On Mon, 24 Oct 2005, Chuck Grimes quoted:
> But the early indicators of future prosperity are generally heading in the
> wrong direction. Consider the following:
>
> In one recent period, low-wage employers like Wal-Mart (now the
> nation's largest employer) and McDonald's created 44% of all new
> jobs. High-wage employers created only 29%.
The implication of the article is that we need to generate more highly educated people, especially in scientific fields. The poor science and math prep leading to low wage "McJobs" seems dubious to me, though. Wal-mart doesn't have cashiers because of the poor science and math education in the U. S.; they have cashiers because that work is necessary and useful in their organization, and the growth of their organization creates those low wage job openings. Even if the U. S. had the best school system in the world, a large proportion of the new jobs have to be low wage, no benefit jobs, because those jobs-- janitor, child care worker, security guard, fruit picker--are necessary for the functioning of our society.
(So much for the new economy, as Doug says.)
Miles