Men at Work

By Fred Owens

Men at Work

It was a sign, a strong and beautiful three word poem. You saw it near a highway construction crew. You saw the sign. Then you saw the men working, or standing around. It was plain as day. There was nothing to explain. It said Men at Work.

But they took it down -- it was not inclusive, they said, so they had to take the sign down and then millions of men quit working.......

Okay, maybe those millions of men were kind of stupid to quit working just because they took down the sign. Maybe those millions of men were a little simple-minded because they saw the sign every day and that meant they were supposed to go to work.

They could have had a sign that read "Men, go to work!" because there are a lot of fellas that need a shove, otherwise they sit around the house all day playing video games, which is what we have now.

Then Trump comes along and says he will make everybody go back to work -- give them jobs -- so they voted for Trump, because they felt guilty sitting at home in their pajamas waiting for the phone to ring.

Trump comes along and promises them jobs. He says "I won't forget you." And they believed him. He said, "I will put the sign back up."

Millions of men are not even looking for work, according to this story in the NYTimes. Millions of men, sitting around the house all day, in their pajamas, waiting for the phone to ring.

Cool Apps, but no Jobs. California, Oregon, Washington -- the Pacific corridor -- we all voted for Hillary Clinton, by a margin of more than two million votes, a lopsided victory...... And we really believed she would win. We could truly say, "Everybody I know voted for Hillary Clinton, so she's certain to win."

But we kind of lost touch with the rest of the country, assuming everybody is just like us. We began to believe our own predictions.

California, Oregon, Washington -- the Pacific Corridor -- host of the new economy. Amazon! Microsoft! Facebook! Apple! Google! We are mighty, we are powerful, we are the future.

Everybody loves us. We have the coolest apps. We have everything that you ever wanted -- except jobs. Oh, jobs. We don't really do that anymore.

So those ignoramuses back in Ohio still wanted jobs. What is wrong with those people? Jobs are not happening anymore. It's all about cool apps.

What possessed these people to vote for Trump?

But it's a design flaw that Google needs to fix. They did away with the jobs, but they forgot about the rent. Maybe they should do away with the rent first, and then get rid of the jobs. Now there's a vision. That's a really cool app.

Thomas Friedman, the NYTimes columnist, knows that millions of new jobs will be created in the long run. Globalization and high technology are disruptive forces that first wipe out entire industries, and then rebuild them bigger and better. "In the long run we will all be better off." That is what Friedman preaches.

But what about the short run? In the short run we're screwed. We actually live in the short run, most of us. The long run is like a place in heaven, if we ever get there, by and by.
So the people voted for Trump, because he lives in the short run, like the rest of us.
Trucks with No Drivers.

Google and the others are developing driver-less trucks that will put many thousands of people out of work -- why is that cool? Why do we applaud these efforts? Google and others should be creating products and services that increase employment.
They should design a truck that requires TWO drivers. That puts a lot of people to work.
Trump promises that he will put people to work, and he got elected, but the software geniuses from Silicon Valley should have gotten there first. We still need jobs, because we still have to pay the rent.
You go to the landlord, and show him this really cool app on your smart phone. And he says, "Where's the money?"
Homeless people have smart phones. Try sleeping in a smart phone some day -- see if it keeps you warm and dry.
Men at Work. Look, we don't have to bring back the sign, but we have to come up with another sign that is stronger and better. "Persons Engaged in Productive Activity."  That's inclusive. That's diverse. But it sucks. Gotta come up with something better then that.. If you don't, Trump will.
Maybe this will help  -- clean energy jobs ....... Bloomberg is a pretty good source..... Bloomberg says that clean energy businesses now employ more people than old fossil fuel companies.
Gratitude. As always at Frog Hospital, I use reputable sources, but I draw conclusions that are speculative. I am not trying to prove a case  -- I just want to keep the conversation going. Thank you for your time and interest in my humble words.

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Fred Owens

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Fred Owens
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