"The mouse chasing the cheese. Is that mouse the 'no skill' job seeker looking for good job opportunities? Or is the mouse the employer looking for skilled workers? Or is it both?"
These are the best of times if you are a job seeker. That is, if you are a job seeker with the right skill set. Oh heck - even if you have zero skills, McDonald's and Burger King will fall all over themselves to get you in their employment. Why is that? The stars are in the right alignment today. With the long predicted demographic change of baby boomers retiring, and a reduced birth rate, there are fewer mice chasing an increasing number of cheese bits. And with this red hot Trump economy, the number of cheese bits available has exploded.
How bad is it right now for employers? Some bad, others worse. None are good. In fact this month for the first time in many years, it was reported that the US Army fell thousands of folks short meeting its recruiting goals. Despite enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses galore. The reason in my opinion? Not enough qualified people are visiting the recruiting stations. Even though Trump is trying as hard as he can to get the "Obama salary depression" fixed for our service members, the Armed Forces are still competing with the private sector. The Selective Service might be getting warmed up in the bullpen.
I know, I know. Immigration advocates would look at this situation and try to make a case for more illegals. Sorry - wrong skill mix. We have an over abundance of folks with no skills coming across our borders right now. And an under abundance of engineers, scientists, and skilled laborers. Talk to anyone right now who owns a small business which does skilled work. Produces a product or service. They all are in the same boat and will tell you the same thing. Not enough qualified people in the job force.
The issue once again gets back to education. Yes, I need to pick this scab once again. Even though this is not a political article, I guess some politics must enter in. Our current education system is not working well. What? My opinion? Nope - the evidence is out there. We have not been, nor are now, and if we don't change, will not in the future - educating our kids for future jobs. Like a good quarterback (sore subject today), throwing a pass to a zone where the receiver will be after his cut, that is how we need to educate today.
To keep the football analogy up, currently we are throwing the ball to where the receiver is, before his cut. The ball flies to an empty zone, as the receiver is no longer there. Tim Walz has the philosophy of continuing to do just that. Keep over-funding this broken system. Jeff Johnson on the other hand, knows the current system is not only over-funded, but also "throwing the ball to the wrong zone". Jeff wants to fix our education system, and then properly fund it (likely, it will be cheaper).
If we don't fix our education system, our employment problems will persist, and only get worse. The world is moving at a rapid pace, and in the next five to ten years, changes will only happen faster. We will be bringing in more and more people from other countries on special work visas. Why? Without them, will not be able to fill the gap. We will have no other choice. Not if we want to remain a player in a world economy.
Pay attention folks to what is being taught in our local schools. It all starts there. If all we teach our kids is diversity, gender identification, warm fuzzies and cold pricklies - our problems will persist. However, if we really grasp programs like STEM and STEP, and start them early (like in 6th grade) - we will have a chance to fix this.
The mouse chasing the cheese. Is that mouse the "no skill" job seeker looking for job opportunities? Or is the mouse the employer looking for skilled workers? Or is it both?
With our aging population and growing need for employees, the prospects for long run economic growth in the United States will be considerably dimmed without the contributions of high-skilled immigrants.
ReplyDeleteIf those who oppose immigration were correct, then Japan, an immigrant-unfriendly country, should be an economic juggernaut. It is not. Japan is facing an economic and demographic crisis. An older population, low birth rate and Toad-like attitude towards immigration have caused most, if not all of their problems.
Perhaps even more important than the contribution to labor supply is the infusion by high-skilled immigration of human capital that has boosted the nation’s capacity for innovation and technological change.
The Toads desire to toss out Indian women with H4 visa's is going to decimate the IT talent pool. Their husbands are the IT entrepreneurs that have fueled the US dominance in IT, AI, MI and other fields requiring advanced education and knowledge. And they will leave, mostly to Canada and the UK.
The Toads recently stated goals for legal immigration is around 35,000 per year and this year we may not reach that.
Skilled immigrants no longer view the US as the "shining shores" of yesteryear, due to confusion about US attitudes towards them.
To think we can convert our education system in time to meet the immediate and future needs is ludicrous. It will take decades. And schools are managed at the district level, not by governors, so JJ or any other well meaning leader will have little effect.
Good Blog Bird, with plenty of meat to think about. And no easy solutions.
ps. where did all my usual detractors go, back to school? I feel lonely as the only commentor.
Don't worry - Mike is still around. I guess you have not poked him hard enough as late. If he gets agitated, he will chime in - no doubt. I have told you a while back that being a FB friend of mine has some merit. I sometimes get a ton of feedback from many sources (mostly Right, some Left) when my articles go on FB. On the blog post itself, not so much. Mostly you Dave, and if I told you I did not enjoy (and learn from) your responses, I would not be telling the truth. Peace brother!
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DeleteI like Gary Miner, intelligent, articulate and coherent.
ReplyDeleteGary and I have known each other before we started to shave. He has been one of my besties for decades. He is in town for his 50th reunion, and next week he and I are going to destroy a bottle of bourbon while we once again, solve the world's problems.
DeleteI'd love to be a fly on the wall for those discussions.
DeleteA third woman is expected to publicly make accusations of sexual misconduct against supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh this week, her attorney Michael Avenatti said, plunging the judge’s confirmation to America’s highest court into further uncertainty.
ReplyDelete“She reached out to me. We vetted her claim and she satisfactorily passed that vetting,” Avenatti said of the new accuser in an interview with the Guardian on Monday.
And this Dave - is why I would never run for office! ;>)
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