On Nov 18, 2006, at 4:59 PM, tfast wrote:
> Do you have a ref for that quote from Friedman it would be very
> useful to
> me.
I assume you mean Greenspan. Google "Greenspan job skill obsolescence site:federalreserve.gov" and you'll get oodles of examples of him using the phrase "job skill obsolescence" in proximity to fear.
Here's a 1997 example
<http://www.federalreserve.gov/BOARDDOCS/Testimony/1997/19970121.htm> "Thus, the willingness of workers to trade off smaller increases in wages for greater job security seems to be reasonably well-documented for this particular business-cycle expansion. The unanswered question is why this insecurity has persisted even as the labor market has, by all objective measures, tightened considerably. One possibility is the ongoing concern of workers about job skill obsolescence. The reality of this obsolescence is evidenced by the marked expansion of on-the-job training programs, especially in technical areas, in many of the nation's corporations. No longer can one expect to obtain all of one's lifetime job skills with a high-school or college diploma. Indeed, continuing adult education is perceived to be increasingly necessary to retain a job."