Mike Rowe, of Dirty Jobs and various QVC sales pitches, told Congress that America needs to produce more tradesmen and encourage learning how things work. If there is one thing I learned in economics, it is that butter and guns can be plotted on a graph. If there are two things I learned, it’s that having an active workforce, blue & white collar, are imperative.
While I see a very obvious need for skilled labor (robots cannot do everything), I would push the task of teaching how things work. Rowe mentioned to Congress that as a young boy he spent a day with his family to repair a pipe after a volcanic episode with his toilet. The repair was not complicated, but how many people have the knowledge of how to repair it? Granted there are some caveats with DIY. A task may be too great or too dangerous and truly require a professional. But for many tasks a simple visit to Wikipedia, HowStuffWorks, or YouTube will explain the principles of a device and how to repair it.
