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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/13/opinion/13COXX.html -- Yesterday the NY Times (5/13) had an op-ed piece on where the jobs are -- and are not. If one goes to this web site, one will find the prose. Move to "Chart" to the right to get the grim run down on where the jobs remain -- and where they are drastically declining (computer skills, for instance). The chart has general rubrics that are not entirely clear, but which run:
People Skills (financial services, nursing, teaching and such) Imagination and Creativity (acting and a host of others) Analytic Reasoning Formulaic Intelligence (book keepers, secretaries, phone operators, etc.) Manual Dexterity Muscle Power
The numbers were graphically spelled out and the order of decline from positive need to negative over supply breaks at about the mid-point -- with some surprises. Computer skills are now at an extreme low and dropping. This does not bode well for our college majors in these areas.
To add a bit of personal angst here, our older daughter and son-in-law and family closed on a house yesterday that just fits their family needs -- plenty of bedrooms, fenced in back yard for children to play in safely, best rated school in upper NY state, computer/playroom in basement. To our horror, however, they learned at the closing that the family was not moving out because the bread winner, an IBM executive, had been moved to a new location. Rather he had been laid off and his family of 4 with another on the way had run out of money to continue the mortgage payments. They were moving in with friends.
Needless to say, not only our school drop outs, but a good number of well educated with heavy financial obligations are being dumped on America's scrap heap of job history. The authors are optimistic about the ability of people to adjust to such changes, but I fear for those older ones such as our own heartfelt case above who will not have options to start afresh. I recall the silver parachutes handed out to a series of our bank managers dumped through the large bank mergers. Even such inadequate 'bonuses' are disappearing with the downsizing that seems to keep afloat stock values in times of economic uncertainty. Corporate Amerika is becoming crueler day by day -- and our universities are a part of this same vicious corporate game. We at CUNY are negotiating a new labor contract. And guess the only source available for extra monies to cover our needs? Yup -- increased student tuitions. Wonder how that evicted family upstate will deal with this one?
-- "A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy) -- Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeaceEfforts http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndingPoverty
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