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There are way too many examples to validate the elite overproduction theory. Just right now we don’t have enough skilled trade workers to execute on the infrast

There are way too many examples to validate the elite overproduction theory. Just right now we don’t have enough skilled trade workers to execute on the infrastructure plan. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/us/politics/biden-infrastructure-plan.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/us/politics/biden-infrast...

thanhhaimai 5y ago
I don't share the same sentiment that we don't have enough talented workers. We just don't have enough workers who are willing to work minimum wage with a $0.5/hour raise year over year.
- DevKoala 5y ago
  The article claims there is not enough trained skilled workers which might force the government to delay the execution of the plan and dedicate part of the budget to training people. Trade jobs require a certain amount of training/experience and pay far above minimum wage. A plumber did a job for me a couple months ago and the guy made six figures a year easily, I asked him. Right now getting any remodeling done in the Bay Area is impossible because there is not enough contractors; availability times are three months in the future and often you get outbid for their time.
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  Doubling the salary wouldn't make more workers with 10 years of experience building bridges materialize out of thin air. It might help recruit entry level workers to the field. Also, infrastructure construction jobs are not minimum wage.
jjk166 5y ago
The lack of skilled trades people is not a consequence of elite overproduction, it is a result of the collapse of the apprentice class. The combination of improvements in technology making low skill work easier and an expansion of bureaucracy that requires more certification for more complicated work have made it such that there is a wide gulf between unskilled and skilled labor in most industries. Where in the past people would gain experience on the job and their employers would get useful work out of entry level employees, now training represents a significant investment which is liable to be poached, and thus there is no training pipeline. To reach the skill level required to make good money at a trade, you need to be willing to invest large amounts of time and money into your own tools and training, and anyone who can afford to do that can afford to work in better conditions in other fields. This is short term thinking by corporations biting them in the butt, not some "millenials are too entitled to do real work" bs.

thanhhaimai 5y ago

I don't share the same sentiment that we don't have enough talented workers. We just don't have enough workers who are willing to work minimum wage with a $0.5/hour raise year over year.

DevKoala 5y ago
The article claims there is not enough trained skilled workers which might force the government to delay the execution of the plan and dedicate part of the budget to training people. Trade jobs require a certain amount of training/experience and pay far above minimum wage. A plumber did a job for me a couple months ago and the guy made six figures a year easily, I asked him. Right now getting any remodeling done in the Bay Area is impossible because there is not enough contractors; availability times are three months in the future and often you get outbid for their time.
s1artibartfast 5y ago
Doubling the salary wouldn't make more workers with 10 years of experience building bridges materialize out of thin air. It might help recruit entry level workers to the field. Also, infrastructure construction jobs are not minimum wage.

jjk166 5y ago

The lack of skilled trades people is not a consequence of elite overproduction, it is a result of the collapse of the apprentice class. The combination of improvements in technology making low skill work easier and an expansion of bureaucracy that requires more certification for more complicated work have made it such that there is a wide gulf between unskilled and skilled labor in most industries. Where in the past people would gain experience on the job and their employers would get useful work out of entry level employees, now training represents a significant investment which is liable to be poached, and thus there is no training pipeline. To reach the skill level required to make good money at a trade, you need to be willing to invest large amounts of time and money into your own tools and training, and anyone who can afford to do that can afford to work in better conditions in other fields. This is short term thinking by corporations biting them in the butt, not some "millenials are too entitled to do real work" bs.