Perspective: Is Obama Psychologically Fit to be President?

By any measure the Obama presidency is an abject failure, and everyone knows it, including our allies. The poor performance includes destructive policy selection, failure to lead, to govern and deliberate over reach of power. The way the citizens voted in 2014 indicates that they made a mistake by voting to keep this President in 2012, so are there other ways to remove this President before more harm is done?

Writers such as Bob Woodward, Robert Gates, Leon Panetta, and now Chuck Todd have tried to understand Obama and have published their thoughts. However, each of these authors seems stumped to explain Obama’s behavior. They all believe that he is incredibly smart and a voracious reader; yet, something is missing.

What if what is missing is that Obama has some malady that renders him incapable of discharging his duties? Are there psychological factors that might explain this uncharacteristic behavior of our President? Let’s consider some that may affect his ability to perform his Constitutional duties.

Atychiphobi
Obama has all of the signs of atychiphobi which means abnormal, persistent and unwarranted fear. In Obama’s case it is fear of failure which is a psychological disorder that impedes one’s ability to act. Clues of this phenomenon include his failure to lead, failure to negotiate with Congress, avoiding the building of interpersonal relationships required for successful negotiating, deferring decision making while being the “cool no drama Obama”, and blaming others for the failure of his or his organization.

Paraphrasing another President, Obama seems to believe that the “only thing to fear is anything fearful”. There is hardly any responsibility of the presidency that does not require one to be able to manage fear. His failure to take responsibility for his or his administration’s failures means that to paraphrase another President, with Obama, “the buck stops elsewhere”.

Pathological Untruth Telling
This characteristic may be tied into each of the physiological factors being discussed. Prevarication helps to disguise Obama’s true motives. Does the phrase “you can keep your doctor”, ring a bell?

Dementia:
Another question is his inability to recall critical events. This raises the question whether he is experiencing incipient dementia. For a person who is only in his fifties, chronic memory loss seems strange, but there are numerous examples of this. For example, he admits freely that he only learns from the news media about the numerous and serious crises occurring in his administration. Yet, he is briefed daily about these critical events by his staff.

The most recent and clearest example of dementia occurred when Jon Gruber was taped numerous times claiming that Obamacare only became law by duping the public who were too stupid to figure it out. Obama while in Australia was shocked to learn that Jon Gruber, an economics PhD from MIT, helped create Obamacare. However, Obama has been caught on tape touting the skills and strengths of Gruber before the work on Obamacare began and doubtless recommended him for the job. This is the same Jon Gruber who claims that he is one of the architects of Obamacare and was paid $400k to work on the bill. Moreover, this is the same Gruber who visited the Whitehouse numerous times to discuss the bill, often when Obama was present.

If we were to conclude that Obama has underlying psychological issues such as fear of failing, pathological lying and dementia that impede his performing his Constitutional duty, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution may provide a remedy.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution states in essence that:

In the Case of the President’s Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Congress may by Law provide the Case of Removal and the Vice-President shall act as President until the President has recovered or until another President is elected.

Consequently, Congress could deem Obama “Inable” to perform his presidential duties in the manner that the Constitution describes. Therefore, he could be removed from office until he is ‘cured’ of his malady or until another President is elected.

Can you just imagine members of Congress having the courage to apply this remedy? Of course not!! Therefore, all we have left is prayer!! But wait! Maybe not even that! The atheists will probably have prayer banned in public places. Then all we would have are the saloons and bars. But wait, again! The drinks will probably be taxed beyond our reach to support Obamacare.

Bettie Davis said it best! “Fasten your seat belts, its going to be a bumpy ride!”

Perspective: What Should the Priority be for Congress and the Administration?

The exit polls from the November 5^th election
showed that an overwhelming majority of voters’ top priority was the expansion
of the economy with attendant job creation. Fortunately, this wish can be
accommodated because we have a unique once in a life time opportunity that stares
us right in the face; namely, our natural gas and petroleum windfall!! The
wonderful part of this opportunity is that it also meets the main principles
that both parties hold in common, namely:  

• Job
  Creation
• Protection
  of the Environment
• Protection
  of Our Citizens

Therefore, what the Congress and the President need to do is
to focus like a laser to create and pass legislation to (1)Maximize the development
and the exploitation of our vast reserves of natural gas and oil and (2) eliminate
the disadvantage our corporations have by making their taxes globally competitive. 

Here is how it would work: 

Creation of Low Tech Jobs:

It turns out that the cost of natural gas is about half that
of gas or diesel fuels, and we have the technology to convert the internal
combustion engines from gas or diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG), and we
have the technology to create the re-fueling facilities. Many of our busses,
taxis and garbage trucks have already been converted. 

If we were to adopt a National policy to convert a maximum
number of our trucks and cars to CNG, and we installed the needed re-fueling
stations across the Nation, millions of low skill jobs could be created for
those underemployed or who have stopped looking for employment. This could
begin at once and would probably take two decades or so to complete. Most of
the currently unemployed and underemployed have sufficient skills to perform
these tasks with minimum if any additional training. Moreover, because the need
to build this infrastructure is national in scale, most of these jobs are in
the very areas where these persons currently reside.  

Creation of High Tech Jobs:

Ethane, a major building block for chemicals and polymers,
is a component of natural gas. As a result the availability of this low cost
raw material, numerous chemical manufacturers, who in recent years have moved
plants overseas, now plan multi-billion dollar plants in the US.
BASF a German chemical company and incidentally the largest chemical
manufacturer in the world, is planning a 4 billion dollar petrochemical plant in
the US based on
this low cost ethane gas.  We can expect
that the low cost of energy from methane along with our leading edge in
technology will play a role in bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US.
If there are no serious regulations or tax barriers to thwart this effort, we
can expect to see the middle class income to rise as these new jobs pay wages
significantly above the wages middle class workers make today.

 

Protection of the Environment

Converting our internal combustion engines to CNG, would
reduce carbon emissions by 25% or more and toxic emissions by more than 50%. No
other environmental plan could have a greater favorable and immediate impact on
the environment than this program. Moreover, we could stop putting food in our
gas tanks by the elimination of ethanol as a gas addititive. 

Protection of our Citizens

It turns out that the same fracking technology which
produces natural gas also produces oil. As a result very shortly we will be
self sufficient in oil so much so that we could become an exporter of oil, and
if we convert trucks and cars to CNG, we would even have more oil to export. By
exporting oil to Europe, we could cause Russia’s
share of the market to drop as well as their prices. Since Russia’s
economy is completely dependent on revenue from oil and gas, this action would
have a greater impact than any sanctions. Furthermore, this would be a much
better way to deal with Russia
than to have a military conflict. 

Advantages of Proposed Policy:

In addition to creating jobs, helping with environmental
issues and strengthening our hand in the confrontation with Russia,
there are numerous financial benefits that accrue to this program as well.
First, while inflation overall has been below 2 percent for the past decade or
so, food, gas and heating fuel prices have nearly doubled. The increases in the
prices of these items have impacted the middle class disproportionately. Secondly,
with corn removed from fuel and returned to its use as food, the price of food
will come down. Thirdly, with local production of oil, OPEC control of the
price of oil will be neutralized, so one might expect heating fuel prices to be
reduced, as well. Finally, the dollar will be strengthened by our not having to
import oil, and enhanced further by our export of newly discovered  oil as well as the export of corn which will no
longer be needed for ethanol. 

Enacting an energy policy will return the United
States to a place of economic and political
leadership in the world. But most importantly, it will give the middle class
hope and confidence that the American Dream is not dead. They could have faith
that their children can do as well as or perhaps even better than they. When in
history has there been such an opportunity to solve so many problems at once?

 

 

 

PERSPECTIVE: SHOULD PUBLIC EDUCATION BE NEXT IN THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION?

In an earlier blog we explored the rapid pace of the
development and adoption of digital devices, and we focused on the current
Smart Phone which is the Ultimate Device. Because the Smart Phone is an extension
of our brain’s memory, and we can download  tools of every type, we can begin to imagine how
it will alter the way we conduct business, medicine, education, government and
our personal lives. The K-12 public education system is an industry that can
benefit from the digital revolution.

The best way to think about the public school system is to
realize that if it were a private business, it would be bankrupt! No private business
could survive if the expense to create a product (a high school graduate)
exceeded $100,000 and 20+% of what was manufactured failed to meet
specifications (dropped out).

 

For perspective, we need to ask how and why was public
education designed, formed and implemented in the first place.  Actually, it was to supply labor for the
Industrial Revolution. Kids on the family farm in the 1800s needed little
formal education, but work in the factory was different. Factory owners found
that they needed workers who could read directions, write results of their work
and record how many items they produced in a day. It soon became apparent that literacy
was going to be important, and how to add and subtract figures, as well. So,
the early education focused on the three “Rs”, i.e., reading, writing and
arithmetic. By the twentieth century public high schools were preparing
students for basically three categories (1) those who were going to college,
(2) those who were going to be stenographers or book keepers and (3) those who
were going to work in the factories or farms. The introduction of the PC ended
all of that.

The PC, created in 1973, eliminated the jobs of
stenographers and book keepers overnight. Robotization of tasks in factories,
and the replacement of horses with huge farm equipment made the public school’s
shops for the third group totally inadequate. Consequently, the schools focused
on what they still could do, namely, prepare students for college. The result
is what one would expect. Two thirds of the students are bored to death by the
time they reach ninth grade which causes them to drop out mentally by that time
and some physically shortly thereafter.

The global job market in the 21^st century is in a
constant state of flux and requires skills that will change from time to time
during one’s work career. Consequently, one has to be prepared to change jobs
perhaps as often as every five years, and often learn new skills as well during
a career.  This means the person has to
be knowledgeable enough to search for and learn how to re-train for the new
job. Moreover, this new world means that the worker needs to think of him or
herself as a “business entity” with skills someone might want to purchase. This
requires the student to learn how to become his or her own teacher, business
owner and marketer.

To achieve this, the entire K-12 education system needs to
be changed. The protocol of students being lectured by a teacher and required
to memorize material for a test is no longer essential when one can Google a
request for information and have the answer in seconds. What the student needs
to know is where the information is, how to research it, how to verify that the
information is true and then how to communicate in clear written as well as
spoken language exactly what the essence of the researched information is.  

Therefore, the principles for the new education system are
these:

• 
  
  Learning
  how to search for needed information
  
• Learning
  to think critically for oneself to determine the truth of the information
• Knowing
  how to solve problems based on such thinking
  
• Learning
  how to communicate clearly what was learned

The goal of the new education system should be keyed to
finding the student’s inherent “talent” early in the K-12 system so that it can
be nurtured and honed. If this talent is identified, it doubtless will hook up
with the student’s passion, and thus be a driving force to motivate the person
to enjoy education enough to graduate, and more than that, to make education a
lifetime pursuit.

The key to the new education system is digital technology. The
Smart Phone, or equivalent digital device, would be employed in the classroom.
The student would be required to have it for every class and this includes for
many tests, as well.  Fear that the child
would text or do something else, is a matter of the child’s self discipline.
Any child being detracted by the Smart Phone will fail the tests. If the child
is developing and focusing on its “talent”, the child will soon become self
disciplined.

Here is how the new K-12 might work! We should scrap all
formal education by rote after 5^th grade. After 5^th
grade, the classroom teacher would no longer become the lecturer. The lecturer
would be a master teacher who would convey the information to the student via a
large TV screen, or You Tube on the Smart Phone. The adult person in the class
room would be a coach and monitor. That person would teach the child how to
find information, how to ascertain the veracity of the information and how to
communicate what was learned in clear unequivocal and succinct language.

The first and foremost job of this helper would be to have
the child understand that the Smart Phone or equivalent is an extension of the
brain’s memory. The child may appear to know everything there is to know about
the Smart Phone, but they do not. They have the facility to learn about it
faster than we adults, but because they have not lived long enough, they lack
the wisdom to ask the right questions to get to the bottom of the issue at
hand. That is where the classroom teaching comes in.

After the student learns that the Smart Phone, Tablet or
Laptop is the means for recalling what information is needed for any given
subject, the student then needs to know how to separate fact from fiction. This
is more important than at any other time in history because the sources of information
are ubiquitous, but editors and fact finders are becoming scarce. When one
billion men, women and children already have the Smart Phone “glued” to their
hands whatever they see, hear of or read, they instantly communicate to someone
via e-mail, Face Book, Twitter, Instamatic, blog or whatever means at their
disposal.  However, these “reporters” do
not pay much attention to whether it is true or not. Actually our commercial
sources of news are not much better. Consequently, false or incomplete information
spreads like gossip. As great as Wikipedia is, it is not the absolute truth
either because users can add information to it. Therefore, what all students
need are skills and training in how to think critically, how to solve problems
and how to communicate clearly and unequivocally what has been learned.

Critical thinking is a vital skill that helps the student to
separate fact from fiction. It should be a required subject in school beginning
as early as possible and reinforced continually throughout the K-12 education
phase. Knowing how to think critically is going to be needed all during one’s
life not only to separate fact from fiction but also to help in problem solving
which starts with the separation of fact and fiction. In other words, one should
not believe anything, unless it can be verified. Since the Smart Phone is a
pathway to all the knowledge of mankind and is available in seconds, wouldn’t
it make sense to teach students how to be critical thinkers and to check their
“new memory” for some verification for each question at hand?

Problem solving should also be a curriculum topic. There are
some very good texts on this subject. The basics of problem solving involve (1)
the separation of fact from fiction in the information about the problem (same
as critical thinking), (2) the development of hypothesis that will be possible
answers to the problem and (3) how to choose the most probable hypothesis. The
third involves the concept of Occams Razor. That idea is one of the more
important ones a student should learn. Simply stated it means that among competing
hypothesis, the simplest has the highest probability of being correct. Most of
the time we humans choose the most complex of the theories and fall into the
trap of believing there is a conspiracy.

Communication skills permit the student to communicate what
has been learned from research of a given assigned subject. Simply filling in
blanks or darkening holes for multiple choice tests to show that is learned will
not suffice for the digital world. The student should be required to know how to
communicate simply, succinctly and clearly and should be judged on how well the
student can  write a paragraph and  how to give an oral presentation about what
was learned. With the world’s largest dictionary in the palm of the hand, and
the device offering unsolicited spelling and grammar corrections as the report
is typed, every lesson will have a vocabulary, spelling and grammar as part of
the subject regardless of what subject is being taught. Actually twitter might
fit here because if one can accurately explain a complex subject in 140
characters, that person knows how to communicate. Measuring performance of
these skills should be a continuous part of the entire curricula regardless of
the subject or class grade.

The widening range of communication vehicles from the
Internet through the Face Book and other social media require individuals to be
their own communicators. Today, many of our brightest scientists and business
leaders lack the communication skills needed to communicate one-on-one with the
public to explain why their research should be funded or why someone should
invest in a new idea. Imagine how much better they would be at communicating
how well their work is going and how well they could sell the funders to
continue funding their work if they had been forced to learn communication
skills in K-12.

What is really exciting about this new system is that the
K-12 student does not have to focus on just one goal, namely going to college.
With the help of the classroom coach, the grammar school student could discover
his or her talent.  Then in high school the
student could be coached how to research a path to pursue that passion. The
fact that Apps of all types can be downloaded supports this idea. For example,
if a child is tentative about speaking or has a weak voice, and therefore, has
difficulty performing, a microphone can be downloaded from the Internet which
can be amplify the child’s voice via a Bluetooth Speaker right there in the
class room.

On the other hand if a student must be prepared for and meet
the entry requirements for college or a special technical school, then these
must be included in their curriculum. Such courses as algebra, trigonometry,
calculus, physics and chemistry are among these, but they also could be taught
with the Smart Phone in mind.

In summary, our K-12 public school system has been broken
for a good while, and most students who have been exposed to it know it. Today,
the digital revolution, globalization and the widening range of communication
systems require a different style of educating. The Smart Phone provides a wonderful
opportunity to fix a failed system.  The
Smart Phone can and should be a key means for finding the information the
student needs in the new education system. But equally important is knowing how
to think critically about the information obtained and then knowing how to
write and speak about it.

The sooner that this new education system is adopted the
sooner the student will be prepared to cope with the challenges of the Digital
Revolution and its rapid rate of change present in today’s world which is so
radically different than the Industrial Revolution of two centuries ago.

The good news is that digital devices are already being adopted
by some K-12 public schools. Three years ago Clearwater,
Florida high school provided Kindles for
all 9-12 grades, and it has been a huge success for both staff and students.
Numerous other school districts are now experimenting with digital devices in
the class room, and we have heard of one school where they are even permitting
the use of the Smart Phone. In addition, the Smart Phone should be the ideal
device for Home Schooling.  Therefore, it
is likely that it will prevail as a teaching tool regardless of how hard we try
to prevent it.

Perspective: Wyn Not Just Quit?

Perspective: Why Not Just Quit?

If you want to know what is not right about our country, just look at what our past two Secretaries of Deference have not done! They simply retired, and then quietly slipped off to write books. If what they are telling us in their books is true, they should have quit and made a big splash about why they were upset!

Actually what they are they telling us is that either our President is incompetent as a leader and manager or is deliberately trying to destroy the United States. We who follow events have known for six years that he could not perform as poorly as he does without being one or the other. Just consider what his foreign policy has done to the Middle East with his so-called strategy of “leading from behind”, and then try to keep from laughing out loud .... or crying. For the moment we will deal with incompetence, because if it is the latter it is either treason of high crimes and misdemeanors, which are impeachable offences.

I read Robert Gates book and watched Panetta’s interviews with Bill O’Reilly and Charlie Rose. The demeanor of Panetta in these interviews was upsetting. He is clearly scared and fearful for our country. This was clear from his words and from his body language. If this person who has served so many presidents with distinction and honor is scared, then I am really scared!!

Let’s focus on one event that tells it all, Benghazi. The question all along is what the Secretary of Defence believed about the attack on Benghazi and what did he tell the President. Panetta told Charlie Rose that he, Panetta, knew it was an attack of terrorists that very night, and he told President Obama that was the case that very night. Charlie then asked how he felt when her heard Susan Rice say on five Sunday programs five days later on September 16, 2012 that it was a video, not terrorists. He said he was not happy!

Oh for crying out loud! NOT HAPPY!!!! HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN LIVID AND RESIGNED AT ONCE IN PROTEST! Folks, that is what is wrong today. If Panetta had resigned in protest to the White House’s allowing Susan Rice to report such a falsehood, he might not be so fearful. Because had he blown the whistle then before the November, 2012 election, we would probably have a president who knows how to manage and lead, namely Mitt Romney.

Perspective: What to do About ISIS

President Obama ran for office on the premise that he would end the war in Iraq as soon as possible, and he withdrew all US troops in 2011. This is first time in modern history that we left no troops behind to help stabilize and revitalize a country we invaded. We still have troops in Germany, Japan and Korea. Now, ISIS, a rag tag bunch of terrorists in pick-up trucks, routed the Iraq army and took control of a chunk of Iraq the size of Maryland. Worse the Iraq army left behind substantial quantities of US supplied armament which was captured by ISIS.

Everyone knew that Obama’s plan for Iraq would fail, because we had seen this movie before. There has not been a plausible Arabian army in modern history. We’ve seen the Israeli army decimate Arabian armies time after time over the past sixty years, regardless of the country of origin, and we have seen the US rout the Iraq’s army in Dessert Storm in 100 hours, and then in 2003 our army chased the lauded Iraq Republican Guard to Baghdad in three months, and dug Saddam Hussein out of his hole in the ground a few months later.

What is especially poignant about this disaster is to recall those happy Iraqi voters in 2005, including females, waving their ink stained fingers in the air as they celebrated their first democratic vote. It is sad for us also especially after we invested thousands of lives, a trillion dollars or more in military equipment and a decade to create a democracy in Iraq.

Now, despite the miserable and unreliable performance of Arabian armies our President wants us to believe a coalition of Arabic armies will be able to destroy ISIS in three years with little if any US leadership and no support on the ground. It is obvious that our top military leaders do not believe this can be accomplished at all, let alone in three years, and neither should we.


None of the plans for the removal of ISIS are attractive, so what can realistically be done? There are only two courses, and each will take courage.

1. Send the US army back to Iraq to lead the Iraq army in a battle to destroy ISIS in Iraq. Include General Petraeus who could work with the Sunnis as he did during the surge. With the troops in place, this can be accomplished in less than six month. When this objective is accomplished, leave a US force of 20,000 troops to keep the Iraq army strong, and to reinforce their resolve to keep ISIS or any other Al Qaeda group from re-invading Iraq.

2. If we do not have the courage to do this, then we should walk away from the Middle East altogether. The US does not need any oil or gas from the Middle-East, but China definitely does and probably so does Russia. Preserving peace in the region is paramount for them if they want to protect their supplies of oil and gas. So, the US should call a meeting with the top leader of China and Putin of Russia and state clearly these principles:

• The Middle East is China and Russia’s problem

• The United States will protect its allies in the region and that includes Israel

• The US sees no need for Iran to have nuclear weapons, but we expect China and

          Russia to see that that does not happen.

Perspective: The Digital Revolution and Its Attack on Labor

The purpose of this blog is to provide an overview of the digital revolution and the impact it is having on every aspect of our lives. Most will be surprised to learn that the Digital Revolution is already over one hundred years old yet it is accelerating exponentially. Exponential is a mathematical term for growth that goes at faster and faster rates. Graphically the curve becomes steeper and steeper to where it is essentially vertical. Someone said the digital revolution is like having the Industrial Revolution occurring every ten years.

This chart lists the digital events over the past 100 years, and if you note the number of significant additions during the past decade, you get the idea that we are on the vertical part of the curve. The CEO of Google when asked where we are on this exponential curve he said “About ten percent”.

1907 The Vacuum Tube Invented:
1947 The Transistor Invented
1958 Internet Created
1969 The ATM Introduced:
1973 Cell Phone Introduced
1973 The Personal Computer (PC) Introduced:
1984 Apple Introduces MAC:
1985 Microsoft Introduces Windows:
1985 The Laptop Introduced:
1993 E-Mail Introduced:
1996 Text Messaging Added to Cell Phone
1996 The Digital Camera Introduced:
2001 The I-Pod Introduced:
2003 Social Media Launched
2003 LinkedIn:
2004 Facebook:
2005 Youtube:
2006 Twitter
2010 Instragram:
2007 The Kindle Introduced:
2007 The I-Phone Introduced:
Combines
The Cell Phone with Texting
The Digital Camera
The Google and Other Search Engines
A Multitude of Potential Apps downloadable from the Internet

The vacuum tube lasted 40 years until it began to be replaced by the transistor. Twenty or so years later the ATM, the PC and the Cell Phone made their debuts. Then during the next twenty years various Internet applicable nuances were introduced. And then in rapid session we saw the digital camera, and by 2001-2003 the I-Pod and various social media entered the system. A mere four years later in 2007 the Kindel and the I-Phone entered the market. Every one of these devices impacted labor as industry after industry was uprooted to make room for the new technology.

Of all the incredible developments along this one hundred year period, the I-Phone is the most fantastic, and it will have the greatest impact on every human endeavor. The I-Phone, often called the Smart Phone It is so small that it fits into the palm of the hand but has the computing power of many Laptops and PCs. But it is more than a just a powerful computer. It is the Ultimate Device!

One way to think about this remarkable device is to consider the number of devices that it has replaced by merging them into one device. The devices merged include the cell phone with text messaging, the digital camera, the I-Pod and comparable devices to download music, e-books, connection to the Internet through browsers such as Google with its access to the entire knowledge of the world, GPS, maps, verbal communication to locate shops, etc., You Tube and for streaming movies, and the list goes on and on.

From a marketing point of view this means that instead of having to purchase a device for each application, such as a Kindel for reading a book, or a CD player, or a digital camera, you have this in one small powerful device. Since one billion persons in the world already own these devices, the market potential for a new item, such as a book, a tune or an App is one billion versus several markets of one or two hundred million for such devices as a Kindel, a digital camera or a CD player.

The most important fact to understand about this new device is that it is like an extension of our brain’s memory. It also has the ability to add tools (called Apps) that the brain may need. When we truly understand that, we will be able to imagine what the impact of this less than a decade-old device will have on business, medicine, education, government and our personal lives.

Here are some examples of Apps that already exist.

Medical: Measuring blood pressure, body temperature, EKG determinations and blood sugar levels, etc.

Home: Determining what is going on in your home while you are away ranging from photographing an intruder to changing the heating or cooling and/lighting, monitoring a baby sitter, etc.

Business: Monitoring a production machine from home, or miles from home

Store: Using the Smart Phone to scan the barcodes on purchased items, and having your bank account debited or our credit card charged.

Miscellaneous: A multitude of possibilities, for example, an App to determine whether a surface is level, an App to measure sound amplification and a microphone if there is a need to amplify one’s voice.

At the moment, the kids use the Smart Phone more than anyone. They have the device seemingly glued to the palm of their hand, and adults cannot pry it away. However, they mainly use it to text colleagues, take photos and videos and place them onto the social media that they facilitate so easily. However, ask them a question about some event in history, and they will feign ignorance, until you point to or mention what is glued to their hand. What they are demonstrating is that they have not yet realized that it is also an extension of the brain’s memory. Most of us adults are only gradually discovering the same principle. Further, both the youth and the adults are all learning that with Apps the Smart Phone can be used for virtually anything.


The impact of these digital devices has had on jobs over this past century can be summarized as follows.


Vacuum Tubes: Countless companies making these tubes all over the United States went out of business. The transistor never wears out, so TV and radio repairmen who replaced the failed tubes are no longer needed. Electronic mail and texting from a cell phone eliminates a paper based message sent by regular mail and handled by the Post Office. Because of this and the handling of packages by FedEx and UPS, the Post Office revenue has been cut severely causing a current deficit of $2 Billion per quarter.

Google Search Engine
Google has organized the access to the endless knowedge on the Internet so that the encyclopedia, text book, dictionary and/or a library are becoming obsolete.

Digital Camera
The digital camera replaced the film camera. This led to the collapse of Kodak and other such companies. An entire industry has been wiped out.

The I-Pod
This device which allows the owner to download tunes from the Internet, has destroyed the 100 year old traditional recording industry from the manufacturer of the recording such as the CD, the manufacturer of the CD player and the store that sold the CD recordings.

The Kindle
The invention of the electronic book will eventually put the paper book industry out of business from log to library. Borders one of the largest book sellers already closed its 511 US stores in 2011, and many libraries are beginning to feel the impact.

The Internet
Newspapers and magazines have been cutting back or going out of business completely. Texting and e-mail are replacing typed and hand-written letters sent by regular mail and handled by the Post Office. Because of this and the handling of packages by FedEx and UPS, the Post Office revenue has been cut severely causing a current deficit of $2 Billion per quarter. Only the older generations are getting their news and information from papers and magazines and books. When they are gone in a decade or two, who will be left to buy newspapers, magazines and paperbound books?

Having just seen what the new technology as embodied in the Kindel and the Smart Phone is doing to the printing industry and to the music industry, does anyone really believe the invasion will stop there? The answer is no! The only question is which industry will be attacked next? Future blogs will address that question!

Perspective: Was There Ever a Middle Class?

There is much political rhetoric about the collapse of the middle class of the United States and what needs to be done to restore it. To understand how to deal with this, we must ask: What makes up the Middle Class, and has all of it collapsed?

Most of us believe that there are three classes: the Rich, the Middle Class and the Poor. The rich and the poor are clear enough, but the middle class is a bit more complex. Perhaps we should call it the laboring class.





There are three categories of labor; Agrigiculture, Service and Industry. The Industry group, which includes manufacturing, began with the Industrial Revolution, and the workers needed for it came from those working in Agriculture. Massive amounts of farm labor have migrated to the factories ever since so that today only a very small percent of the population is employed in farming.

Beginning with the Industrial Revolution in the early 1800's, manufacturing grew continuously for about one hundred years right up to the Depression of the 1930’s. Then it fell significantly and remained flat for that decade until after WWII, when manufacturing grew and continued robust growth for the next three decades until about 1980. After that it began to fall and has continued to fall ever since. So, what happened?





Here is what happened. During WWII, Germany destroyed most of England’s manufacturing, and the US destroyed the manufacturing capability of Germany and Japan. Consequently, when the war ended, the US was the only viable manufacturer that could supply the worldwide demand for consumer products such as automobiles, appliances, clothing and other goods. This explains the rapid rise of the industry curve beginning about 1950, and this growth continued until Japan and Germany, with US government help, were able to compete again. At this same time, China decided to become a worldwide capitalistic manufacturer. Consequently, by the 1980’s the United States manufacturers had great difficulty competing with low labor cost foreign manufacturers in products from shoes, to clothes to appliances to automobiles and especially to electronic products of all types. To stay in business many US producers closed their US factories and moved manufacturing to these low labor cost countries. The trend continues to this day.





During this halcyon period of the US domination of world manufacturing, US labor found that it could demand high wages and benefits from employers such as GM, Ford and Chrysler by unions going on or threatening to go on strike. We recall how the unions struck GM one year, Ford the next and so forth. The employers in turn found they could raise prices to accommodate these demands. This virtually monopolistic position for US labor raised it from Lower Middle Class to an affluent Middle Class never seen before.

Now, for perspective, it is important to note that most of the professional, shopkeeper, trade and the other service jobs have not and will not be lost to foreign competition. They remain based in the US, and most of them are considered Middle Class.

In short, the collapse of the middle class the politicians and media are constantly haranguing about occurred in manufacturing because during a brief period after WWII the US had virtually a monopolistic position vis-à-vis foreign competition. This advantage lasted for about three decades, and then it disappeared. It was a nice time as long as it lasted. But it was a fluke!!



So, the question is: Can manufacturing jobs return to the US?



The answer is:        A resounding YES!!!





Here is why!! It turns out that the United States has all the components required to bring manufacturing back to the America and thus recreate that unique phase of the Middle Class. In an earlier blog I described how General Electric discovered and is implementing this. The factors that favor the return are:





1.Low cost and huge supplies of fossil energy in the US due to fracking





2.High tech automation due to our lead in digital technology development




3.The high cost of transportation from China to the US due to rising oil prices



4.The need for rapid turn around of product changes demanded by customers
requires that marketing, engineering and manufacturing be in close proximity to each other.

How lucky can we get?





The really good news is that the new manufacturing jobs require higher skills and are thus higher paying than the old ones. If this were not enough reason to make this the Nation’s top priority, a healthy manufacturing economy would increase GDP growth which would beneficiate the entire working population.

So why is manufacturing not returning?



The main reason is that our current administration is deliberately blocking it!!! Here is what they are doing that stands in the way.





1.The US government makes it difficult to get drilling permits to expand the supply of fossil fuels which would keep energy prices low.





2.The EPA is unilaterally planning a 30% surcharge on fossil fuel, despite Congress’s refusing to grant this, and all the while falsely claiming that carbon dioxide is a toxic substance despite the fact that without it there would be no life on earth.





3.US corporations pay the highest tax rate in the entire world. With little hope for any change in this policy, numerous corporations are not expanding in fact several moving their headquarters overseas.

From their words and deeds we all know that Obama and the progressives believe that Climate Change should be given the priority over job creation.



If that is the case, then let’s be honest!

They are sacrificing the Middle Class to save the Climate!!





What this country needs immediately are leaders who understand that the most important task before them is to rebuild the manufacturing segment of the middle class as soon as possible. It is clear that the government rules and laws are blocking it. For the citizenry to understand the importance of removing those restrictions, our leaders from both parties must speak unequivocally, clearly and with total and constant focus on the pressing need for, and unique opportunity we have presently to bring manufacturing back to the United States. American Business knows how to do it in an environmentally satisfactory way, and it can be made to happen soon. To accomplish do this we need to get government out of the way! Successes with this project will beneficiate everyone.



 The mantra should be:

SAVE THE MIDDLE CLASS

                                     
RETURN MANUFACTURING

                                      TO
AMERICA