Thomas Friedman writing for the New York Times:
“In a world where average is officially over, there are many things we need to do to buttress employment, but nothing would be more important than passing some kind of G.I. Bill for the 21st century that ensures that every American has access to post-high school education.”
It’s difficult to disagree with the majority of Friedman’s points, but two additional points are worth considering:
- Higher education will not save the unemployed in a “contracting” job market. I view Friedman’s argument as a band-aid to cure cancer. Government needs to re-evaluate policy to buttress local job growth rather than off-shoring.
- While technology continues to be disruptive, there is some degree of balance. New jobs are now available that previously did not exist. There’s likely a pretty good-sized disparity in the ratio of elimination to creation, but still – the forecast isn’t entirely gloomy.
And let’s face it, the story concerning the waiters and waitresses is just … disturbing.