Very well written article, but not the first time I have read of what I call the dumbing down of America. It is true and it is here and it is causing all kinds of issues and accidents. I am starting to believe that flying is not so safe. I for one intend to fly as little as possible. I am not loyal to American brands because they are junk, but that has been going on for a long time.
If I knew what I know today and I was ready to start college, I am not sure I would go. I see plenty of white and brown (hate the word, but that is what Mexicans are called now) guys who are wildly successful. People are do desperate for reliable workers, that anyone who will do a quality job, when they say they will do it, and a little or even a lot above a fair price will not be able to handle all the work.
Let me give you an example. My neighbor is having a pool built. His electricity feed from the transformer ran diagonally across his property, so he had to reroute it around the edge of the yard. He paid one guy $1000 to come out with a back hoe, dig a 30" deep trench, and then come back a couple of weeks later after inspection and cover it up. He had a max of 3 hours into the job plus travel time. I actually thought that was pretty fair.
Our electric company requires that the electrical conduct be pre-installed. All they will do is pull new wires through your installed conduit and hook up the ends. So he paid a guy $1700 to bring out 3 brown guys to dig down and find the hot wires at the end of the trench. Nice guys I talked to them. I am sure he paid them well for about 90 minutes of work. Next the hired guy has to go get the conduct and one Sunday morning he spent all of 1 hour gluing the pipe together. Now that $1700 was way above a fair price. Turns out the guy (white) was the electrical supervisor for the construction company that was doing his remodel, and he did odd jobs like this on the weekend where there was no one to do it. He said he made more on the weekends than he did with his regular job. This is how you get ahead. I would guess he pulls in at least $75K a year doing stuff like this.
I have been in the same situation like above many times and what did I do, go buy the pipe and glue it together. Nobody can do anything anymore. Our homes are all older here in Sun City and a few sewer line from the house to the street are failing. The going price to replace is $10,000. If it happens to me I will go rent a backhoe and dig the trench myself and then call one of several good workers I have collected from talking with them and seeing their work.
So the American dream is still alive in this country as far as I can see, just different than before. Anybody willing to work and do a good job can make a very good living. Construction bosses in this town drive new black jacked up monster diesel trucks.
By the way I don't remember the last time I saw a black guy doing any kind of construction, repair, or yard job. Welfare is plenty good enough to get by with drug sales on the side. But bad times are coming.
Trade the Charts and not the Heart - Expect the trend to
continue until it doesn't - Realtime is the real deal
