A note from Dr. Hendrix
I spent a career reading trends, and this one troubles and excites me in equal measure: technology has quietly erased whole categories of work, from the farm to the factory. This piece stares at that harder reality and still finds a brighter hope inside it. I wrote it because pretending the ground is not shifting helps no one, but neither does despair.
We have reached a tipping point in American society. We’ve run out of jobs for
60% of the population. And it will continue going downhill from there.
Did you know:
In 1900, 80% of us made our living working on a farm. Today, that has been cut down to 1%. How did that happen? TECHNOLOGY.
In 1950, 50% of us were working in manufacturing. Today, that has been cut to 10%. How did this happen? Technology.
Today, 89% of us work in the service sector. In fifteen years, at the most, only about 40% of us will be working in the service sector. How will this happen? Technology.
Let me be very blunt: you should be working to make sure you, your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren don’t wind up poor without hope of finding a job.
Here’s the plan you should follow religiously.
1 – YOU MUST FACTOR IN YOUR OBSOLESCENCE.
All businesses will make significant cuts in the worker base over the next five to ten years, and there is at least a 60/40 chance your job will have been eliminated. Improvements in technology are eating up your jobs.
2 – SUPPORT UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME ( UBI ).
UBI guarantees a $1k monthly check in cash for every American citizen regardless of whether or not they are employed. For example: if you are married with three children, you would be guaranteed a minimum monthly income of $5k. This would strengthen the middle class significantly. And imagine what it would do for a single mom with three children in lower income neighborhoods.
3 – SUPPORT RADICAL EDUCATION REFORMS.
Support mandatory education for all 3 and 4 year olds. This is the time when vocabulary development is the most critical.
Demand a direct link between new age businesses and high school curriculum. There must never be a separation between the work world and the education system.
After graduation, adults can be paid to increase their educational and work skills by attending nine units of schooling every nine months.
4 – CREATE YOUR OWN WORK
By creating ideas that can meet unmet needs, you will create new economic value. The best way to offset job loss through technology is to create new jobs, even if it is only by creating your own job. The best economic theory I have ever heard came from economist Paul Romer: if you make cookies and after a while you make the same cookies, the number of purchases of the same cookies always levels off. The secret in creating new wealth is to make new cookie recipes. The riches are in the new recipes.