"What can Americans do to have a stable non-outsourceable income now that all production industries have left?"
I have been giving this some thought
1) Farming - Food is always going to be in demand and our heartland can pump out food like crazy. Of course these are all going to be corporate farms but there will be jobs there. They won't be great jobs but at least we won't starve:-)
2) Alternative Energy - if a moon launch like effort was expended on developing numerous viable forms of alternative energy we could:
a) stop importing energy and become an exporter
b) have another always in demand product.
Just a little bit of history. Spreadsheets were meant to be databases.
Good old Lotus 1-2-3 was meant to do three things (hence the name) and database was one of them (graphing was number three). Now keep in mind this was when each software package (not a suite) was $300 to $500, and adding a database package (and the learning curve) wasn't a no-brainer.
While one of the original intentions of spreadsheets was to offer database functions, they make poor databases when compared to a real database package.
Regarding bad results from spreadsheets due to overoptomistic modeling, that is the fault of the user, not the tool. A well thought out spreadsheet will take into account the likelihood of various outcomes.
Here's how to get a free credit report and confuse marketers. Fill out a credit card application to get some free goody that you want, but put down you make $18K last year, moved 4 times in the last 2 years, stuff like that. You'll get rejected and then you can order a free credit report.
I wouldn't recommend doing that a lot, because you may have to go clean things up if you want a mortgage, but that stuff doesn't seem to linger. I did the above 2 years ago (discount off Priceline plane ticket for applying), and had no trouble getting a car a year later.
I would be careful but I wouldn't allow it to affect my life too much. Pulpifying your stuff seems silly.
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Arrr, just the right am'nt of dumb it be.
"What can Americans do to have a stable non-outsourceable income now that all production industries have left?" I have been giving this some thought 1) Farming - Food is always going to be in demand and our heartland can pump out food like crazy. Of course these are all going to be corporate farms but there will be jobs there. They won't be great jobs but at least we won't starve :-)
2) Alternative Energy - if a moon launch like effort was expended on developing numerous viable forms of alternative energy we could:
a) stop importing energy and become an exporter
b) have another always in demand product.
Wow and from the numbers I keep hearing (top 1% have 95%), I thought I was being conversative.
"The top 1% of wage earners pay out over 30% of the total tax burden."
Yeah but they control 95% of the wealth. Seems like they are getting 65% tax break courtesy of us taxpayers in the bottom 99%.
Good old Lotus 1-2-3 was meant to do three things (hence the name) and database was one of them (graphing was number three). Now keep in mind this was when each software package (not a suite) was $300 to $500, and adding a database package (and the learning curve) wasn't a no-brainer.
While one of the original intentions of spreadsheets was to offer database functions, they make poor databases when compared to a real database package.
Regarding bad results from spreadsheets due to overoptomistic modeling, that is the fault of the user, not the tool. A well thought out spreadsheet will take into account the likelihood of various outcomes.
Here's how to get a free credit report and confuse marketers. Fill out a credit card application to get some free goody that you want, but put down you make $18K last year, moved 4 times in the last 2 years, stuff like that. You'll get rejected and then you can order a free credit report. I wouldn't recommend doing that a lot, because you may have to go clean things up if you want a mortgage, but that stuff doesn't seem to linger. I did the above 2 years ago (discount off Priceline plane ticket for applying), and had no trouble getting a car a year later. I would be careful but I wouldn't allow it to affect my life too much. Pulpifying your stuff seems silly.
Good point. And look at how successful the war on drugs has been!
I recommend reading a Charles Dickens novel. Great Expectations, Hard Times, Old Curiousity Shop are all amazing.
His books are only 150 years in the past. As a techie I just am awed by how different life was then.