I’m surprised the author admitted he was a grad student, so boo hoo for him and his car.
But this article is a terrific insight into why Trump won in 2016 and isn’t going away! The Unnecessariat is kinder than The Deplorables but their situation is the same and under the radar of a lot of educated people.
definitely a bit depressing, for sure a worthwhile read.
Noah Yuval Harari talked about the impending unnecessary class in either Homo Deus or Sapiens, I don't recall which. The people, like ground soldiers or blue collar machinists who become obsolete with the mechanization of manufacturing, warfare etc. This feels like a continuation of that posturing.
A text both heavy and enlightening. I haven't given enough headspace to voices like this when thinking about issues of economic fairness, and I'll be sure to do so in the future.
Every four years some political ingenue decides that the solution to “poverty” is “retraining”: for the information economy, except that tech companies only hire Stanford grads, or for health care, except that an abundance of sick people doesn’t translate into good jobs for nurses’ aides, or nowadays for “the trades” as if the world suffered a shortage of plumbers. The retraining programs come and go, often mandated for recipients of EBT, but the accumulated tuition debt remains behind, payable to the banks that wouldn’t even look twice at a graduate’s resume. There is now a booming market in debtor’s prisons for unpaid bills, and as we saw in Ferguson the threat of jail is a great way to extract cash from the otherwise broke (thought it can backfire too). Eventually all those homes in Oklahoma, in Ohio, in Wyoming, will be lost in bankruptcy and made available for vacation homes, doomsteads, or hobby farms for the “real” Americans, the ones for whom the ads and special sections in the New York Times are relevant, and their current occupants know this. They are denizens, to use Standing’s term, in their own hometowns.
Bingo. Every time I hear about job retraining I think - the people saying that have never met the people they are talking about. I have spent countless hours with my hometown friends and family trying to find training/jobs with them - those jobs aren't for them. It doesn't matter what certificate they get. And the bill is still due.
A very well-considered and depressing look at the prospects of many Americans living in impoverished rural areas. Highly worthwhile read.
I’m surprised the author admitted he was a grad student, so boo hoo for him and his car. But this article is a terrific insight into why Trump won in 2016 and isn’t going away! The Unnecessariat is kinder than The Deplorables but their situation is the same and under the radar of a lot of educated people.
definitely a bit depressing, for sure a worthwhile read.
Noah Yuval Harari talked about the impending unnecessary class in either Homo Deus or Sapiens, I don't recall which. The people, like ground soldiers or blue collar machinists who become obsolete with the mechanization of manufacturing, warfare etc. This feels like a continuation of that posturing.
A text both heavy and enlightening. I haven't given enough headspace to voices like this when thinking about issues of economic fairness, and I'll be sure to do so in the future.
This is way too big. A necessary read. I just realized the pun. But I’m leaving it because it’s not funny.
Bingo. Every time I hear about job retraining I think - the people saying that have never met the people they are talking about. I have spent countless hours with my hometown friends and family trying to find training/jobs with them - those jobs aren't for them. It doesn't matter what certificate they get. And the bill is still due.