jonriv wrote:Industrial jobs are also being eliminated/displaced by automation
The ROI for automation is a combination of eliminating headcount, making workers more productive and/or reducing the skill level (i.e. wages) required by the workers.
The issue the country is a gap between the labor needed and the technical skills of the labor force.. There are many high skilled jobs that remained unfilled due to a shortage of engineers etc...
Individuals certainly have good opportunities if they acquire the education and skills in demand, so I agree no one has an excuse. However, the shortage of skilled workers is extremely small compared to the number of people that need a good job/career. On a national level, filling all those open skilled positions would have very little impact on the employment rates, median incomes and economy.
It makes no economic sense to make cheaper goods here, better to focus on High margin products(The Germans have mastered this)
Hmm, lots of high-margin US products are manufactured overseas (iPhones/iPads, Nikes, etc). Your point needs to be reexamined.
Our economy has largely transitioned from industrial to services. Lots of service jobs have also moved overseas as telecommunications improved and expanded internationally. Domestically, most of the service jobs being created are entry level for national chains with minimal career prospects.
In order to get ahead, people need to either develop a skill set that is valued by employers or pursue their own business ideas. Even then, they need to evolve to keep up - let alone move up - because the rate of change keeps accelerating. The benefits of a good college education are considerable, but they are also limited and temporary.
A couple of the most important and timeless skills are the ability to figure out how to do something in an efficient manner without someone else having to tell/train you and the perseverance to get things done correctly and timely.