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This article agrees with other articles and books I've been reading on the topic. One interesting and troubling aside: This is focused on the working class an

by dwc 10y ago

This article agrees with other articles and books I've been reading on the topic. One interesting and troubling aside: This is focused on the working class and so doesn't talk very much about college educated people. But it does mention education, and still holds it up as a way forward. Well, that's also being hollowed out. There's a large and growing number of college graduates who cannot find a decent job and who amass large amounts of student debt. They did everything they were supposed to, but the jobs aren't there. Or the jobs are not what they used to be (see adjuncts v. tenure in academia, for instance). Or after all that schooling and debt, you have to "pay to play" by taking long term unpaid internships in expensive cities, which only the affluent can afford. This is bad on its own for people who would normally go to college and get white collar jobs, but it also destroys upward mobility for the working class. It's not just about unions and manufacturing any more. Hollowing out the middle class has become structural.

jwhitlark 10y ago
> They did everything they were supposed to... I think That sentiment is a big part of the problem right there. College isn't a checkbox, it's a tool to increase the value you can provide to others and yourself. Any credential is, at its core, just a proxy for expected value. If you give higher regard to the credential than the expected value, you're likely to have a bad time.
- dwc 10y ago
  While your statement is true, it doesn't explain nearly all of the problems. The shift from tenured to adjunct positions in academia doesn't have anything to do with the quality of applicants. The shift in tech from salaried employees to contractors (offshored or not) has nothing to do with the pool of qualified applicants. Lower pay for positions that create the same value are not the fault of the worker. When these sorts of issues become structural there are far fewer options for individuals to pursue. Whatever path they choose, their chances of success is less.

by dwc 10y ago

jwhitlark 10y ago

> They did everything they were supposed to... I think That sentiment is a big part of the problem right there. College isn't a checkbox, it's a tool to increase the value you can provide to others and yourself. Any credential is, at its core, just a proxy for expected value. If you give higher regard to the credential than the expected value, you're likely to have a bad time.

dwc 10y ago
While your statement is true, it doesn't explain nearly all of the problems. The shift from tenured to adjunct positions in academia doesn't have anything to do with the quality of applicants. The shift in tech from salaried employees to contractors (offshored or not) has nothing to do with the pool of qualified applicants. Lower pay for positions that create the same value are not the fault of the worker. When these sorts of issues become structural there are far fewer options for individuals to pursue. Whatever path they choose, their chances of success is less.