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> Why, then, do policymakers and business leaders continue to focus on reskilling? Lafer thinks it gives them an easy way out by laying the blame for workers’ d

> Why, then, do policymakers and business leaders continue to focus on reskilling? Lafer thinks it gives them an easy way out by laying the blame for workers’ dim employment prospects on their failure to acquire the right skills rather than facing up to deeper structural changes in the economy. He says that a better option might be a push for better pay and conditions in other in demand industries that employ lots of people but are poorly rewarded such as construction, healthcare and education. I subscribe to the Keynesian philosophy that the government should at the very least hire displaced workers to dig holes in the ground and fill them back up. Even better - use that effort to build roads, clean our cities, provide services, etc.

toomuchtodo 6y ago
Installing renewables, as well as installing EV charging stations and upgrading electrical infrastructure is going to be a Herculean effort, lots of good jobs to provide for folks in that domain. I believe many on Native American lands still don’t have running water, internet, or power. Should be a top priority for such a jobs corps.
- an_opabinia 6y ago
  When Alaska and Wyoming have the same number of senators as California and New York, the problem becomes not the lack of resources or even the wild inefficiency of serving rural communities, which are problems everywhere in the world that nonetheless have better infrastructure, but plainly, Republicans, which only exist here.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - elcritch 6y ago
    As someone currently living in Wyoming, I’m really disconcerted by SanFran when I visit, as an example. At least Wyoming’s low taxes (no state income tax) and low population explain the state of the infrastructure. SanFran? Not so much, it’s a golden child of incredible economic success, liberal ideals, and horrible (political) mis-management. The issues on infrastructure in the US run much more than Red vs Blue. It’s deeply ingrained in the modern American culture across the board.
    - freetime2 6y ago
      As a former Bay Area resident and a progressive, I agree. Progressives in urban areas should focus more on improving things at the state and local levels where they live, and less on what their fellow countrymen in more conservative areas are doing.
      - toomuchtodo 6y ago
        Why haven’t those conservatives brought basic human right utilities (power, water, internet to Native Americans) to their citizens then yet? Sure, urban areas have challenges, but to say “stay in your lane” is whataboutism in this instance.
        elcritch 6y ago
        Indian reservations are independent from their surrounding states and semi-sovereign (technically at least) but essentially managed by the federal government by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Many conservatives believe the state of many Indian reservations are due in part to the mismanaged “welfare state” policies of the BIA that hinder NA’s from improving their lives. Personally I don’t know enough about the situation to say. I was only a child the last time I lived on an Indian reservation and barely remember it.
        deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
ProAm 6y ago
> I subscribe to the Keynesian philosophy that the government should at the very least hire displaced workers to dig holes in the ground and fill them back up This is what the TSA is and largely the US military/defense (based on dollars spent compare to task success rate)
moomin 6y ago
Especially if you live in a country with visibly crumbling infrastructure...
pydry 6y ago
>I subscribe to the Keynesian philosophy that the government should at the very least hire displaced workers to dig holes in the ground and fill them back up. Keynes didn't actually advocate this. He just said that it would be stimulative to do this - i.e. that it was sufficient as a means of escaping a liquidity trap. He was much more keen on public works programs "government as an employer of last resort" that built things like the Lincoln tunnel. I find it deeply ironic that this myth of what he said is most popular among gold bugs - people who advocate digging up gold and subsequently burying it.
credit_guy 6y ago
And what if you don't have the skills to build up roads, clean our cities, provide services? Do you reskill?
- freetime2 6y ago
  I picked those examples as jobs that I don’t imagine require any specialist training (at entry levels), with requisite skills being learned via on-the-job training.
  - credit_guy 6y ago
    I don't work in any of these areas, but I hesitate to presume that just because they are considered "blue collar" jobs they require no training. Here's a pamphlet [1] put together by the Federal Highway Administration, called "A Playbook to Build Tomorrow's Highway Construction Workforce". On the first page you learn that there is a shortage of heavy equipment operators, cement masons, and iron workers. These jobs look non-trivial to me. I don't think you become a cement mason or iron worker overnight, or that you can just learn "on the job". [1] https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovativeprograms/centers/workforce_dev/hcwp/pdfs/hcwp_playbook.pdf https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovativeprograms/centers/workforc...
dredmorbius 6y ago
WPA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/works-progress-administration https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/works-progre... Government as employer of last resort.

toomuchtodo 6y ago

Installing renewables, as well as installing EV charging stations and upgrading electrical infrastructure is going to be a Herculean effort, lots of good jobs to provide for folks in that domain. I believe many on Native American lands still don’t have running water, internet, or power. Should be a top priority for such a jobs corps.

an_opabinia 6y ago
When Alaska and Wyoming have the same number of senators as California and New York, the problem becomes not the lack of resources or even the wild inefficiency of serving rural communities, which are problems everywhere in the world that nonetheless have better infrastructure, but plainly, Republicans, which only exist here.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- elcritch 6y ago
  As someone currently living in Wyoming, I’m really disconcerted by SanFran when I visit, as an example. At least Wyoming’s low taxes (no state income tax) and low population explain the state of the infrastructure. SanFran? Not so much, it’s a golden child of incredible economic success, liberal ideals, and horrible (political) mis-management. The issues on infrastructure in the US run much more than Red vs Blue. It’s deeply ingrained in the modern American culture across the board.
  - freetime2 6y ago
    As a former Bay Area resident and a progressive, I agree. Progressives in urban areas should focus more on improving things at the state and local levels where they live, and less on what their fellow countrymen in more conservative areas are doing.
    - toomuchtodo 6y ago
      Why haven’t those conservatives brought basic human right utilities (power, water, internet to Native Americans) to their citizens then yet? Sure, urban areas have challenges, but to say “stay in your lane” is whataboutism in this instance.
      - elcritch 6y ago
        Indian reservations are independent from their surrounding states and semi-sovereign (technically at least) but essentially managed by the federal government by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Many conservatives believe the state of many Indian reservations are due in part to the mismanaged “welfare state” policies of the BIA that hinder NA’s from improving their lives. Personally I don’t know enough about the situation to say. I was only a child the last time I lived on an Indian reservation and barely remember it.
        deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]

ProAm 6y ago

> I subscribe to the Keynesian philosophy that the government should at the very least hire displaced workers to dig holes in the ground and fill them back up This is what the TSA is and largely the US military/defense (based on dollars spent compare to task success rate)

moomin 6y ago

Especially if you live in a country with visibly crumbling infrastructure...

pydry 6y ago

>I subscribe to the Keynesian philosophy that the government should at the very least hire displaced workers to dig holes in the ground and fill them back up. Keynes didn't actually advocate this. He just said that it would be stimulative to do this - i.e. that it was sufficient as a means of escaping a liquidity trap. He was much more keen on public works programs "government as an employer of last resort" that built things like the Lincoln tunnel. I find it deeply ironic that this myth of what he said is most popular among gold bugs - people who advocate digging up gold and subsequently burying it.

credit_guy 6y ago

And what if you don't have the skills to build up roads, clean our cities, provide services? Do you reskill?

freetime2 6y ago
I picked those examples as jobs that I don’t imagine require any specialist training (at entry levels), with requisite skills being learned via on-the-job training.
- credit_guy 6y ago
  I don't work in any of these areas, but I hesitate to presume that just because they are considered "blue collar" jobs they require no training. Here's a pamphlet [1] put together by the Federal Highway Administration, called "A Playbook to Build Tomorrow's Highway Construction Workforce". On the first page you learn that there is a shortage of heavy equipment operators, cement masons, and iron workers. These jobs look non-trivial to me. I don't think you become a cement mason or iron worker overnight, or that you can just learn "on the job". [1] https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovativeprograms/centers/workforce_dev/hcwp/pdfs/hcwp_playbook.pdf https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovativeprograms/centers/workforc...

dredmorbius 6y ago

WPA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/works-progress-administration https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/works-progre... Government as employer of last resort.