by Dave Roberts » Sun Dec 04, 2016 7:38 am
One of the things to which many of us can attest is the fact that the economy is a very uneven economy. For example, I live in Virginia which statistically has done extremely well in the past six years and has an unemployment rate below the national averages. However, recent statistics showed that 60% of the Virginia economic activity is taking place in three areas. Those areas are the northern Virginia suburbs joining DC, the greater Richmond area, and the Tidewater area. Two of these three have both heavy federal government or defense related incomes. The third is the center of state government with a major workforce relating to that. At the same time that unemployment is almost zero, smaller cities that were once heavily linked to major industries are struggling with unemployment rates of 15% or more: ie: Danville that was a major hub for the textile industry, Martinsville that was central to furniture manufacturing, and Roanoke that was the hub for railroading for many years. While the overall numbers look good, the economy is very uneven, and it has been that way for a generation or more. In the area where I reside, the single largest employer is corrections. Keeping a few jobs in Indiana will not solve the economic malaise. We are first going to have to train people to work in a 21st century economy which means upgrading school programs, especially STEM subjects and vocational educaiton. It can be done because I have experienced it. Those of us in public education saw a vast infusion of effort when the space race was at its height. The central concern was, "What does Ivan know that Johnny doesn't?" We are still teaching offset printing at the local high school vocational program. Guess how many offset printing shops there are in this digital age. The skills of yesteryear are not in demand, and we have to teach the ones that will make us competitive. We can't rely on government jawboning to get the job done.