I hate to say it but a lot of Americans priced themselves out of jobs.
I remember going to visit colleges with the kid and being told over and over again that a graduate in CS would be making around $80K a year. Yes, it was a sales pitch, but I know for a fact there were many who were making $60-80K their first year out of college. Add in medical insurance, vacation, profit sharing, 401K and you're looking at a ton o' expenses per employee. When the economy was booming, no one blinked, but obviously when the screws are tightened, you have to find ways to save. The ones in those jobs had already foolishly ramped their living expenses to match their income and those graduating took it as an insult to accept a $30K a year job.
Ditto with the manufacturing business. Unions have their members making $20 an hour to put tab A into tab B. Plus the benefits and again - a sector which literally priced themselves out of jobs.
The recent grocery strike in CA was a perfect example of workers completely unwilling to make concessions in order to keep their jobs. Some of cashiers were making $10-15 an hour, plus benefits. This is for unskilled labor! I don't remember the exact number, but they were being asked to pay more into their health insurance and the amount they were asked to pay would have been a dream figure for those of us who pay for our own insurance. But they didn't care - they didn't want things to change and screw anyone who argued with them. I strongly suspect if these jobs could have been shipped offshore they would have at that point....maybe talk on the phone to your cashier?
Fewer and fewer people are going to be getting degrees - colleges are raising their prices at an
extraordinary clip and I know here in GA, the number of elementary, middle and high schools being built is phenomenal, but the colleges aren't expanding to prepare for these kids when they graduate. The very rich with $$$ and the very poor with good minds will be the ones attending college in 10-15 years, IMHO.
Going through the AF situation has been an eye opener. They are meeting their recruiting goals in record time. There are college graduates going in as enlisted. They've graduated with a technical degree, can't find a job and the OCS is filling up at incredible rates. Even then, I know from experience it's VERY hard to get into the AF. In addition, the AF is currently experiencing a 67% reenlistment rate - that's almost unheard of but these guys and girls are realizing getting a guaranteed income, free medical care, food and housing is better than what their counter parts are getting in the private sector.
Again, this is obviously IMHO, but from the outside looking in, it looks like most of the blame can be put on the American worker who wants it all and is unwilling to budge until it's too late.
