Eight guys who have done OK in life at a cigar shop in Miami. It’s one of those “Cuban cigar” places where they sell to tourists who don’t know the difference, but the chairs are comfortable and the music is good. As we are there, I ask people what they do for a living.
“Real estate investing,” “Private equity,” “Sales.” No one worked on planes, trains, or automobiles. Therein lies the problem.
-WiscoDave
yeah, not many people work with their hands these days. as somehow working with your hands is dirty ? funny, I know a few guys who work with their hands and they making money
ReplyDeletelike mad in the last 30 years. we used to make stuff here, now we just take money from each other.
I retired in 2019. I've made more money in the past three years because "there is no one else that can do the job like you can". I bill out at $145.00 per hour, require a 70% deposit before starting a project and pick my customers. When I do hang up the tools there will be a void....
DeleteA big part of the problem is business managers and accountants who have forced consolidations of multiple blue-collar jobs into one highly overworked job. So all the apprentice and journeyman positions are now gone, gone forever. At the same time they've been forcibly eliminating the high-wage workers because the HWW 'cost' too much.
ReplyDeleteYou end up with a business full of executives, accountants, managers, HR personnel, EEOC personnel, staff workers and a handful of actual 'do the work' workers, who have no time to fine tune equipment, to learn new skills and if they do start earning too much they get laid off or fired, and there's nobody below them following around and learning how to do shit.
That's why the blue-collar worker isn't seen in a lot of places.
As to railway workers (the not-train crew workers, the gandydancers and other 'uncool' jobs) because of unions and government employment and taxation regulations, a lot of railroads got rid of their track workers and hired contractors.
A good example of this is going to The Roaming Railfan on yousetubs and watching the FEC/Brightline construction of new mainline. All the trackwork, roadbed, subroadbed, signalling, and other non-train crew functions are done by contractors. (Admittedly the FEC is a bad example since they ditched unions back in the late 60's, which is THE reason they survived the 70s where other regional railroads disappeared. But you can see all the specialty crews doing everything from fabrication to roadbed to tunnels (yes, the new line to Orlando has 2 tunnels on it) to replacing old ties on existing lines. They do work on other railroads, just the FEC/Brightline work happens in easily accessible areas for railfans and regular people to watch.
This guy drops into a shop that caters to the type of folks he meets. From that select audience he reckons no one works with their hands. Typical fiction writer.
ReplyDeletePlenty of guys and gals work with their hands
Same shit's happening to "white collar" workers who actually do work - the engineers who design stuff for example. You still "end up with a business full of executives, accountants, managers, HR personnel, EEOC personnel, staff workers and a handful of actual 'do the work' workers". Especially HR and DIE twits. Can't forget the lawyers either.
ReplyDeleteI can remember when the head of a government department was expected to have real knowledge of his subject.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the fact our Sec'y of Transportation rides a bicycle to work (and to virtue-signal) is on par with his (her?) level of knowledge.
DeleteHe rides his bicycle *partway* to work, just long enough to be photographed doing it. Then a government vehicle picks up him and the bike and takes them to his office.
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