The "Blue Collar" Worker

As I've watched the news about a tax cut bill going through Congress I keep hearing this phrase; blue collar worker when various talking heads are explaining just how the tax cut will help the "middle-class". I don't claim to be any kind of expert about this issue, whether it's taxes, industry, or demographics in America. However, I do believe I posses a modicum of common sense when I spend a bit of energy thinking about this phrase. Let me explain...

I wonder, how long has it been since NAFTA began creating the giant "sucking sound" Ross Perot predicted? Wasn't that back in the '90s that Pres. Slick Willy got that through? Okay, over the next decade or so, companies who were suffering under the highest corporate taxes and took advantage of the cheaper labor costs in other countries and shut down their factories, plants, and businesses. I would conjecture that there was a wide range of the workers who were forced to seek employment elsewhere, or go on unemployment support, anywhere from low 30s to low 60s in age.

The younger end of the age spectrum who were in this predicament back then most likely were more able to find some type of alternate employment. As the age of the worker increased, it seems reasonable to assume that this situation of finding other work became more difficult. Let's face it, most employers are less interested in hiring someone who's in their 50s or 60s, than they are workers in the 30s and 40s who can be retrained into a new skill set than older ones.

It's now been roughly 20 years - give or take 5 years - since that occurred, with others that followed during that time. That's about a generation. Now, with the advent of technology booming and the emphasis in public education - a field my career was in - more recently pushing every student going to college, that, in my book, leaves a dearth of workers in the U.S. who have any skills in plant, or factory work. And I keep hearing others pointing out they can't get a job because many businesses want only those who have at least a few years' experience. Yep, the ol' "catch 22" scenario.

I've also heard Mike Rowe - star of the cable hit "Dirty Jobs" - who now has his own foundation that promotes vocational jobs. His view is this... back when Obama was President and he was pushing his "Shovel Ready Jobs" Mr. Rowe communicated to him that while there may have been jobs available for citizens to take advantage of, those who wanted or needed employment didn't exactly see themselves working with a shovel as glamorous. His point being that the "sexy" jobs were in the tech industry; coding, web design, VOIP, server farms, etc. by then due to this shift.

So, as I see it, over this period between when NAFTA caused many industry companies to take their production overseas to China, for instance, due to cheaper labor costs and less regulation from the government, a shift has occurred in both the education of students to white collar type jobs that require at least a bachelor's degree, as well as the level of skills required to perform the more "sexy" jobs that remained available. We all know that there's been an increase during these last 20 years to a service based employment opportunity where most are working around only 20 hours per week, forcing them to work two or three jobs to cover the cost of living; dwelling, clothing, food, fuel or transporation and utilities.

So, when our elected officials speak on TV of the fact that the tax cut bill will benefit the "blue collar worker", I can't help but wonder... just how many exist to benefit from it today. Then too, with the businesses announcing that they're coming back to the U.S. because President Trump is making changes in federal regulations to make it more attractive for them to do so, I also wonder just how many of our nation's work force aged citizens there will be to take those jobs and how long it will take for the businesses to train them in order to get up to speed on their production.

Hey, like I said, I'm no expert, but common sense tells me it's going to take a while; especially with the mindset the millennials have about work, accountability, initiative to put one's nose to the grindstone to get the job done, and suffer through adversity which comes with the territory. It seems that if our economy does boom, as it has thus far, and barring any unforeseen setbacks, rebuilding our infrastructure is going to be a bit more difficult than anticipated. However, in the long haul, it will be a definite positive experience for the future of the country compared to a temporary situation of leaning on a shovel,or pitching dirt with it somewhere.