Today I’ve decided to throw all of our presidential candidates under the bus. Yes, you read that ALL of them. Warning-this is a heavy post but my blog is just about the only place I can share my thoughts/observations without being shouted down. Here we go let’s have an uncomfortable economic conversation today-but in a respectful way.
Recently I have spent a lot of time listening to people talk about politics, the economy, and “bringing jobs back.” There are few of us who haven’t had at least one awkward conversation about the current Presidential election.
In fact, I’m very excited about how people are in engaging in politics (good or bad) because I was concerned about the serious lack of apathy that has been a part of American life in general for quite a long time. I even have the fanciful notion that we are in a moment of great societal change similar to: the 60’s and that’s not a bad thing. There is one very important and real economic conversation that is not being had that is at the root of all the: crazy talk, anger, and fear.
The New Economy and Real Fear
It is my belief that we are in the middle of an accelerating economic change that began in the 80’s. The economic changes that started with the idea trickle down economics (Reagan) and were cemented with NAFTA (Clinton) has hit its stride and there is no turning back.
For the past 30+ years our business leaders and politicians on both sides of the aisle sent our jobs overseas. Some argued that it was better to produce overseas because of few regulations, the wages were lower, and American consumers would get to buy cheap goods.
The thing that no one took into account was that this system wasn’t sustainable and that with each job that we sent out we were cementing our deal with the Devil. No one realized that technology would kill our ability to regain jobs lost in this deal.
Economic Conversation and Mr. Trump’s Angry People
While I believe that Mr. Trump is in it for himself as he benefited from the system for the past 35 years-the anger these people are feeling is important to talk about. I actually believe that there are a lot of scared people who realize that things have changed and they can’t put their finger on it. They just know that they are finding it hard to find work and things feel “different.” I’m choosing to ignore the racist rhetoric for this post. I’m only focusing on the economy.
The Economy has Changed
- 1800’s agricultural economy-Industrial Revolution
- Late 1800’s to earl 1900’s-Second Industrial Revolution
- WWI and WWII (made jobs)
- 1960’s-70’s I’m adding this decade because Black people and White women began to enter all parts of the work force.
- Mid-1980’s till Now-TECHNOLOGY
This is an unofficial list of the different economic changes through out our history. If you’re a historian please share your perspective on the history of our changing economy.
Technology is Taking Our Jobs
Not, China anymore, or any other foreign country. Again, business people in the U.S. made pragmatic decisions to send jobs overseas and of course China welcomed that work. But, Chinese manufacturing is also slowing down and factories are returning to the United States but with much fewer jobs. Why hirer 200 people when one machine and 10 people will do?
The only candidate who even came close to talking about a good approach to this issue this was Ted Cruz (who I don’t support-but I have to give him credit).
The Jobs Aren’t Coming Back
And, it sucks to say this. And Mr. Trump, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Cruz (to a degree) aren’t being honest about this. If they say that they are bringing back jobs ask yourselves-how? How can they slow down an economic change that has been happening for the past 30+ years? How will they incentivize businesses to pay: wages, insurance, etc. There is no incentive for big businesses to run back to America.
Colorado’s 4.2% Unemployment Rate
Colorado and Utah have very low unemployment rates. I have a theory about why these states are doing so well-and it has nothing to do with pot. Check Google for the statistics on the unemployment rate for your state.
One of the things that I’ve noticed living here is that people LOVE buying local. It is not unusual for me to buy: Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups, Little Owl Coffee (roasted down the street from my house), grab a cup of Silk Soy milk, eat some Noosa yogurt, or when I needed t-shirts printed recently I purchased them locally, and worked with a local company to print them. I literally rode my bike to printer and picked them up. Are you sensing a theme? And, I’m not the only person to do this. And, yes, it pains me to admit this but even our pot is grown locally. I’ve worked downwind of those grow houses. Yikes.
Hyper Local Business
Is the key to growing jobs in an economy that Technology has taken over. What is a problem in your neighborhood that you can solve? What is a service that you can provide? Something that someone overseas can’t do for your neighborhood?
- Do you have a coffee shop? No, open a coffee cart. Check food related regulations/food safety/etc.
- Do you have a grocery store in your neighborhood? No, but you have a car? And the delivery services won’t deliver to your neighborhood? Create a grocery driving service and drive people to the store. Or, take their list and purchase the groceries for them.
- Do you know everything about your town? Create a tour company and share your town with visitors (be mindful of safety). Or, create a website (long-term return)
- Do you read English-but your neighbors don’t?
While these politicians fight with one another, behave embarrassingly, and don’t listen to one another you will be waiting for those jobs to return. Going out on your own will be frightening but waiting for jobs to return on a politician’s time table is even scarier.
For those of you who say that you don’t want to be an entrepreneur-I hear you. Consider this “mind-the-gap” entrepreneurship until those promised for jobs arrive.
Hold Your Local Politicians Accountable
What are your Governors, Mayors, and city councils doing? Are they encouraging entrepreneurship, getting businesses to come to your town, are they thinking outside of the box? Presidents are important-but your local politicians and business leaders are even more important. Are they working hard to diversify your local economy?
By the way-Colorado has been notorious for having a boom-bust economy.
- Gold Rush-that went bust.
- Oil Boom-that went bust (and is suffering currently)
- Tourism-that can suffer due to lack of snow.
- The late 90’s Tech Bust-That sucked.
- We said “No” to the Olympics-That was a good decision but then we got a bad reputation for awhile.
The point is Colorado had to learn the hard way to diversify its economy. We now:
- Manufacture-local products: Lara Bars, Izze Drinks, Crocs, Coors, etc.
- Tourism (all year around)-Skiing, etc.
- Agriculture-Beef, Palisade Peaches, Honeydew Melons, etc.
- Education-Numerous universities
- Sports-Broncos/Nuggets/Avalanche/Rapids/Rockies/etc.
- Green Energy
- Oil
- Pot (sigh)
- Conventions-ComiCon,etc.
- Beer
The point is we learned the hard way that having one or two big industries in your state doesn’t work. If that is happening where you live go to your city council meeting with proposals every time they have a meeting. Don’t let them lose focus-they are accountable to YOU.
I’m just tired of people imagining that the President will rescue you. They are just a man (or woman) in charge of a lot of epic sh$t. Don’t wait for them to change your life. They have only so much power that is based on the cooperation of others and we’ve seen how that’s gone since the 90’s. Don’t hold your breath.
I promise to be a lot lighter in future posts. But, I’ve had some heavy stuff on my mind and needed to get it off my chest. I’m sick of people being fed platitudes. The economy has changed it’s time to be honest about it so that we can make strategic plans so that we’re not screwed waiting for the President to help us. Just saying.
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Life in the U.S. hasn’t been the same since 9/11, it really changed the American way of life for the early 21st Century.
Sure we had our problems but 9/11 really shook up the U.S in the early 21st Century. It made Americans and the government scared, we saw our civil liberties being broken with the Patriot act, government censorship, government tracking, it also shattered our economy, started the profiling and hatred of innocent Arabs, and then we entered the middle-east yet again with the Iraq war.
Eventually Americans got their confidence back and life went on until the great recession happened. However we’re not in a booming economy. We are in an economy that is stagnating. While certain states like Colorado are doing well, other states and cities aren’t. Racial tensions are at an all-time high and it’s a lot more complicated than blaming whitey or the black community.
Personally I think both sides are to blame for racial tensions. Both sides have done egregious things.
I’m tired of politicians personally.
Anyway, I understand that we’re going into a more automated society however there are still things that require humans to assemble. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the Chinese are more skilled in putting together Apple products.
Yea pretty much the entire U.S. didn’t buy that interview. You can bring those jobs to America and I guarantee you that a lot of Americans would sign up to work at Apple manufacturing plants.
A lot of those Chinese workers are from poor families where their only choice is to work at a rice paddy which is really dangerous or a sweatshop factory. Naturally many of them choose factory work. They are trained at those factories on how to put those items together, so don’t tell me Tim Cook that they are more “skilled.”
Why do affluent Chinese families send their children to get educated and to work at a great careers and not to factories? No one goes to factories when they are highly skilled.
I actually feel sorry for the poor Chinese workers that they have no choice. Awhile back there was news of Chinese workers at Apple committing suicide. They are just abusing them over there because they know those poor people have no choice.
Several documentaries and news programs have gone overseas to interview Chinese workers and man it is sick. It is just sick how they treat them. It’s disgusting.
Also there have been protests against work conditions in China and I feel like they are going through their own industrial revolution right now the way we did back in the 1920’s (where conditions were horrible and then Americans started to protest against them).
In a way I understand both the Chinese side and the American side. If any of these people want to make America great then show me, don’t tell me! I’m tired of hearing politicians yap. Blah blah blah it’s just words at the end of the day. Seriously tell me how you politicians are going to be diff from Bush and Obama.
At the end of the day these politicos don’t care about your life and loved ones the way that you care about your life and your loved ones.
Yet every election we act like these people are the second coming of Jesus. Anyway I agree with you in that we should take initiative in our own lives and stop waiting for jobs to come back. Even if some manufacturing jobs do come back, we’re still moving to a more technological world.
I do wonder if the need for human assembled work will be eradicated eventually, and if other kind of work will be opened up for humans like cyber security IT professions, etc. Sorry I rambled all over the place. It’s like 3 a.m. here.
P.S. I also like Justin’s Peanut butter cups. =)
First, thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my post-especially at 3:00 p.m. One of the things I didn’t talk about was this notion of “Make America Great Again.” I think that what most Americans don’t understand is that the metrics being used to decide if a country is “great” are very different from before. The world is looking at: safety (we have constant gun violence) education (it’s not good enough-my future kids will be homeschooled) political discourse (what discourse?) healthcare (it’s too expensive-with or without the Affordable Health Medical Care Act) family life (what family life?) work life. I have a great life here but I had to quit my job in order to create the life flexibility that I needed. I have a friend who had duel US/Swiss nationality-guess where they are living? Switzerland. There’s just a lot less bullsh$t to deal with. The one point that really hit home for me in your comment was the following “At the end of the day these politicos don’t care about your life and loved ones the way that you care about your life and your loved ones.” And that’s it in a nutshell. If they truly cared then they would: actually talk to one another and get things done. Instead, they are too invested in being “right.” If I worked like this I would get fired. Or, if I treated people the way that I am seeing them treat people I would either: get fired or no one would want to deal with me. So, I’ve decided to make it my mission to let people know what the politicians aren’t talking about-the economy has changed and they aren’t offering solutions to fix it. They just make me tired.
This is a very important message. Every 4 years I get tired of people getting so nasty when it comes to the presidential election and the candidates selling dreams that everything will get better in just a few short years. I think it’s so important to take your future and livelihood into your own hands or at minimum brush up on your skills and talents in a field that is always in demand as a backup. This post got me thinking about the unemployment rate in my state which is about 6.0%. The issue won’t solve itself nor can it be solved by one person alone.
My favorite part of your comment is “Candidates selling dreams…” I can’t afford to live in a dream land. I need to eat now. I think that you’re wise to encourage people to brush up on skills/etc in fields that are in demand. Great advice. I know that my experience regarding: state-wide unemployment, etc. is different than what people are experiencing in other parts of the country but I also look at the local governments and think-why do people allows this to continue? Illinois is a prime example of this. It’s unbelievable how much the politicians get away with.
I’m glad somebody said it. The jobs aren’t come back. Unfortunately there are a LOT of people who believe that they are. For the longest I’ve been thinking that everyone needs some type of side hustle that they could turn into a legitimate business. I have never thought about the local business aspect of it. It makes sense. There are a lot of areas in my hometown that could use a couple businesses.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow but I think it’s important to be honest and just say it-those jobs aren’t coming back. Most of my family grew up in a factory town. They lived great lives working “on the line.” They earned pensions, paid off houses, and sent their kids to college. Then, the factories were sent overseas and the town slowly but surely began to die a slow and painful death. When you visit that town now there are no young people living there. Just cute little elderly people everywhere. It’s the saddest thing. At this point, I want people to stop waiting for a rescue-it’s just not going to happen.