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For many, life is good right now, economically. While there is a lot of concern over stagnant wages and the like..employment is high and some sectors, notably High Tech, have made gains. My question?
Is a lot of what we are seeing as economic dislocation a direct reflection of the changing workplace..into a less labor intensive, more cerebral place and, will this result in a technical/intellectual elite as the new Middle Class?
They already are and large numbers are foreign born. I know a lot of East Indians and Chinese in tech. Its funny because they have more of a Protestant work ethic than Protestants. I do believe the upper middle class America of the future will be heavily populated by foreign born people who are smart, work hard, are frugal, and have strong cultural, social and family values. That sounds a lot like the American family of the 1950s. I'm encouraged.
They already are and large numbers are foreign born. I know a lot of East Indians and Chinese in tech. Its funny because they have more of a Protestant work ethic than Protestants. I do believe the upper middle class America of the future will be heavily populated by foreign born people who are smart, work hard, are frugal, and have strong cultural, social and family values. That sounds a lot like the American family of the 1950s. I'm encouraged.
I agree that it seems to be a good thing..that there is, perhaps, a new emerging middle-class.
I do wonder though, what happens to the old, skills-based, middle class. The blue-collar worker who used to be able to provide for his family some semblance of the American Dream.
Is it a case of adapt or die? I understand the anger that a person might feel at being passed by a changing market, not only his economic life being threatened, but also the values that go along with it.
Is this part of the normal economic "churn" that is inevitable when new tech is introduced and....is the pace of innovation accelerated to the point that middle-class stability is a thing of the past?
In my youth, about 1/4 of neighborhood peers (working class neighborhood) went into high-paying union jobs, 1/4 went into low-paying skills, and about 1/2 of us went to college and beyond. The majority of the union jobs are now gone and my old home neighborhood, like most of the upper Northeast and Rust Belt, has become a 7-Eleven economy where a few are doing very well but most are getting by on low-wage jobs and government assistance.
People scream for union jobs these days but no one is hoping that their child grows up to put lug nuts on Chevrolets in an assembly plant. And, there are only so many college-needed or high skilled jobs available and immigration of unskilled workers is squeezing the lower rung.
America's closet response to the swelling roll of low skilled unemployed is improved welfare benefits and Federal disability. Essentially we are warehousing large numbers of our population who don't have a place in or were displaced by the information economy. In the state of West Virginia, for example, nine percent of the adult population is on permanent federal disability.
How far into the future do you want the prediction? Plan is to have The Elite reside in roughly 250 conclaves, well protected and guarded. Most of life there will be automatized, so there will be a layer of managers and maintenance personnel, along with servants. A specific ethnicity is already chosen for them due to embedded in it sense of hierarchical subservience to the masters.
The rest? The rest will be OUTSIDE on its own. Warlords, tribes, gangs, etc - Elite don't care really.
Fantasy? Sure. Though it's already in the books, in works, and why do you think you see more and more movies seeding that into people minds?
This is already the case, IMO... there's a big segment of the population in the 20-50 age range that's specialized in these tech fields. Plus people employed in spin-off jobs (software testing, technical writing, selling the products, tech training and support, etc.). Many of these people jumped into well-paying tech jobs and into the middle class, thanks to doing well in university. More and more middle class jobs in general are dependent on being knowledgeable about how to work with technology too--you don't get far in your career if you can't keep up with new software.
IT has spread into every corner of the modern economy. Keep up, or fall behind.
Unfortunately, some people do fall behind. If you only have a high school diploma, and very little technical ability, you aren't going to get ahead. That's the new underclass.
The information age has arrived. Literacy, numeracy, and adaptability... that's what the economy demands nowadays.
Is it a case of adapt or die? I understand the anger that a person might feel at being passed by a changing market, not only his economic life being threatened, but also the values that go along with it.
It's not that the middle class is shrinking or disappearing... but "adapt or die" is the way it is, and the way it always has been.
Technology changes the economy. And the workforce has to adapt to new realities. Happened during the Industrial Revolution, and it's still the case.
People don't buy newspapers anymore (news aggregators online are preferred). They don't use landline phones or the white pages/yellow pages (cell phones and internet). The internet drove many travel agencies out of business. People are jumping aboard Uber instead of using taxis. Etc... just like horse and buggy manufacturers went out of business, and shepherds, and weavers with hand looms, etc... old jobs get replaced with new jobs.
America's closet response to the swelling roll of low skilled unemployed is improved welfare benefits and Federal disability. Essentially we are warehousing large numbers of our population who don't have a place in or were displaced by the information economy. In the state of West Virginia, for example, nine percent of the adult population is on permanent federal disability.
This is not the way we want to go. This idea that everyone can fit into the new economy is simply fantasy. By failing to address it properly or empathetically, it hurts us all. Eventually more and more will be pushed out of the center and it will be many of those who now think they are safe.
In the state of West Virginia, for example, nine percent of the adult population is on permanent federal disability.
I agree with the gist of your post..in fairness, I must point out that a large number of the federal disability claims in Appalachia are Coal-related..due to Black-lung settlements and pensions.
For many, life is good right now, economically. While there is a lot of concern over stagnant wages and the like..employment is high and some sectors, notably High Tech, have made gains. My question?
Is a lot of what we are seeing as economic dislocation a direct reflection of the changing workplace..into a less labor intensive, more cerebral place and, will this result in a technical/intellectual elite as the new Middle Class?
That's a bit of a contradiction in terms. If they're elite, they won't be middle class. I'd say they're the new upper middle class, like doctors and lawyers used to be. Or still are.
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