Gongol.com Archives: August 2016
August 22, 2016
The myth of the "return" of manufacturing jobs
Old-format manufacturing jobs are gone forever. The new ones are much more sophisticated than the simple wrench-turning gigs that a lot of people seem to think have been stolen by trade. ("Easy" manufacturing jobs have been rendered extinct more by technology than by trade, but the jobs are gone anyway.) Production methods have changed, and so must our process for preparing people for new jobs (inside and outside the manufacturing sector) and for helping people to adjust to new conditions. As Geoff Colvin puts it in his commentary: "[T]he leader's job is to embrace the new reality, explaining how it can bring a better future, not a worse one." We ought to give serious thought to making ongoing education compulsory for adults.
John Deere to lay off 115 employees in Waterloo
Plus 35 in Davenport. Low commodity prices are having a ripple effect in the rest of the Midwestern economy.
Family saved by CO detector that was installed two days before
Carbon monoxide is a terrible killer -- and carbon-monoxide detectors are relatively cheap. They are an indispensable tool for safety in any home that contains appliances running on natural gas.
An editorial cartoon that nicely sums up some of the preconditions necessary to turning politics on its head
High schools are ending the age of the gang shower
Individual stalls are becoming more commonplace, and that's a long-overdue change. Nobody expects people to use open toilet stalls, so why do we expect awkward teenagers (or adults, for that matter) to use wide-open showers? It's stupid.
