OK, warning: what's coming is a wild personal opinion based on anecdotal experience with a couple of guys. There are a couple of guys I know who fit into the c

OK, warning: what's coming is a wild personal opinion based on anecdotal experience with a couple of guys. There are a couple of guys I know who fit into the category in the article. I don't believe that the solution proposed would have any effect. It just is at an impedance mismatch with the mindset, with the culture. I'll mention one guy I know, a neighbor, who fixes cars in his folks's barn, for a living. He has no qualifications, no certifications and not much special equipment. I hear him doing a lot of banging. People who have not much money know him as a car-fixer guy who works cheap and bring him cars. I very much admire his work ethic. When I let the dog out at 5:30 in the morning he is at work already, banging hard, and I often hear him at 8 at night. But he can't make any real money at it. People come to him precisely because he doesn't charge much. To an economist the thought is that if a person could improve their economic and social standing by getting training or investing in specialized equipment, like a lift, of course they would do it. The mathematical argument is compelling. But as I understand it, proposed solution of having these folks go in for training just does not fit the culture. I heard him the other day in a conversation about welding. He welds a little, but the guy asked him about a particular job and he had to say that for that you'd need training. Training is never going to happen. It isn't a lack of energy, or the needed intelligence, or a belief in entrepeneurship among the men I know in this category. It is a culture thing; "school" is just a non-starter.