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Do you have a white collar job? Do you care that blue collar jobs in the US are disappearing with companies that move jobs overseas or that workers in the service industries are losing their jobs to illegals?
I really want to know that if you and your spouse (if married), are college educated and have white collar jobs, then you care whether blue collar workers are losing their jobs or is it mostly a "can't see it from my house" issue for you and your family? Where does it rank on your "issues important to me" list?
I have been caring nearly all my life!
This is NOT some new issue that magically materialized- Billy Joel recorded and released "Allentown" in 1982. 34 years ago. And it was happening before then!
I do not know what you can do to keep factories here. But there are other Blue Collar positions that give you a good living: Construction, Home Renovation, Restaurant Work, even Gardening & Landscaping.
But millions think it perfectly acceptable to import millions illegally to do it cheaply. And pick up the tab for their social benefits too. People think its great. And call you racist if you say otherwise, which someone will inevitably call me soon enough.
Millions of people with their rictus grins and faux morality bent on destroying our society.
So yea, I am white collar with a BA and MBA. I care deeply. But more do not.
Seems to me a majority of this country had / has no "aptitude" for higher education. They lack the emotional, social and cognitive maturity and discipline to increase their expectations of themselves, let alone their own children. I'll leave it to the professionals to conclude to what extent this is just how people are wired vs. learned behavior.
There is only so much that 5% of the world's population can consume. What matters in manufacturing is how much of what is produced can be exported. There is no demand by the rest of the word to pay a substantial premium for Made in the USA when the same product can be acquired from c.
i respectfully disagree with you.
For some people and for some professions, college education is overrated.
There is no doubt in my mind that technology has given many blue collar works a makeover, leaving them worlds away from their assembly-line predecessors and challenging the notion that good blue-collar jobs are dead and that the only path to a good career is a four-year degree.
In most metro areas, some of the best-paying middle-skill jobs include radiation therapists, elevator installers and repairers, and dental hygienists, all with a median wage of more than $70,000.
None really needs a "higher" education.
I tell all my friends who cannot afford going to college, get a training, find a job cannot be easily outsourced. They are all doing pretty well without a college education.
I have two college degrees, both are useless. Marketable skills in my opinion is much more important than a piece of paper.
I watched a great interview between Bill Maher and Mike Roe (the Dirty Jobs guy). You can watch it on YouTube. Mike Roe has become an advocate of trade schools and apprenticeships. He also has a good TED Talk that touches on the same subject. He's a very entertaining guy.
Anyway, I have become a huge advocate for this. Here in Savannah, several big companies have partnered with the technical college to train skilled workers for well paying jobs. If I had it to do over, I would have gone his route, and counceled some of my kids to. Kids can still go to college later, if it will enhance their career, but in the meantime, they're working.
Love Mike Roe.
Having said this, there are never going to be enough trade jobs and apprentices available to employ the masses.
It's a viable path for those with adequate emotional, social and cognitive maturity and discipline who expect more of themselves, who can focus on the long term instead of immediate gratification. They have to show up sober, pay attention, take orders, execute and work their butt off.
For some people and for some professions, college education is overrated.
There is no doubt in my mind that technology has given many blue collar works a makeover, leaving them worlds away from their assembly-line predecessors and challenging the notion that good blue-collar jobs are dead and that the only path to a good career is a four-year degree.
In most metro areas, some of the best-paying middle-skill jobs include radiation therapists, elevator installers and repairers, and dental hygienists, all with a median wage of more than $70,000.
None really needs a "higher" education.
I tell all my friends who cannot afford going to college, get a training, find a job cannot be easily outsourced. They are all doing pretty well without a college education.
I have two college degrees, both are useless. Marketable skills in my opinion is much more important than a piece of paper.
No argument from me.
My comments were about the manufacturing segment of the so-called blue collar world.
The masses have never been college material. 100 years ago they toiled in factories, mills, mines and sweat shops 12-16 hours a day, 6 days a week for a subsistence wage. Government granted them the right to organize and collective bargain. That lifted the masses into the middle class more so than anything else and for some, seems to have created a permanent sense of entitlement. It was swell for the blip in time it lasted. Those days are long gone.
Prior to WW2, the masses were lucky to finish 8th grade. College was often limited to the wealthy. Some women attended to earn the so-called Mrs Degree and no one cared if they did not graduate.
The GI Bill allowed returning veterans to go to school on the government dime. Some took advantage of the opportunity and some did not and instead, worked in factories under collective bargaining agreements.
Seems to me a majority of this country had / has no "aptitude" for higher education. They lack the emotional, social and cognitive maturity and discipline to increase their expectations of themselves, let alone their own children. I'll leave it to the professionals to conclude to what extent this is just how people are wired vs. learned behavior.
There is only so much that 5% of the world's population can consume. What matters in manufacturing is how much of what is produced can be exported. There is no demand by the rest of the word to pay a substantial premium for Made in the USA when the same product can be acquired from cheaper sources of labor, elsewhere. The US has and continues to dominate certain industries, commercial aircraft, weapons and autos. We are not going to "make this country great again" perceiving that we can sell a $111 toaster to the rest of the world when the third world can make the same toaster for $1.29.
I care, that's why I am against rewarding illegals and I am against trade deals like NAFTA. Too bad the party that claims to care about working Americans has been doing anything but protecting American industry.
Funny how we refer to people as illegal immigrants when it comes to employment and do not do the same for the businesses who employ them. They are illegal businesses and so are the businesses that employ subcontractors who employ illegal immigrants.
Illegal immigrants do not take jobs from anyone. They are recruited and hired by people and companies that violate federal law.
Immigrants, legal and otherwise, have used birthright citizenship to move to the head of the pack for permanent residency and citizenship all along. I am unaware of any attempted legislation or amendment that seeks to change this, getting any traction in Congress.
Politicians and the media who feed off them have made this a partisan issue and the public buys into it. In the mean time, both parties have and continue to kick the can. This is not an accident.
Everyone I know wants to hold the greedy employers accountable but the fact is that no one forces illegals to come here and take jobs they aren't entitled to either. They are just as guilty. By working for less, yes they are taking jobs from Americans along with their greedy employers.
There have been many bills presented to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens but the usual suspects (aka liberals) will have none of it. It's going to happen eventually though and you can take that to the bank even if you don't like it. The can isn't going to be kicked much longer on illegal immigration and you can take that to the bank also. It's not going to be amnesty as a solution this time around either. Read it and weep.
Could it be that the small business that hire undocumented workers find them to be a better bang for the $.
Could it be the powerful Chamber of Commerce lobby, that represents small businesses likes things the way they are. And Congress does not bite the hands that feed them.
Could it be that with the exception of a handful of states, e-Verify of all employees is not mandatory.
Could it be that hundreds of Sanctuary Cities have existed throughout the US for decades. Heck, Florida has multiple Sanctuary Counties.
Could it be that Congress has been kicking the can for more than 30 years. It has not mattered who sat the oval or held the majority.
Could it be that the House declined to stand up and be counted and vote on the bipartisan Senate bill?
Could it be the House never gave traction to any Houseinitiated immigration bills?
Building a Wall is not going to put a dent into illegal immigration so long as small businesses continue to recruit and hire undocumented workers.And how many of those small businesses sub contract to larger businesses?
It is against the law to hire illegal aliens ( they aren't the undocumented) so I guess our laws mean nothing? That's what needs to change. I am aware of what you are saying but what I am saying is that it is all against the law and we need a president in the White House who will see that our immigration laws are enforced.
The House didn't give any traction to the so-called immigration bills because they were simply amnesty. That doesn't solve a thing.
Building the 700 mile wall would go a long ways in deterring illegal immigration. It would help the Border Patrol do their job more effectively. I think you would find that very few employers actually recruit illegal aliens. Most of them just jump the border on their own and find jobs. That is why they need to be stopped.
This has been going on for decades. There are still plenty of blue collar jobs. Plus most kids these days go to college and don't want blue collar jobs grandpa.
Looking at some of the Majors they take today (easy to pass) they don't want any kind of job either.
The Majors they are getting do NOT lead to good jobs if any.
Just because it has been going on for years doesn't make it right. There are many kids that can't afford to go to college and would rather have a job in the trades aka blue-collared jobs. They use to pay a decent wage to. So can we put you on the list as one who doesn't care?
A good auto mechanic can make over $100,00 a year.
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