Mike Rowe addresses Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Skilled Labor

[SunnyD]

I have to say, he is VERY spot on.

450,000 "skilled" job vacancies in the US because vocational skills are frowned upon, considered "second class", and virtually ignored in education today. Everybody wants to make their millions in high tech industry these days, but the truth is that, as Mike pointed out, in the near future a plumber will cost you more per hour than your psychologist.

Like his show says, it's a dirty job, but someone has got to do it.

 

[Kirby]

:thumbsup:

There's a certain sense of pride you have when you do something with your own hands, and it's discouraging when people are looked down upon because of it.

 

[mizzou]

I want to go to a small engines program when i retire or when im stable. I do my own auto work but i want to be more confident in the inner workings of the engine and transmission, and to be introduced to proper tool knowledge and use

I remember hearing my plumber who was video scoping my lateral line how much $$$ he would pull in, my jaw dropped.

 

[wetech]

I remember hearing my plumber who was video scoping my lateral line how much $$$ he would pull in, my jaw dropped.

I usually go to my doctor to get my lateral line scoped.

 

[mizzou]

I usually go to my doctor to get my lateral line scoped.

Yes, but did he give you a copy of the tape?

 

[werepossum]

It's like the old joke about the man who gets a quote from a plumber. "A hundred fifty bucks for fifteen minutes' work? Hell, I'm an engineer and I don't make that kind of money." The plumber replies "Yeah, I didn't make that kind of money when I was an engineer either."

One big traditional difference between America and Europe has been our definitions of middle class. In Europe, middle class traditionally denotes those people who worked for a living, but not with their hands - the middle class in between the working class and the wealthy gentry. The American middle class traditionally denotes those working people who are neither wealthy nor poor, regardless of how that income is earned. Being a polyglot nation, we simply don't have the class distinctions that evolved in older countries.

That's also in my opinion a major portion of our success. By respecting blue collar manual labor, we created a boom in wealth production through manufacturing, mining and farming. Now we seem to be moving away from that, with people turning up their noses at manual labor and blue collar work - even highly skilled, well paid jobs like plumber, HVAC technician, electrician. If we move to a class-conscious system, we'll be poorer materially and spiritually.

 

[boomerang]

I like Mike Rowe a whole lot as he seems like a real likeable guy. But what's up with our Government when a guy that hosts a TV show is an "expert" on a subject?

It's both frightening and comical at the same time.

 

[ElFenix]

i've been saying for a while that too many people go to college. guess we've been overallocating it.

HISD is going to close down their auto shop program. i think encouraging skilled vocational classes would help drop out rates quite a bit.

 

[SunnyD]

I like Mike Rowe a whole lot as he seems like a real likeable guy. But what's up with our Government when a guy that hosts a TV show is an "expert" on a subject?

It's both frightening and comical at the same time.

Probably because as the host of Dirtiest Jobs, Mike has explored a vast about of vocational jobs that 99% of the population doesn't even know about. Ones, in Mike's own words, enable those 99% of people to live their lives the way do: In oblivious comfort. Otherwise, you'll have to get a panel of experts from various fields, honestly, which the government isn't going to have any idea even existed (because they're part of that 99%).

 

[Scotteq]

I like Mike Rowe a whole lot as he seems like a real likeable guy. But what's up with our Government when a guy that hosts a TV show is an "expert" on a subject?

It's both frightening and comical at the same time.

We'll ignore the facts that Mike Rowe has done many of those jobs he's talking about in the course of his show, and that he's educated, intelligent, well spoken, and quite capable of relating on the topic to those who would listen...


....why is it unacceptable to have Mike Rowe talk, and yet perfectly acceptable for (actors like Sean Penn), who have been doing this kind of stuff for years and years?


Having said that: I agree it is frightening and comical that individuals who's entire claim to fame is that they look good on camera are suddenly dubbed to be experts on (any number of topics), and people accept that we should listen to them without question.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Mike Rowe speaks the truth. However, we've been going down the road we're on far too long for attitudes to change until the car goes over the cliff. Educators, parents and, business leaders have all preached (and will continue to preach) high tech college education is the ONLY way to get ahead. I heard the same thing growing up before there was even a IT industry to work for.

We have ATOT members who think they've missed the boat because they don't have a degree, house or, retirement fund started by age 24. WTH kind of fantasies have their parents and teachers been feeding them?

 

[rudder]

450,000 "skilled" job vacancies in the US because vocational skills are frowned upon, considered "second class", and virtually ignored in education today. Everybody wants to make their millions in high tech industry these days, but the truth is that, as Mike pointed out, in the near future a plumber will cost you more per hour than your psychologist.

Like his show says, it's a dirty job, but someone has got to do it.

I don't believe they are frowned upon. I used to have some good friends in the construction industry. However, these types of jobs have attracted low wage accepting illegal labor. The people I know had a choice. hire illegal labor or get priced out of competition.

Same thing with plumbing. You will get charged more than a psychologist, however the work will be done by one certified plumber who supervises multiple low paid assistants that do the grunt work. With the help of the cheap labor, that one certified plumber will be able to do a lot more jobs. If you were a certified plumber working alone who started your own business you would be charging the same but getting 1/4th the work done. How long do you think you will stay in business?

 

[Throckmorton]

It's like the old joke about the man who gets a quote from a plumber. "A hundred fifty bucks for fifteen minutes' work? Hell, I'm an engineer and I don't make that kind of money." The plumber replies "Yeah, I didn't make that kind of money when I was an engineer either."

One big traditional difference between America and Europe has been our definitions of middle class. In Europe, middle class traditionally denotes those people who worked for a living, but not with their hands - the middle class in between the working class and the wealthy gentry. The American middle class traditionally denotes those working people who are neither wealthy nor poor, regardless of how that income is earned. Being a polyglot nation, we simply don't have the class distinctions that evolved in older countries.

That's also in my opinion a major portion of our success. By respecting blue collar manual labor, we created a boom in wealth production through manufacturing, mining and farming. Now we seem to be moving away from that, with people turning up their noses at manual labor and blue collar work - even highly skilled, well paid jobs like plumber, HVAC technician, electrician. If we move to a class-conscious system, we'll be poorer materially and spiritually.

We need to be MORE class conscious, and it needs to be based on economic status. Maybe then working people will start demanding hire wages instead of being happy with wealth and income concentrating at the top because they "hope" they'll be at the top someday.

 

[Throckmorton]

I like Mike Rowe a whole lot as he seems like a real likeable guy. But what's up with our Government when a guy that hosts a TV show is an "expert" on a subject?

It's both frightening and comical at the same time.

He doesn't just "host a show". His job is doing blue collar jobs with actual blue collar workers.

 

[theevilsharpie]

We need to be MORE class conscious, and it needs to be based on economic status. Maybe then working people will start demanding hire wages instead of being happy with wealth and income concentrating at the top because they "hope" they'll be at the top someday.

Demanding higher wages worked out great for the Rust Belt.

 

[werepossum]

Demanding higher wages worked out great for the Rust Belt.

Indeed. There are few or no wealth-producing jobs that can't be done outside the USA, and the one that comes to mind - construction - has already been outsourced to a great degree by the importation of illegal aliens. For the rest of us, demanding higher wages merely leads to fewer jobs as wages surpass the economic benefit of the job.

 

[Throckmorton]

Indeed. There are few or no wealth-producing jobs that can't be done outside the USA, and the one that comes to mind - construction - has already been outsourced to a great degree by the importation of illegal aliens. For the rest of us, demanding higher wages merely leads to fewer jobs as wages surpass the economic benefit of the job.

The solution is simple. Impose tarrifs on underpriced foreign goods and create a guest worker program so the currently illegal immigrants have rights and are subject to the minimum wage.

 

[sao123]

Indeed. There are few or no wealth-producing jobs that can't be done outside the USA, and the one that comes to mind - construction - has already been outsourced to a great degree by the importation of illegal aliens. For the rest of us, demanding higher wages merely leads to fewer jobs as wages surpass the economic benefit of the job.

which is why we have been trying to deport the illegal aliens for years...

what we need is some dum redneck hick president who does everything the backwoods way to get elected... fuck the rich... fuck the intellectuals... lets get dirty and get shit fixed.

 

[Acanthus]

I like Mike Rowe a whole lot as he seems like a real likeable guy. But what's up with our Government when a guy that hosts a TV show is an "expert" on a subject?

It's both frightening and comical at the same time.

It's called appealing to a false authority.

 

[werepossum]

The solution is simple. Impose tarrifs on underpriced foreign goods and create a guest worker program so the currently illegal immigrants have rights and are subject to the minimum wage.

I'm all for tariffs on all foreign goods, set based on the nations' respective economic level, human rights, and alignment with US interests. On the other, very few illegal aliens work for less than minimum wage. The problem is that they drive down wages for legal residents. I oppose a guest worker program except in a very, very few instances of national security and where real unemployment drops below 5%. If Americans won't do a job for the resource owner's preferred wage, the solution is to raise the offered wage until it matches the market-set value, NOT to import poor people happy to the job for the resource owner's preferred wage.

which is why we have been trying to deport the illegal aliens for years...

what we need is some dum redneck hick president who does everything the backwoods way to get elected... fuck the rich... fuck the intellectuals... lets get dirty and get shit fixed.

Works for me, although I suspect a dumb redneck hick President would have great difficulty getting anything accomplished. Still, hopefully he or she wouldn't do as much damage as recent occupants.

 

[DrPizza]

I like Mike Rowe a whole lot as he seems like a real likeable guy. But what's up with our Government when a guy that hosts a TV show is an "expert" on a subject?

It's both frightening and comical at the same time.

Because although he's a "host" - he spends more time working along people and talking to people in the trades than 99% of the population. And with the variety of trades that he's worked alongside and spent time with, it probably places him as having more knowledge about what's going on than 99.999% of the population.

 

[dmcowen674]

Demanding higher wages worked out great for the Rust Belt.

Trickle down has worked great too

 

[theevilsharpie]

The solution is simple. Impose tarrifs on underpriced foreign goods...

... resulting in increased prices for imports, reduced exports due to the subsequent retaliatory tariffs, and ever greater economic hardship for the US.

We've seen this movie before.

 

[Throckmorton]

... resulting in increased prices for imports, reduced exports due to the subsequent retaliatory tariffs, and ever greater economic hardship for the US.

We've seen this movie before.

Right, and free trade results in increased exports of American goods, lower prices for American consumers, and economic prosperity for all!

Oh wait...

 

[SunnyD]

Because although he's a "host" - he spends more time working along people and talking to people in the trades than 99% of the population. And with the variety of trades that he's worked alongside and spent time with, it probably places him as having more knowledge about what's going on than 99.999% of the population.

Wow, there's an echo in here!