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This has been a really interesting thread with lots of useful thoughts, experiences, and comments. I would like to add a few as a retired college graduate, craftsperson, social activist.

Topic: Scholastic vs Technical Education. Yes, we have had a harmful attitude of seeking white collar employment vs. blue colar jobs. My father was the kind who tried to do everything. Repaired his own car, grew a lot of our food, built a large addition on to our house, while working a regular job. When I married, I assumed my husband would fix cars and the house too. I discovered too late when he said: “I didn’t spend 4 years in college just to get my hands dirty.” We kids had to help out and learned useful skills in the process. I learned entrepreneurship and sales from selling the surplus garden veggies that my father let me keep the money from. Learned building skills from helping my father build a Popular Mechanics masonite covered trailer. Am currently renovating two houses doing part of the work myself and training unskilled people to do what is too heavy for me. When I left for college my younger brothers learned skills. One brother became an architect. The dyslexic brother became a craftsman/builder. He once said early in adulthood he had learned 3 things growing up and earned money at all 3 — auto mechanics, cooking and carpentry.

Unfortunately, our schools have really dropped the ball on technical education. People wonder why there are so many Latino immigrants working at the trades and so few black people. The inner city schools are not teaching useful trades at any meaningful level. Black colleges have stressed academic education, becoming a doctor, dentist, teacher, etc. In the past this may have made sense as the White Man could not steal what was in your mind. Now that social conditions have improved the Black political and educational institutions need to revise they way they influence their young people. I served for several years on a Mayoral committee for street vending. Big business was very hostile, and the local Black college was also anti vending—so much for Black entrepreneurship. Youngsters of both races need to learn skills that cannot be outsourced. My dyslexic son, after years of difficulty in school, has become an electrician with lots of work in Miami. There are many young people who are dyslexic, but with the right training could become useful, paid workers in this society. My son did not get the help he needed in school. After several years of drifting I persuaded a friend with a graphic arts/sign building business to mentor him, but not put up with a bad attitude, and he finally got on the right road. I had always told my son that with his people skills he should not led the reading problem handicap him. Now he often supervises crews of from 3 to 5 people.

Topic: Big vs Small Business. Please don’t FLAME me on this one, I know it is controversial. To what extent is all this outsourcing caused by the incredible increase in upper level management and CEO compensation. Thirty years ago CEOs were paid about 40 times the wages of their low level employees. Now instead of 40:1, the ratio is from 400-1,000:1. Granted there are a lot of good MBA programs out there, but I doubt that top executives are 10 to 25 TIMES more productive, creative, valuable than they were 30 years ago. If they are getting such a big piece of the Profit pie, then, of course, they have to underpay their workers or send the jobs overseas. Incidentally, I think it is very important for any creative/contributing person to realize a reasonable profit. Learning the kind of work that cannot be outsourced, working for yourself or a small local company seem to be the safest routes to follow.

Topic: Older Workers vs Younger Workers. Our government has recognized that keeping workers on the job longer is important for being able to contribute to the Social Security/Medicare pot, since the birth rate has gone down. Already retirement ages have been legally increased. This is not so bad for white collar workers and some types of blue collar work. However, some blue collar work is so physically stressful, that it is grossly unfair to force these workers to the same longevity standards. There also needs to be more flexibility for older workers, such as working fewer hours or days a month, and allowing longer vacation periods, not necessarily paid, for recuperation. There should also be programs in place for these experienced workers to mentor the young. Whatever happened to apprenticeships? Perhaps local tinkering clubs could be established to bring young and old together making and fixing things. Governments need to establish insurance programs to protect people and groups who are only trying to do worthwhile things. Kind of a “good Samaritan” insurance.