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On the eve of the State of the Union address for a bellwether in the global economy, we know the big picture headlines by now: Corporate profits have returned. Jobs for many have not yet. Is this the “new normal” or what transitions in a reshuffling labor market and economy look like?
It’s the latter. Both individuals and organizations in this country are too ambitious to leave 17% of the country untapped. Structurally, major poles in the economy — energy, technology and education — are being re-made. With them, nearly imaginable type of work life will change.
The trick is to remember they’re not re-made and handed to you. They’re re-made by your hand. As the waters change, there is century-making opportunity ahead. Your personal education, whether first-time or “re-training”, is more accessible than any time before. Sometimes the macro conditions today and over the next two years can be the tea leaves to read. Here’s a snapshot.
American Jobs, Gained And Lost by Jacob Goldstein and Jess Jiang — The jobs story summed up (though because based on government data, excludes most entrpreneurial innovation at the edges). (Planet Money)
Home From Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler — There is structural, not just cyclical, angst both in place and workplace. @newsycombinator summed it up well: Americans sense that something is wrong with the places where we live and work. (The Atlantic)
Tom Friedman’s Warning on American Competitiveness by Tom Ashbrook — The refrain is energy and education, research and infrastructure. (OnPoint)
Where the Smart People Are Going by Richard Florida — Opportunity hubs are not evenly distributed. Face to face still matters. Right now cities are winning the ‘marked increase in human capital density”. (The Atlantic)
The West Wing, Season II by John Heilemann — The remaking of a president and maybe the country, “Almost overnight, Barack Obama overhauled his White House and rewrote much of the script. Now all he needs is a happy ending.” (New York Magazine)
CNN Poll: Americans more optimistic on state of nation — While a majority continue to think that things are going badly in the country, 43 percent “feel that things are going well”, a rebound to April 2007 levels. Lawrence Summers once said confidence is the most cost-efficient stimulus solution. Opportunity calls. (CNN).