The Media and the Republican Party hierarchy cannot figure
out the Trump and Carson phenomenon. That is understandable because both the Media
and the Politicians are so out of touch with the voters. A casual look and one
would note that about 90 million Americans are out of meaningful jobs, and they
are mad as hell about it because they have been unceremoniously dumped out of
the market and can’t get back. These are not ditch digger jobs, and every segment
of the labor market is affected. Moreover, it is more than the loss of income.
It’s the loss of who you are! For example, when you are introduced to someone,
they inevitably ask you what you do and you proudly respond, I am a manager,
teacher, minister, supervisor, secretary, nurse or whatever. Your job defined
you!
Now, out of work for 3-4 years or more and asked the
question, you have to say that you used to be a bank teller, or a paralegal, a
manager, an accountant, secretary, teacher or a waiter. Now you are unemployed.
The Republicans don’t know how to tell you how they will bring jobs back. The
Democrats seem content to leave things the ways things are, blame Wall Street
and only want to tax the rich and give the unemployed stuff free. These folks
want a job, not a handout!!
The truth is that those out of work do not trust the
Politicians. They think the Politicians are the cause of the problem, and they
are right. Moreover, the out of work don’t care what a Politician says about
his record or the claims about what he has done. Take Jeb Bush for example. He
says that ten years ago he did great things as Governor of Florida. Neither
Bush, the politicians nor especially the Media understand that ten years is
equivalent to a century considering what has changed in a mere ten years. Ten
years ago the I-Pad, the Smart Phone with all of it apps, Face book, Twitter,
Instagram, Streaming of TV programs and Movies, Google searches and the
driverless car were ideas but did not exist in the mainstream as they do today.
And these developments have already impacted or are about to
impact virtually every good paying job including medicine, law, manufacturing,
shopping, restaurants, and particularly
education, to name just a few. If you checked into a restaurant or a store and
found a kiosk where there used to be a person, you know what we are talking
about. Where there used to be people waiting upon you; now there are machines.
You would think politicians would notice that the machine
pays no tax, and buys no goods. Thus, one might expect the Politicians would plan
to tax or regulate the machine. Instead the Politicians allow the capitalist
who purchases and installs the machine, to get a fast tax write-off. Is any
wonder the out of work are so angry!!
Making the problem more complex for the out of work voter,
is that jobs that are available such as managing the machines require higher
skills than many of those displaced have. Worse they and potential employers
are not sure they are even trainable. Exacerbating the problem further is that
employers can find a younger more trainable person who works for a lower salary
than the 50 something who lost a good high paying job.
Then there is the case that many manufacturing jobs are
returning, but employers such as GE, who constantly tout their digital
expertise, seek employees with skills in science, technology, engineering and
math. Many Asians who came here to school who have these skills are being
encouraged to stay, thus creating another facet of the immigration dilemma that
the Politicians are unable to articulate, least to solve. And this impacts the jobless, as well.
Now, creating those self rewarding jobs will not be easy.
However, the least we should expect of the Politicians and the Media to do is to
take a stab at talking about it in truthful terms instead of blaming Wall
Street or China
or something else. Then they might be able to come up with plans that fit the
needs of these 90 million out of work.
The bottom line is that the voting public in both parties
whose jobs have been impacted by globalization and the digital revolution know
the Politicians are responsible for the entire problem due the tax and
regulations they have promulgated that impede job creation. The Media is
completely out of touch or worse is deliberately misleading and therefore is no
help. These unemployed are furious and have had it with the Political Class and
the Media. They want someone who is honest and will do what they say they will
do about their plight, and furthermore and most importantly, someone who is not
and never has been a politician controlled by lobbyists!! This is why Trump, Carson
and Fiorina, the non-politicians, pole so high. The Media and the Elite
Political Class don’t get it, and it is not likely that they ever will!
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