On the contrary, I feel average is the new skill. There are many a time where you need just average skilled workers. High skilled workers may find such tasks mundane while for average skilled workers the same mundane tasks may be challenging. IMHO, I would love to have a good mix of high skilled and average skilled workers.
Average Is Over
91–100 of 254 posts
Re: Average Is Over
#92Welcome to Peak Capitalism. This is the peak of our current socio-economic system, and I'm fairly certain that everyone in the White House is now well-aware and convinced of what's likely going to happen over the course of the next 10 years. I hope they're preparing for it right now. I believe the coming collapse of the capitalistic-democractic system is imminent, and America needs to very seriously start planning fo…
Because that worked out so well for Russia and China. Command economies have never efficiently allocated resources, and they never will. Economies are just too complicated for a single central authority to control successfully. They can never have enough accurate information, and can't be flexible enough to rapidly changing circumstances. Just look at the hopeless response to the financial crisis from European leader…
Human-commanded centralized economies, perhaps. But what about e.g. a Google-commanded centralized economy?
Re: Average Is Over
#93This seems strangely familiar: http://www.businessinsider.com/if-youre-an-average-worker-in...
Re: Average Is Over
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Denmark's safety net is one thing, some whacko communist universal subsidy is another. Said safety net doesn't decrease disparity significantly, while giving some universal coverage for basic needs. As long as it's not a bigger burden to the economy than the alternative, I'd have nothing against something like this. I also believe the safety nets here in the UK are about right, in general terms. The government is sti…
Did you really think a national healthcare system is a "whacko communist" idea? If you want to debate it's merits please do, but don't resort to petty name calling.
Nope. I actually take a National healthcare system for granted, ideally working under proper scrutiny. I'd rather have what we have here in the UK than what's in place in the US (as far as I know about it). I was talking about this other idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income_guarantee
Re: Average Is Over
#95One question I've had for...a while now. If a) corporate profits are up b) hiring isn't happening, or is seeing a skills mismatch then where exactly are all these profits going? If they're going to capital goods for the company, that just moves the question on down the line. If they're going to shareholders, then what are those shareholders buying? And if it's just sitting in the bank, where is the bank lending it ou…
" ... if it's just sitting in the bank ..." it's just sitting there, they (banks) are not lending it out. That's precisely what's happening now.
Re: Average Is Over
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of companies are just sitting on the cash (most likely in a bank account). Interest rates are very low right now, so there's not much incentive to lend the money out.
The bank would be lending it out though.
What makes you think so? Interest offered by borrowers is generally low these days and risks are high. So lending isn't happening.
Re: Average Is Over
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is programming that elite though? wages seemed to have hardly changed in the U.K. in the last 10 years (accounting for inflation). Also programming pays a similar amount to other jobs requiring a degree and is certainly a lot less than jobs like accountancy, finance, law and medical doctors. For example, average programmer salary in 2004 was about £31k and in £38k http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/uk/programmer.do an…
I don't know about the UK but in the US accounting, law, and medicine require appropriate licensing keeping supply low and wages high(er). But I dont think programming will ever reach the prestige of law/medicine since in the former you are engineering machines whereas in the latter you are engineering the human body and society, which will always be way sexier.
I'm just talking about supply and demand which should have kicked in if there is a shortage. Perhaps shouldn't have mentioned Doctors thing, which a different issue.
Re: Average Is Over
#98Ridiculous. The solution to average people becoming less relevant in the economy (which I don't dispute, btw) can of course never be to make everyone above average as that is by definition impossible. It's a feel good message for average folk that papers over the truth, which is that average folk that used to make a decent living doing average work will become poor. All of them, eventually. How poor exactly? Well, yo…
The solution is none. There is no "solution" because it, in itself, is not a problem. The problem is that everybody feels entitled to a top 10% salary and many would kill for "their fair share" when nowadays even the lower 10% have their basic needs covered and some left for leisure. The problem is that a society where everybody have similar incomes is somehow fairer, when there is no logical chain leading there and…
Excessive salary disparity is a problem for any resource that is limited in quantity - land, for example. There's also many other issues that are substantially effected by income inequality. I'd recommend a look at The Spirit Level, a decent enough book on the topic.
Re: Average Is Over
#99Ridiculous. The solution to average people becoming less relevant in the economy (which I don't dispute, btw) can of course never be to make everyone above average as that is by definition impossible. It's a feel good message for average folk that papers over the truth, which is that average folk that used to make a decent living doing average work will become poor. All of them, eventually. How poor exactly? Well, yo…
The solution is none. There is no "solution" because it, in itself, is not a problem. The problem is that everybody feels entitled to a top 10% salary and many would kill for "their fair share" when nowadays even the lower 10% have their basic needs covered and some left for leisure. The problem is that a society where everybody have similar incomes is somehow fairer, when there is no logical chain leading there and…
I come across this "salary disparity isn't a problem" comment every so often and need to call it out.
Salary disparity is definitely a social problem. When one person has the money of hundreds or thousands of others, they can wield significant power over them.
I have no problem with there being rich people, but I find it obscene that our society allows people to become billionaires.
Re: Average Is Over
#100Post high school education is overrated. In fact the American school system won't really prepare you to face the reality. Yes it seems like the need for these "average" jobs are decreasing but in the end it will all balance itself out and there will be new areas that would need to be filled.
What's overrated is the "pick a degree, any degree, you get to call yourself 'educated' in four years!" mantra. The difference between the US and (what I hear of (so probably stereotypical)) Germany is that in the US you're told from a very young age to go to college to "get an education". In Germany you're told to go to college to "become a competent engineer".
I really disagree with you that it will balance out, that everything will be alright, and that the 40-hour work week will keep on going. I'll defer to the other comments on this page for reasons why.