When all the jobs that could be outsourced... are. And when all the jobs that can be replaced by AI... are. And all the menial jobs that "Americans won't do" are filled by... I'll say imports. And the border remains open and our... "newcomers" receive federal assistance not offered to American citizens (excluding the folks directly impacted by Hurricane Helene of course because I believe they were offered $750 to restart this week)...
Who will be left to purchase our goods & services? Who will be left to purchase our real estate. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I used to revisit my father's hometown and was often reminded of which house the butcher, gas station attendant, baker, etc. owned and now... none of those professions could support a family on a single income and... the divide is growing wider each and every year.
There are folks that would call this progress but the jobs continue to dry up, and the purchasing power follows the same pattern... I'm not sure we've got much more "time" left in this equation and feel like we're quickly moving into a "have's & have not's" society and it's not based on much other than chosen profession and in many cases, luck & familial support.
As an example- 2 of my very close friends have something like 20 years of experience each in the HVAC trade- absolutely salt of the earth type of people. And they know/done it all, coal, heating oil, natural gas, geothermal, etc- but one is stuck in a townhouse he purchased 15 years ago, the other is stuck renting apartments and these are VERY skilled professionals but are absolutely stuck with no upward mobility and are just stuck in a "grind" in a trade that should offer them unlimited options. 20 years each of doing HVAC- I frequently call them up for help because they just have knowledge/skills I couldn't begin to fathom. But they're stuck in otherwise "good" jobs.
I spent the evening with one of those buddies (the one still renting and trying to buy a house of his own as he's approaching 40) and I asked him, what the heck happened with his industry. As of tonight- his answer was that many folks moved to Natural Gas over the past 10+ years and many of the companies he's worked for stuck with oil. Now both of them kept up and learned other types such as geothermal/propane/etc but their companies did not. The one I was talking to today spent a year or so in Florida and HVAC is even lower paid there then in PA (which is shocking to me because I'd have to believe that AC is of the utmost importance in a state like Florida).
Anyway, I'm ranting now I suppose but- my point is that there's a systematic problem that's been brewing for decades here and it's moving at an exponential rate. The question remains though is once we've "optimized" every part of business transactions and nobody that's left can afford housing or the products being sold (for that matter) where will that leave us as an American Society?
-LD
