Wa Times op-ed contributor: workers need more crushed fingers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

RATZENBERGER: Skilled labor falls by the wayside

RATZENBERGER: Skilled labor falls by the wayside
America's bailout culture leads away from practical employment

By John Ratzenberger
-
The Washington Times
5:44 p.m., Thursday, November 11, 2010

....
America has moved away from its common-sense, risk-reward ethos formed over many generations into a consequence-free mentality, in which bad decisions don't really change behavior. Tragically, one word best describes a broad section of the "new America" - bailout.

I agree with Matthew Crawford, the author of the 2009 best-seller, "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work"; namely, that the way we work from top to bottom has broad public consequences. See America in 2010 - the consequences abound.

Mr. Crawford observes that "in the boardrooms of Wall Street and the corridors of Pennsylvania Avenue, I don't think you'll see a yellow sign that says 'think safety' ... no doubt because those who sit on the swivel chairs tend to live remote from the consequences of the decisions they make." His practical suggestion says it all: "Why not encourage gifted students to learn a trade ... so that their fingers will be crushed once or twice before they go on to run the country?"
....

Here's how this plays out: A teenager gets hurt in high school shop class. His parents sue the school. The school district cannot afford the costs of liability risk, so they cancel vocational training. Thousands of kids in one school district go without the opportunity for hands-on skills training.
....

John Ratzenberger is an actor and entrepreneur.

© Copyright 2010 The Washington Times, LLC.

That's the problem with this country - too many safeguards on mechanical power presses.

[Morning Dew]

1. Cliff always was a know-it-all.

[Swede]

2. Yak yak yak........

He sure knew a lot about yaks.

[brentspeak]

3. self-del

Link didn't work for me at first, but now does.

[KamaAina]

4. "Did you know that in the early 20th century, Greyhound buses were pulled by actual greyhounds?"

[MineralMan]

5. Another problem with this country is that we listen too closely

to morons with no actual expertise in anything. These days, anyone can get their idle thoughts exposed on the web. And, no matter how stupid their idle thoughts are, someone will repost them. Then, someone else will send out a email to his/her entire address list and tell them to do the same. A week later, you have to go to Snopes to find out that it was just someone's idle thoughts and not true at all.

What to do about this problem? Don't repost idle thoughts or bullshit anywhere, including on DU. That's my suggestion.

See disclaimer below:

[jdlh8894]

7. As my Granddaddy told me (45 yrs ago)

Believe HALF of what you see,and NONE of what hear or read.

[MineralMan]

8. Pretty good advice. Yore grandaddy was right smart.

[tularetom]

6. I'll defend him - he was only the second biggest right wing blowhard on Cheers

[Joe Bacon]

9. Hypocrite

Still remember him talking about receiving a government artist grant that kept him from starving when he lived in England. He's just another stuck up snot who got his.