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So how would you prove that you are not "average"? By climbing up the ladder, right? Your place in the pecking order is a self-sufficient (and the only) "proof" that you are not "average". Right? This makes Friedman' BS (what a worthless, garbage generating "visionary", with a good paycheck though, see below ) just another circular regurgitation of Goratio Alger stories.
We who lived long enough know well that there are more than enough of the below average (not speaking of average) folks who positioned themselves very close to the corporate trough. You youngsters will learn that too, 200% guarantee. A+ crowd doesn't do that well in life as B/B- crowd, in my experience.
It's even worse because going to college simply makes you average. You have to spend 4 years and $50,000+ just to be in the running for average. It's fierce competition for almost any career today. Get ahead or you'll be working at Starbucks your whole life.
I have a question for the "employer" types who feel "average" people deserve to be unemployed, and who feel that employment should only be a privilege for a small elite (who is willing and able to work 24/7/365, who has no medical problems, who is over 6' tall if male or under 100 lbs if female, who has an advanced degree from an elite university, who has the type of personality that employers like, etc). My question is, how do you expect everyone else to live? Do you want the government to support us? If so, you will be paying even more taxes taken out of the money that you are working ridiculous hours to earn. Or do you want us to all just suffer and be homeless? If so, then who do you expect to buy the products and services that you produce?
Contrary to popular belief, employers do in fact need average people. They need these people to work the jobs directly beneath the small minority of above average super achievers. Why? Because the above average crowd is not going to stay satisfied with those 35K/year dead end, go nowhere positions. Average folks will take these jobs, put in an average effort, grumble a bit about the pay and that's about it. Hiring one of those above average, the sky is the limit types for these jobs is a big mistake. As soon as they are somewhat comfortable with that position, they will be planning their escape if they have not already done so.
Employers and economists are just stiring the pot to get folks riled up. The sky is falling stuff is a big seller. Yes, there was a brief time during the recession when employers were hiring top notch, largely overqualified employees for the equivalent of the burger flipping jobs in their given sector. Of course, it was foolish to think that would last forever. As things started to pick up, including hiring, many of these folks had luck getting a job comparable to the one they held before the recession.
Many companies are also relying on skeleton crews to maximize profitability. It's questionable how long this can go on. Depending on a small handful of employees to carry out the most critical of tasks is not exactly the most healthy of long term strategies. Eventually, these folks get burned out, or just decide they've had enough. I've seen folks voluntarily take lower level, lower paying positions at different companies just to get away from the intense stress. I hear more and more folks saying "it's just money", and they will only work so hard for a little bit more.
America is one of the most overworked, under-vacationed countries in the world. We were recently displaced by Mexico as being the most obese. We are prescribed record amounts of anti anxiety and antidepressants. Mental health and well being suffers each time the thumb screws are cranked a bit tighter. What happens when the workforce is pushed a wee bit too hard???
Most people are pretty average in the long run. Probably most on CD. Alot of posters are asking for just a decent job that pays 30-40k a year and they'll be happy. Most realize they don't need all the latest and greatest to be happy with life.
To me, this is more playing into that fear that it's not okay to be average and everyone has to be all they can be. Some are just scared of that. Some just want to be at the top of the food chain because they see all the benefits of it, while others only see the problems.
Everyone is average is some sort of way anyway, and everyone's poop still stinks.
As long as Thomas Friedman has as good a job as he has now, "average" is definitely not over. Mr. Friedman is the living embodiment of average, but has a unsuspecting network of educated people to peddle his nonsense too. The only difference between some of us and Mr. Friedman is that his career was born during a time when there were more plentiful chances to be upwardly mobile. He is a huckster, at best...
If "average" is no longer good enough, than the world will collapse back into poverty since most folks are about average, and a good number are below average. No idea how we're supposed to sustain a functional economy and 1st world nation status if most people can no longer support themselves. Maybe the rich alone will spend enough to "stimulate" the economy - hahahaha... right.
It's idiocy. Average was fine for a long time, but now we need to get a fraction of a penny more profit per share - and the executives all need bigger yachts - so no more average! Everyone most be above average and still willing to work for peanuts, because that'll play out just great! What is presented here as "just the way things are" is not really the case - those who benefit from runaway greed have made the job market this way, and questions need to be asked as to what we're going to do about it before none of us are far enough above "average" to get more than a bowl of rice a day.
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) just another circular regurgitation of Goratio Alger stories. 
