I'm not homeless like I was a few years ago.  But I'm not making a good living yet, either.  Why shoot a photo like this?  It's funny.  In today's social media world, funny can go a long way.  This photo will get a few shares.  Heck, it might wind up getting a lot of shares.  If it brings some people to my blog, this piece of cardboard with hand lettering has done its job.  If it makes you chuckle, then it has really done its job.

Funny Panhandling Sign 13

OK, this sign came out of frustration.  Here in North Carolina, A LOT of people think that talking about Jesus to a panhandler is helpful.  I hate to burst your bubble, but it's not.  Nothing against Jesus himself, but every panhandler I ever met already knew who Jesus was.  Telling a homeless person that Jesus loves them doesn't help the immediate situation.  Sure, it's a nice sentiment, but when you drive away, that person is still homeless, pretty broke, and likely hungry.  Here's an idea, DO SOMETHING to actually help the situation.  Give them a dollar, a slice of the pizza you're taking home (that has actually happened to me), or just yell, "Hang in there, man!" 

The thing about The South is that a lot of people grew up thinking that some people actually deserve to be homeless.  Even worse, these Bible thumping Christians talk to homeless people in a completely condescending way.  The Christians I met while on the streets completely turned me off to organized religion.  I still believed in God, but I didn't want to go to church ever again because I was so sick of religious people talking down to me.  It was a long time before I started going to church again.  The point here?  Telling a down and out person about Jesus doesn't put them to work.  You may actually turn someone completely off to religion by "witnessing" to them.  If helping the homeless isn't your thing, fine, leave them alone.  If you do want to help, a little food, or a simple "Hi" is a good place to start.  See if you can help their immediate situation.  THEN invite them to your church.

30 Million Unemployed and Underemployed in the US

This clip is not the most entertaining, but it's really informative about today's work environment.

In this Gallup article, The Big Lie, from a year ago, it states that the real number of unemployed people and severely underemployed people, tops 30 million in the U.S..  And now there's worry that we're dropping into another recession.  This is what this blog is about.  I'm one of those 30 million people. 

How did this happen?  Here are some of the main reasons, which I will go into more detail in with future blog posts.

-Millions of American jobs have been lost to automation in recent decades, this includes everything from industrial robots to computer programs, to everyday conveniences like ATM machines.

-Millions more factory jobs have been shipped overseas to countries across the world with much lower wages and less environmental regulations.

-The massive change in personal technology, like personal computers, the internet, cell phones then smart phones, social media, etc. has changed the way we communicate.  This has changed business and the workplace at a fundamental level.

-Technology has led to a new kind of job rising to the forefront, jobs that require more tech savy, more thinking, and more creativity.  These jobs pay well, but they're not what our school system teaches people.

- Our school system was created in the late 1800's to turn farmers into factory workers.  It completely fails to prepare today's kids for the jobs that now exist and will exist in the future.

- Most civic leaders still don't really understand this.  Our country is being led by people who still have the "bring back the high-paying factory jobs" mentality.  They're fighting the wrong battle at this point.