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Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

economist.com

11–20 of 606 posts

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#11
post #4
post #2

Plumbers can't telecommute.

I imagine there's an opportunity for a startup that let's someone who wants to do a simple job themselves Facetime with a plumber to talk them through the work. No idea if there's any profit in it though.

Microsoft did a marketing demo of that (Skype Hololens):

https://bfgblog-a.akamaihd.net/uploads/2015/01/hololens-plum...

(it was faked, the remote guy was drawing with a tablet, but somehow it worked in 3d like tilt brush..)

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#12
post #9

I worked with small / medium manufacturers in the prosperous part of the Southeast. Hiring is brutal currently. Last week one company setup interviews with 20 possible new workers. One showed up for his interview, and one wandered in the next day. 18 nonshows. Another local company is seeing 50% of new hires failing their first drug test. Anecdotaly, about 20% of new hires under 30 don’t understand the concept of sho…

[deleted]

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#14
post #4
post #2

Plumbers can't telecommute.

I imagine there's an opportunity for a startup that let's someone who wants to do a simple job themselves Facetime with a plumber to talk them through the work. No idea if there's any profit in it though.

"Now grab a 3ft section of copper tubing, cut it to length with your pipe cutter, bend it with your copper bending tool, and flare it with your flare clamp... what, you don't have any of those? Wellll.."

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#15

Does every paragraph needs to rephrase that it isn't thanks to Trump? Maybe I'm wrong but lately it seems every US media outlet needs to mention him this way or another in every topic possible (positive or negative light)

I think you may be underestimating the importance of this article to US politics. One of the biggest issues in the 2016 election was stagnating blue-collar wages - it was one of Trump's main platforms, and one of the main factors that made him President. If the economy continues to do well across all income levels, regardless of why, and regardless of how unpopular Trump remains, there is a good chance we will see a second Trump term. As much as I dislike him, Scott Adams made this exact argument recently: http://blog.dilbert.com/2017/10/14/low-public-approval-of-pr...

As Bill Clinton said, "it's the economy, stupid".

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#17
I work at a medium-sized software company. We've had similar problems with younger employees. Guys literally posting in company-wide Slack channels that they're "feeling a little sleepy this morning, gonna be in later."

Can you even imagine somebody saying that to their boss in some black-and-white movie from the 1940s? "Hey, how about instead of coming in later you hit the bricks and never come back?"

The culture has definitely changed. It's wild.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#18
post #4
post #2

Plumbers can't telecommute.

I imagine there's an opportunity for a startup that let's someone who wants to do a simple job themselves Facetime with a plumber to talk them through the work. No idea if there's any profit in it though.

A substantial factor in licensed tradespersons' ability to collect the wages they get is that many situations require the work be done by a license holder. For example electrical or plumbing repairs done to satisfy a building code violation are often expected to have permit paperwork documenting the repair. License = ability to pull permit.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#19
post #9

I worked with small / medium manufacturers in the prosperous part of the Southeast. Hiring is brutal currently. Last week one company setup interviews with 20 possible new workers. One showed up for his interview, and one wandered in the next day. 18 nonshows. Another local company is seeing 50% of new hires failing their first drug test. Anecdotaly, about 20% of new hires under 30 don’t understand the concept of sho…

This is what over 40 years of gutting education and social safety nets bought us. Idiocracy is coming!

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#20
post #15

Does every paragraph needs to rephrase that it isn't thanks to Trump? Maybe I'm wrong but lately it seems every US media outlet needs to mention him this way or another in every topic possible (positive or negative light)

I think you may be underestimating the importance of this article to US politics. One of the biggest issues in the 2016 election was stagnating blue-collar wages - it was one of Trump's main platforms, and one of the main factors that made him President. If the economy continues to do well across all income levels, regardless of why, and regardless of how unpopular Trump remains, there is a good chance we will see a…

Did you begin disliking Scott Adams when he became a Trump booster, or...?
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