snip
I don't know anything about Unix, other than it's an operating system.
My
knowledge of operating systems, as limited as it is, is Windows-based. I
remember that the operating system at my engineering school was Unix...but
that was more than 10 years ago. Is it still used a lot? Perhaps that's
part of the problem? A change in technology?

Hmmm, it would seem that the zeitgeist of technology is not your strong
suit. It is a virtual certainty that your post came via a Linux or BSD Unix
system. The bulk of ISPs currently use Linux or BSD as they are *bunches*
more reliable in production internet plumbing than anything Microsoft has
every produced. If you use google or Amazon you are using Linux. I have
noticed many reference to Linux use from members of this mailing list. The
bulk of supercomputers and mainframes are running some sort of UNIX system.
It is far from behind the times, and Minneapolis is certainly not out of the
loop when it come to IT technology. On my local TCLUG mailing list, several
members who were IBM employees members have had their jobs outsourced to
India. I am not aware that any of them have found work yet.

You pose the question, "a change in technology"? I say a change in the
entire IT infrastructure. For the few that can find work there has been a
15% to 25% drop in wage rates. So much for my son training for a better
job - It's looks like it has been shipped off to a low wage country.

A few leeks later, my techno-geek son is still looking for suitable
employment.


As for your other son with a high school diploma...
What kind of jobs is he applying to? I find it hard to believe he can't
find "any" job. I can't blame him for not wanting a job at minimum wage,
but what skills does he have and what makes him more "employable" than
somebody else that is earning minimum wage?

snip

Oddly, when I sit down with him and do the math, if he works 37.5 hours a
week he will *not* make enough to pay for rent, utilities, food and medical
care. If he works two jobs he will not have the time to go to school and get
more education to get a better job. Even then, health care is a deal buster.
I certainly can't imagine that you, a staunch conservative, would recommend
that he *not* accept personal responsibility and carry health insurance.

Fortunately, he has a support system with us, so he can do things like go
back to school and gain the training he needs for a better job. We have been
trying to work out what will do OK in tomorrow's out-sourced job market. If
you look at most jobs with an open mind, you find that a big chunk of
potential jobs are vulnerable; precious few are a sure bet. And the few jobs
that are left will be flooded with the outsourced.

I wonder about all the McJobbers who do not have a support system such as my
son has. Certainly a Hobson's choice if ever I heard one. It would seem that
they are doomed to work at a McJob until they get too sick to work. Then
they will join the ranks of the welfare population so you can pay for them
with your generous tax contribution. Many have found that they can't get
off the dole because they can't get needed health care working at a McJob.

Of course, If we manage "starve the beast" to the point where there are not
more social programs we can get back to the glorious days depicted in
Dickens literature; you can still see what this sort of unfettered free
market capitalism looks like in many third-world countries. I am sure that
this thought warms the cockles of your conservative heart!

Don't get me wrong, I don't advocate a swing to protectionism. The free
market is a very powerful engine of market efficiency. But like any powerful
tool, if must be used with adult supervision. I can't help but think that
there is a workable middle ground between laze fair capitalism and
communism. From where I sit, we are not at that point right now.

Mark Browne