Making Jobs
I am totally pissed off at Harper’s Magazine. I tried to change my mailing address, but couldn’t. I tried to find the Article More Government, Please! by Thomas Frank online and could do that either. But no matter, I don’t need their feeble support – I can do better by myself.
Frank’s article in the December issue, on page eight, was reporting on a speech by Speaker of the House John Boehner in September. Instead of speaking about unemployment, as was expected, he talked instead about the job creator. These mythical people, he insisted, were being hampered by too much government.
The irony of this, coming from a member of the government himself, was not noticed – probably because, as we all know, the government is nothing but a front-man for business interests. And he was speaking for them – the 1%. The 99%, who were worried about unemployment, did not matter.
As I have the article open on my desk, so I can easily refer to it, I see on the opposite page a full-page advertisement by MSNBC, saying that America should be reinvesting in manufacturing.
This is not going to happen because Americans want the absolutely cheapest prices – instead a paying a little more to support American workers. The smart money has gone elsewhere – places that will not benefit America’s workers in the least.
One exception is the software industry – where I worked for 20 years. This is grabbing all the good software developers it can get – and paying them well. Isn’t this a good sign? Yes it is – for another 1%, those rare individuals who are natural programmers. And even they have to hustle to update their skills at a rapid pace. The slow-witted, or those with different interests, such as me, get left in the dust.
But the real damage is more subtle – all this emphasis on things is detracting from our interest in ourselves. Including employment for ourselves.
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