On Jan 27, 11:19 am, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
An article in today's NYT...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/ma...t.html?ref=mag...
...finally gives some concrete answers to the question of what manufacturing
workers should be retraining for, if they're expecting to work in a growing
sector of the economy:
"Why do presidential candidates touting their concern for the economy pose
with factory workers rather than with ballet troupes? After all, the U.S.
now has more choreographers (16,340) than metal-casters (14,880), according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More people make their livings shuffling
and dealing cards in casinos (82,960) than running lathes (65,840), and
there are almost three times as many security guards (1,004,130) as
machinists (385,690). Whereas 30 percent of Americans worked in
manufacturing in 1950, fewer than 15 percent do now. The economy as
politicians present it is a folkloric thing."
So, the answer is clear: It's time to learn to dance or shuffle. Practice
those pirouettes, and always deal from the top of the deck, ya'll.
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Pirouette
--
Ed Huntress
There were no CNC machines in 1950. Technology allows the best person
in the bunch to make a thousand machines copy him. you could cut a
factory to two people. One person designing the program for the
machine. And one person doing maintanance like changing broken bits or
dealing to a machine when something out of the ordinary happens. More
can be done with less people.
Case in point check out this link
http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/mi...upations.shtml
The trades come and go as technology moves on look at all of these old
professions that are fused into "machinist" now just about every
(BLANK)MAKER is now merely a new assignment of a machinist or tool
maker. Some of those trades i didnt even know were separate trades,
Like a Blockmaker who apparently had enough business to spend all day
making pulley blocks.
How many Sawyers, Fullers, Coopers, and Smiths Still Saw, walk in
rancid urine to prepare clothes, Make barrels, Or work Making tools
form wrought iron.
The last names survive but the occupations havent. They've gone on to
do other things in other sections of life. Part of all the industrial
revolution and all that is you dont need as many people building or
making things and more people in society can think as a profession.
Even those doing trades have become better at thinking in the job. the
totally menial screw the same bolt on the assembly line all day job is
gone and hopefully for good.
Those types of Menial manufacturing jobs have changed industries, Now
they are "Would you like fries with that?" Industry got organized and
efficient and didnt need people to turn cranks or to fasten a bolt.
And i dont think that a bad thing either, I'd rather my car be built
by a few competent people controlling very repeatable machines. There
is a reason you dont hear about Monday and Friday cars much anymore. I
see trade deficits and jobs being sent away because its too expensive
to have the workers to do it is bad. And there are a lot of factors
there. But a loss of jobs purely to automation I dont see as nearly
the same concern
Employees making 40 dollars an hour to do menial work like sweeping a
floor i see as an even worse threat than someone automating jobs like
that. It makes things look bad when you do nothing for megabucks when
others are busting their ass for peanuts.
I know hospitals where the janitor makes more than the people in the
lab processing and analyzing the test results used to generate a
diagnosis. WHy go to school when you can make more money pushing a
broom. That is the impression that the under-thinking over paid type
jobs give me.
Brent
Ottawa Canada