After WWII, it was easy pickings. We were the only man left standing. The rest of the world was in shambles. All of the businesses were ours, other nations bought our goods, the jobs were plentiful and it was possible to own your own business, keep your nose clean and live a decent life.
Fast forward to the 90s. The tech-boom happened. The U.S. quickly got exposed.
1) The global supply of labor ballooned. It will now greatly exceed the demand going forward.
2) The growth in jobs in the mid to late 90s was due to the immediate need to fill jobs in a rapidly growing economy.
3) Technology naturally eliminated the need for jobs. Now, one person can do the job that 4-5 used to do.
4) The world "shrunk".
5) Cheap, cheap, cheap. NAFTA allowed millions of jobs to move offshore for a fraction of the cost. That's all most big companies care about.
6) American business became mostly corporate and less about small business. The $$$ talks now.
7) Our education system is getting exposed. Other systems seem to work better, require more (i.e. multiple languages before going to high school).
Our work-ethic as a nation seems to have declined. People don't really want to work hard anymore.
9) Gen Y has little clue as a whole as to how to save, earn a living, etc. Some do, but many don't.
10) The Boomers killed us. They can't exit the job market now and our healthcare costs keep rising. Soc. Security will be insolvent by the time they're gone.
11) It's pretty simple...the supply of labor exceeds the demand and since Americans are more expensive and don't want to work as hard, it makes it less attractive to hire us.
Did globalization really kill the American dream, or am I simplifying this to much?
