Twenty years ago x percent of
America's workers possessed
the math, verbal and interpersonal intelligence and skills required to enter the America's high income Group define here as earning at
least twice the median income.
Ambition and other personal characteristics were also required. College was useful but many
went
right to work
and
achieved success.
Members of the Group earn more because they contribute
more to their employers
earnings/well-being.
Business has become really good at measuring these
contributions and as a result
the Group now earns more
than twice the median income leaving less for those excluded from the
Group. Recently, membership
has
become more difficult because a fourth intelligence/skill has been added to
the mix.
Geekability intelligence/skill, the ability to learn and continually
update knowledge and skills related to technology such as
computer software, computer hardware (laptops, mobile phones), the
Internet and Social Networks are now required to join the Group.
Professions that used to require some minimum levels of math, verbal and
interpersonal intelligence now require Geekability and not all earlier
group members poses sufficient Geekability. Being an engineer, English
teacher, manufacturing supervisor, manager or any profession that earns
at least twice the median income now require some degree of Geekability.
The Group is now smaller because the economics teacher who learned the
basics gave the same lecture for many years and the salesperson relying
on personality and a ROLODEX now need Geekability.
There is a third
culprit responsible for a smaller Group and the
destruction of America's middle class.
Knowledge capital is temporary and
burnout is a more severe
problem in all professions and
Geekability has enhanced the problem. Professions
such as tax lawyers and medical
specialists have
always
been under update pressure but the universal
requirement of Geekability
means many
more
people are affected and more professionals
find themselves with less pay because
they just
don't have the ambition required to keep up. They may keep
their job but the employer
will find
them
out
and they will be excluded from the group.
There has also been a disappearance of good jobs causing the destruction of America's
middle class. We can not educate ourselves out of this problem.
Why? Living in a Flat World means our best and
brightest students are in a competitive struggle with the best and
brightest from around the world and
this additional supply pushes lower wages.
Portable flexible cheap robots in manufacturing and
robots
cleaning offices decrease required hours per task dramatically lowering
demand for workers.
Talent Exchanges located in the Cloud allow private
contractors to bid against well-established
companies for specific small
jobs which lowers wages.
The
belief that more college graduates will raise
wages has caused an
over-supply of college graduates and lower wages. Finally,
wages are losing the battle with profits for a share of the distribution pie. as the passage Roe-Wade
caused
a political union
between conservatives who forgo their economic
interest to fight all federal government activity
to lower taxes and
entrepreneurs who want low taxes to increase profit push profits to ever increasing levels.
Large increase in productivity during the last
quarter of the 19th century early 20th century were shared
between workers and a very wealthy inventors and financiers class.
Trust buster Teddy
Roosevelt
used the federal government and the help of unions to force the wealth
spread more evenly and put
an end to
the Gilded Age.
Social unrest was
common. History has not repeated itself because of an
unusual political alliance
between money interest and
conservatives who abhor Roe V. Wade and
government involvement in their
lives. This alliance has resulted in stagnant real wages for the middle
class
though there has been an in wealth for a well publicized top 1%. A fairly large unmanaged
government
safety net has resulted in little social unrest.
Generations predicted social unrest of a magnitude
not seen
for many years.
Abstract
"Data linking 1972 and 1992 adolescent skill endowments
to adult outcomes reveal increasing complementarities between cognitive
and social skills. In fact, previously noted growth in demand for
cognitive skills affected only individuals with strong endowments of
both social and cognitive skills. These findings are corroborated using
Census and CPS data matched with Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)
job task measures; employment in and earnings premiums to occupations
requiring high levels of both cognitive and social skill grew
substantially compared with occupations that require only one or neither
type of skill, and this emerging feature of the labor market has
persisted into the new millennium."
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See
Average is Over,
Educating
the Class of 2030 and
Tech-based Education which show the
need for drastic changes which will be difficult as many
current educators do not
possess
Geekability and fear being forced out of the Group.
Data demonstrating how
Tech is Destroying the U.S. Middle Class
Larry Summers Demolished Robots
and Skills Arguments
Cognitive and Social Skills
Needed for Success
so Geekability alone
is not enough
according
to a recent MIT study.
30 Best Tech Jobs
Copyright 4/15/14 by 21st textbooksfree.org
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