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tkdguy

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In former coal country, the working poor show open contempt for neighbors who seek handouts

 

It was a good article that showed both points of view pretty well.

The problem is only going to get worse as more and more skilled and semi-skilled labor is replaced with automation. The economy simply isn't going to need as many workers as before, and not only in manufacturing. Figuring out what to do with the hundreds of thousands of displaced workers whose skills have become redundant will be a huge political and (more significantly) social challenge that may well define what happens to our society over the next 20-25 years.

 

I don't have an answer, and I don't know that anyone else does either. Money is only part of the equation, because life without activity is boring and difficult. I know this from personal experience. If you're an industrial worker with no advanced education (because at the time you believed you wouldn't need it) who's been doing the same thing for fifteen tears, and that thing has been suddenly taken away by forces you can't understand or control, what do you do with yourself? With the pool of jobs contracting as the pool of workers expands, there has to be a way for people to repurpose. Which is a lot harder than it sounds.

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The problem is only going to get worse as more and more skilled and semi-skilled labor is replaced with automation. The economy simply isn't going to need as many workers as before, and not only in manufacturing. Figuring out what to do with the hundreds of thousands of displaced workers whose skills have become redundant will be a huge political and (more significantly) social challenge that may well define what happens to our society over the next 20-25 years.

 

tumblr_ogsyusLjc81sdbhpro1_1280.jpg

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We're making jobs observe but not the need for them. It's the classic "Not my problem!" situation.

 

Steel workers lose their jobs. IT worker replies "Not my problem!"

Textile workers lose their jobs. IT worker "Not my problem!"

Auto workers workers lose their jobs. IT worker "Not my problem!

Factory workers lose their jobs. IT worker "Not my problem!"

IT workers lose their jobs. IT worker "WAAAAH! NO FAIR! I WORKED HARD TO EARN A DEGREE AND GET THAT JOB! IT'S NOT MY FAULT THEY TOOK IT! THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO DO SOMETHING! I NEED HELP!"

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I'd like to think that I'd react with a bit more maturity than that.  ;)  More to the point, there really ought to be a lot more government assistance for retraining regardless of industry.  It's not okay that people can be automated out of jobs and just left to their own devices while they start over.  It's cruel, inefficient, and wasteful.

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Clown Motel For Sale

 

I'm wondering--would this place be not quite as "creepy" if it weren't out in the middle of nowhere?  And not next to a cemetery?

 

Not reading the article to find out where the location is, don't like clowns, and don't want to tempted into going out for destruction.

 

I don't really have a cemetary hang up, however.  (ANd I live "in the middle of nowhere", so that wont bother me)

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I'd like to think that I'd react with a bit more maturity than that.  ;)  More to the point, there really ought to be a lot more government assistance for retraining regardless of industry.  It's not okay that people can be automated out of jobs and just left to their own devices while they start over.  It's cruel, inefficient, and wasteful.

Not to mention how difficult it is for the person to pay their bills and support their families in the 1-3 years retraining takes (during which time the work they are training for may also become obsolete).

 

There is, of course, no glib or easy answer that meets the needs of the situation. That hasn't stopped people from looking for one rather than recognizing the complexity of the problem.

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Yeah, I've given serious thought to going back and picking up a basic electronic repair diploma  - system administration doesn't seem as solid as it used to (especially with credentials obsolete over a decade - *I* keep current, my certifcations... not so much).  But... toddlers. Mortage. Car.  Elderly parents.  Injured sister with two kids under five herself.

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It's an odd hang up, isn't it? But just look how many movies have the premise "normal people go out into the boonies, and all countryfolk are cannibals"

 

I think that's because a lot of move script writers have never been in a rural area in their lives. Ignorance can lead to bigotry.

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It's an odd hang up, isn't it? But just look how many movies have the premise "normal people go out into the boonies, and all countryfolk are cannibals"

 

Well, it is ironic for me, rural areas are natural to me,  I've taken hikes through woods without a 3nd thought (when age 12 even less, if you count the small section of woods that used to next to the side of my house).  But, I want no part of a city, been to Richmond twice, and DC once will never go back.  Even smaller cities I've been in throughout VA and NC I didn't particular like being in for more than a few hours.  (I really don't even like going into the small city that is inside my county, but that at least is largely complicated by the fact that their traffic system was likely developed by someone who had a staring contest with Cthulhu.

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It's an odd hang up, isn't it? But just look how many movies have the premise "normal people go out into the boonies, and all countryfolk are cannibals"

 

Another ironic thing is: Rurals are supposed to be the cannibals despite places that are more likely to grow the food supply are traditionally in the rural areas.

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When I'm in the shower

I'm afraid to wash my hair

I might open my eyes

And find someone standing there

 

Hmm, I've never been afraid about taking showers, even after watching the movie. Maybe because, I was always taught to cut the water off while lathering up with soap.  At least at that part of the shower, I could hear someone coming. 

 

I guess washing my hair could pose a risk if the shampoo gets in my eyes leading up to the attack,  (though when my eyes are in pain, I tend to go into recently awoken angry bear mode)

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Oh, sorry. I thought this was about current news.

 

Well, it's not immediately obvious, but Simon (board admin) wants to keep all of the political discussion in one thread, here:

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/93102-political-discussion-thread-with-rules/

 

Best to read the first post of the thread before posting in it.

 

Political discussions got a bit . . . lively . . . a while back, so they're being contained in one thread now.

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