Joe Weisenthal has been a financial guru since he got out of college – in other words has never actually done an honest day's work in his life – and he writes that we need manufacturing because "in a country with 300 million people, with the staggering diversity we have, we're ALWAYS going to have people who are ill-equipped for 'service' or 'knowledge' labor which was supposed to replace the manufacturing that went overseas. There's always going to be a sizable chunk of the population that lack either the intelligence or just the temperament to do something that isn't physical or manual."
We need manufacturing because many of us are too stupid to be like him ???
In one fell swoop,he has shamed both his parents and the University of Texas on a level that hara kari should be a strong consideration. Joe, the part you got right is that it is an "unspeakable reason." It is unspeakable because it is hard to imagine greater ignorance on so many levels. Mama and Papa Weisenthal should be embarrassed at having raised a son with so little regard for work. We have all met people who seem to have been born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Joe is way beyond that and was obviously born with a 14 carat gold plated snow shovel planted deeply up his backside. I wonder who the ignorant working stiff is who picked up the tab for Joe's college education – the one that put him so far above the working stiffs of the world.
The collective faculty of the University of Texas should consider resignation at having granted a degree to someone with such appalling ignorance of economics, and no clue whatsoever as to what built the greatest economy in history – the one that enables folks like Joe to live the good life without doing a minute's honest work. I would have thought one would have to attend an Ivy League school to become that full of one's self.
Al Gore should be ashamed at having single-handedly inventing the Internet, only to have it so perverted with the writings of a spoiled brat like Joe.
Mostly, though, we should all be ashamed. You see, Joe is no obscure blogging hack. At Evolving Excellence we have the honor of writing for the most widely read manufacturing site in the world – and the volume of traffic on Joe's blogs dwarfs us. We have created a culture in the United States in which people like Joe can sincerely believe that a life of selfishness, sloth and greed on Wall Street – a life of enriching one's self on the back's of other people's work - is proof of superior intelligence over those who make an honest living in Americas factories and fields.
Marcel says
People who think like Weisenthal should get on with it, acheive full independence from their corporeal bodies, and become creatures of pure thought on another plain of existence – far away from here.
Larry says
Please use your spell check, now that’s appalling!
Bill Waddell says
Help me out here, Larry. I spell checked both in TypePad and Word and it came back clean.
Jason M says
Eloquent as always, Bill. While the tone of his posting is very condescending, his simple point is that America’s belief that it could transform itself from a manufacturing economy to a services/knowledge economy while keeping every American employed was poorly reasoned. You can’t expect America’s working class, who are good at manufacturing, to begin working for tech firms and writing Javascript. Nor will they immediately migrate to lesser paying, lower skilled jobs like that in the fast food industry.
At least that’s the way I read it.
Bill Waddell says
Hi Jason,
I obviously judge him more harshly. His exact words were that a sizable chunk of the population lacks the “intelligence”, and that we need work for people who have a ” lack of mental/office/service skills”.
He did not write as though this were a training and education issue – given the right schooling and over time we can transition to a service economy with full employment.
Intelligence has a very specific definition:
“in·tel·li·gence
–noun
1. capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.
2. manifestation of a high mental capacity: He writes with intelligence and wit.
3. the faculty of understanding.”
I don’t know how to interpret describing people who work in manufacturing as lacking the “intelligence” and having a “lack of mental skills” for office work as anything other than calling people who work with real things ‘stupid’ compared to people who sit in offices.
Doug says
I’m mostly a desk jockey these days…But I consider so-called ‘physical’ and ‘manual’ work to be some of the most enriching experiences I’ve had.
I would challenge Mr. Weisenthal to try and work in manufacturing for a week.
I would give him a day…Especially if he had to do his own QC, or work in a small shop where everyone does everything.
Send him down to me: I can plant him in front of a cutting table and sewing machine…Does he have the intelligence to follow a pattern and instructions from raw cloth to finished product?
Or I’ve got some family members with a farm. They always need help with their 50 head of sheep. Shearing to dyed yarn, they are vertically integrated. Let’s see Mr. Weisenthal try that for a week.
He could save us all some time and watch a bit of Dirty Jobs before spouting off again.
Ah well.
Marc says
And where is all the intelligence in the service economy? 75% (or more) of the effort for most of these service jobs is a smile or an “enthusiastic” voice on the phone. “Thank you for your order. Goods will deliver from india in 4-6 weeks. Have a good day” – where’s the intelligence???
I always find it humorous when an insurance agent or lawyer finds out that a good plumber makes more than they do.
As for “dumb” “unskilled” manual day-labor, these jobs have always existed and have always been low pay. A huge difference from well trained production line workers, technicians and engineers. But when a suit sees a guy covered in grease they just revert to their classic elitist bigotry.
And manufacturing isn’t all we’ve outsourced. Call centers in India, design centers in China. IT help line in the Philippines. Keep this up and we won’t have a “service economy” either. But don’t worry, we can all ride around on marketing hype, heat our homes with fashion, and eat spreadsheets to stay alive.
Rick Bohan says
Joe’s a dumb ****, that’s all we need to say. You’re right…UT should be ashamed of itself.