For the past several years, we basically stood by watching as the warning signs were all around us. Jobs in Michigan were disappearing at an alarming rate. Small mom 'n pop manufacturers, bottom of the food chain in a very large and seemingly-invincible automotive industry, were closing their doors. Bids for goods and services were increasingly won by foreign companies whose labor cost were considerably lower than those in the United States. We couldn't begin to compete in industries dependent on low-skilled workers.
An MSNBC article, The Great Recession Transforms the Workplace, describes the collapse and the fallout we still see raining down all around us. As employers continue to re-invent themselves, desperately seeking a niche in a new global economy, so, too, must the American worker. Wage and benefit packages for unskilled trades have plummeted and, IMHO, will likely continue to do so until we achieve equilibrium.
After the near-catastrophic collapse of the world's financial markets and banking industries, like a long line of dominoes colliding one into another into another, we have witnessed in real-time how connected our economies have become. The Pandora's Box is open and protectionism is no longer a viable, sustainable option.
However, I believe the Pandora's Box may hold yet another surprise that will eventually be a key factor in slowing our slide down the slippery slope of lost jobs and wages: The Internet.
Our global connectedness now goes beyond the marketplace. People from all walks of life, from around the world, are increasingly connected on a very personal level by way of the Internet. As vast populations in developing countries are inevitably exposed to Western culture and expectations, the seed of unrest will take root, and they'll begin to yearn for the better life they now know could be—should be—theirs as well.
Although this transformation won't happen overnight, workers around the world will eventually demand that better life—and the wages and benefits to support it.
We will begin to achieve equilibrium.
The American dream is not dead. It's on the verge of becoming a global phenomenon.
— Robin
An MSNBC article, The Great Recession Transforms the Workplace, describes the collapse and the fallout we still see raining down all around us. As employers continue to re-invent themselves, desperately seeking a niche in a new global economy, so, too, must the American worker. Wage and benefit packages for unskilled trades have plummeted and, IMHO, will likely continue to do so until we achieve equilibrium.
After the near-catastrophic collapse of the world's financial markets and banking industries, like a long line of dominoes colliding one into another into another, we have witnessed in real-time how connected our economies have become. The Pandora's Box is open and protectionism is no longer a viable, sustainable option.
However, I believe the Pandora's Box may hold yet another surprise that will eventually be a key factor in slowing our slide down the slippery slope of lost jobs and wages: The Internet.
Our global connectedness now goes beyond the marketplace. People from all walks of life, from around the world, are increasingly connected on a very personal level by way of the Internet. As vast populations in developing countries are inevitably exposed to Western culture and expectations, the seed of unrest will take root, and they'll begin to yearn for the better life they now know could be—should be—theirs as well.
Although this transformation won't happen overnight, workers around the world will eventually demand that better life—and the wages and benefits to support it.
We will begin to achieve equilibrium.
The American dream is not dead. It's on the verge of becoming a global phenomenon.
— Robin
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