THE DUMBING OF AMERICA
For many years it has been obvious that asian americans have been excelling in many areas of technology and science, trumping the american born population. Morgan Stanley's chief economist Stephen Roach warned in a note Monday that U.S. workers may already be behind in educating themselves, citing statistics showing the number of Asians getting science and engineering degrees has jumped more than 50 percent in the past two decades while the number of Americans getting similar degrees has been stagnant. Roach went on to write, "The United States has long drawn comfort from the quality differential of its educational system. However, in the Internet Age with its ubiquitous diffusion of knowledge, innovation, and technological change, that may turn out to be an increasingly false sense of security."
We have become a society that is complacent about what we have. Our children have become confused by television. They see images of what life is like, yet it is a fabricated and in most cases unrepresentative portrayal of what it takes to succeed and how to go about becoming successful. The new reality show "The Apprentice" is the most striking example of what we are showing our children and ourselves about what it takes to make it in the American business world. Sports figures, super models, musician and singers get idolized while teachers are paid less than sanitation workers and are mired in overcrowded classrooms and delapidated schools. Children and adults are being blinded by a twisted sense of what it takes to earn a "good living".
Immigrants are building our homes and office buildings, they harvest out food and clean our homes. White collar jobs are being sent overseas or eliminated due to redundancies. Blue collar, lifetime jobs are being replaced with technology and machines. Doctors are overwhelmed with high insurance costs and HMO's that don't pay them promptly or adequately for their skills. Service jobs are abundant as our society thinks its entitled to eat out, shop, and travel regularly. Leisure is a constitutional right and work is a way to make money to pay the interest on the credit cards. People are retiring later in life and are taking up jobs that previously went to entry level workers starting out in the job market.
Since we have stopped educating ourselves and our children to be the best and smartest, others have filled the void to the detrement of the next generation of workers. Most Americans have become job snobs, only seeking out those positions with lots of perks, good health care benefits and a good paycheck. Otherwise, it makes more sense to stay at home and take care of your children. Some have decided to get a job selling some sort of skin care product in a multi-level business. Some opt for collecting disability insurance as their previous career careened off track and made them unable to function in the new technological age. And as a last resort, unemployment insurance and welfare are better than the menial jobs offered at fast food restaurants.
As our good paying jobs continue to get downsized or outsourced, the working population has had a harder and harder time finding jobs that are acceptable. Whether we like it or not, the trend will continue and illegal immigrants will continue to take our labor jobs, and white collar workers will have a much more difficult time finding the job they desire.
The unemployment rate and jobless claims do not reflect the structural changes in the jobs market in the US. The next generation will see major changes and challenges getting good jobs going forward, and the baby boom generation will have to cope with the repercusions of less workers paying social security taxes. Retirement may never come for most as they will need to work longer to pay their medical bills.
The current "jobless recovery" may be just the beginning of a structural change in the US economy and jobs market that will last well into the 21st century. Educational will be a key factor in determining if the next generation has a job or not.
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Monday, February 09, 2004
WHILE THE FED's AWAY BUBBLES TO PLAY
The warnings are getting boring. Like the 5, or was it 6, Orange Terror Alerts, that have all ended with no attack. The Bears on Wall Street, myself included, continue to point out the warning signs and dangers that abound in the economic "chatter", yet the equity markets continue to reach higher and the investing public keeps going about its normal business of pumping money into their mutual funds. The dishonest economic propaganda that comes from the Bush administration daily fuels there confidence and hopes. All the while, seemingly smart and informed economists and strategists jump up and down warning that an attack of sorts is imminent.
Morgan Stanleys proverbial chicken little recently opined that the Feds easy money policy, while being effective near term, has unfortunately resulted in some unwanted by-products. In his words, "this approach has another worrisome by-product: It has become a breeding ground for a string of additional asset bubbles that have come on the scene in the aftermath of the burst equity bubble. That’s not just true of property but also of bonds, credit instruments, emerging market debt, and tech stocks (again). This multiple-bubble syndrome is strikingly reminiscent of the moral hazard play that became central to the Great Bubble of the late 1990s — the recognition on the part of investors and speculators that Fed accommodation was here to stay. As long as the Fed takes interest-rate risk out of the equation, one bubble begets another. "
I know we have been hearing about bubbles for awhile now, but eventually, the reality of the matter will become apparent, and as usual it will be in hindsight and will hurt that much more. So as the FED has promised to be "patient" it is also allowing the animal instincts to run wild and encouraging the stock market to inflate. When the FED decides to come home and take away the liquidity, there will be hell to pay for all the bubbles they blew.
The warnings are getting boring. Like the 5, or was it 6, Orange Terror Alerts, that have all ended with no attack. The Bears on Wall Street, myself included, continue to point out the warning signs and dangers that abound in the economic "chatter", yet the equity markets continue to reach higher and the investing public keeps going about its normal business of pumping money into their mutual funds. The dishonest economic propaganda that comes from the Bush administration daily fuels there confidence and hopes. All the while, seemingly smart and informed economists and strategists jump up and down warning that an attack of sorts is imminent.
Morgan Stanleys proverbial chicken little recently opined that the Feds easy money policy, while being effective near term, has unfortunately resulted in some unwanted by-products. In his words, "this approach has another worrisome by-product: It has become a breeding ground for a string of additional asset bubbles that have come on the scene in the aftermath of the burst equity bubble. That’s not just true of property but also of bonds, credit instruments, emerging market debt, and tech stocks (again). This multiple-bubble syndrome is strikingly reminiscent of the moral hazard play that became central to the Great Bubble of the late 1990s — the recognition on the part of investors and speculators that Fed accommodation was here to stay. As long as the Fed takes interest-rate risk out of the equation, one bubble begets another. "
I know we have been hearing about bubbles for awhile now, but eventually, the reality of the matter will become apparent, and as usual it will be in hindsight and will hurt that much more. So as the FED has promised to be "patient" it is also allowing the animal instincts to run wild and encouraging the stock market to inflate. When the FED decides to come home and take away the liquidity, there will be hell to pay for all the bubbles they blew.
Monday, February 02, 2004
SHOCK & AWEful SuperBowl Prono...Spreading Democarcy & Americana
Shock and Awe has come to the most watched prime time sports event that the American media broadcasts. Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson acted out a "soft porn rape scene" as 89 million Americans, including children, watched the half time show during Super Bowl XXXVIII. Disgusting, outrageous, immoral, repugnant, rude, raunchy, offensive, inappropriate, inconsiderate, and on and on. No 'sexually explicit' content warning. No apology from the NFL or CBS. Nothing but another abuse of national broadcast licenses and the audiences that trust the networks to honor their committment to upholding proper television ethics.
While we send our soldiers around the world to spread Democracy and American values, we continue to show why we are hated and not welcome in most places we go. America is viewed as the 'Great Satan' by the religious regions of the world due to our reprehensible behavior. Other parts of the world want nothing to do with our extreme liberal value system, where anything and everything goes and nobody is responsible for any of the ills that fall upon them.
America used to be represented by baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and chevrolet. Now, look what America is represented by. Overwhelming military power. Presidents that lie and abscure to maintain there power and authority. A population of professional consumers. Reality TV filled with contrived love affairs, outrageous and disgusting stunts, self abuse and immorality. Marriage opened up to allow for same sex unions. Two income families that can't make ends meet and are filing for personal bankruptcy at unprecedented rates. Corporate fraud confounding every regulatory agency and violating the trust of the public at large. The Catholic church scandal and child abuse issues continue to taint our religious foundation. Entertainment and sports icons displaying unconscionable behaviors on a daily basis, corrupting what our children see and hear.
During the Super Bowl, the advertisements were for the most consumed products in the United States and all wre targeted at our misguided youth and unconcious adult population. One ad executive said it like this. "The humor has just gotten to such a base level," said Steven Addis, chief executive of the Addis Group branding agency, shortly after Sunday night's game. "There seems to be an unwritten rule in advertising that men can only be spoken to in a stupid way." Ads for sexual disfunction drugs, automobiles, beer, soda, credit cards and job searches dominated the football timeouts. Many with a sexual conotation or bathroom type humor.
Is this what we are trying to spread around the world? Is this what we think other countries and governments want for their populations? Is this what we want for our country?
I am personally appalled at what I saw last night, and it just adds to my view that America has become the Roman Empire of the 21st century. We worship idolic images. We value large screen plasma TV's. We have no regard for our children. We act imperialistic. The American dream is turning into a bad nightmare.
Shock and Awe has come to the most watched prime time sports event that the American media broadcasts. Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson acted out a "soft porn rape scene" as 89 million Americans, including children, watched the half time show during Super Bowl XXXVIII. Disgusting, outrageous, immoral, repugnant, rude, raunchy, offensive, inappropriate, inconsiderate, and on and on. No 'sexually explicit' content warning. No apology from the NFL or CBS. Nothing but another abuse of national broadcast licenses and the audiences that trust the networks to honor their committment to upholding proper television ethics.
While we send our soldiers around the world to spread Democracy and American values, we continue to show why we are hated and not welcome in most places we go. America is viewed as the 'Great Satan' by the religious regions of the world due to our reprehensible behavior. Other parts of the world want nothing to do with our extreme liberal value system, where anything and everything goes and nobody is responsible for any of the ills that fall upon them.
America used to be represented by baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and chevrolet. Now, look what America is represented by. Overwhelming military power. Presidents that lie and abscure to maintain there power and authority. A population of professional consumers. Reality TV filled with contrived love affairs, outrageous and disgusting stunts, self abuse and immorality. Marriage opened up to allow for same sex unions. Two income families that can't make ends meet and are filing for personal bankruptcy at unprecedented rates. Corporate fraud confounding every regulatory agency and violating the trust of the public at large. The Catholic church scandal and child abuse issues continue to taint our religious foundation. Entertainment and sports icons displaying unconscionable behaviors on a daily basis, corrupting what our children see and hear.
During the Super Bowl, the advertisements were for the most consumed products in the United States and all wre targeted at our misguided youth and unconcious adult population. One ad executive said it like this. "The humor has just gotten to such a base level," said Steven Addis, chief executive of the Addis Group branding agency, shortly after Sunday night's game. "There seems to be an unwritten rule in advertising that men can only be spoken to in a stupid way." Ads for sexual disfunction drugs, automobiles, beer, soda, credit cards and job searches dominated the football timeouts. Many with a sexual conotation or bathroom type humor.
Is this what we are trying to spread around the world? Is this what we think other countries and governments want for their populations? Is this what we want for our country?
I am personally appalled at what I saw last night, and it just adds to my view that America has become the Roman Empire of the 21st century. We worship idolic images. We value large screen plasma TV's. We have no regard for our children. We act imperialistic. The American dream is turning into a bad nightmare.