Thursday, July 26, 2012

"Man Camps"

I happened to click on this op-ed by Gail Collins, simply because it was at the very top of the "most e-mailed" listing for articles in the NYTimes.  It contains no mention of celebrities;  not much politics (other than what is implied); and no car-chases.   And it warms my heart that, nevertheless, our fellow citizens chose  to e-mail this --  boing-boing, back-and-forth --  around the globe.  A snapshot of the state of labor:


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/opinion/collins-where-the-jobs-are.html?src=me&ref=general&pagewanted=print

So -- from Hoovervilles to Man-Camps, in ten easy lessons.
And this, note, in a town with only 1% unemployment -- which means that this is as good as it gets in America these days, for labor.

1 comment:

  1. If I were in a position to be a job-seeker considering Wiliston, ND as a place to live and work, I think my biggest fear (besides the astronomical cost of living) would be how long the oil boom would last.

    So, right now, there's a demand for housing and service industry. So, a smart contractor would move in, buy land, and start cranking out subdivisions. And as the cost of housing dropped, the number of other businesses (ooh, a second McDonald's, anyone?) willing to move in should increase.

    But all this takes time. Like, years. So, by the time there's sufficient housing and sufficient retail and dining in the area, would there still be oil? Or would it be a great mid-sized city that implodes a handful of years later? And what if they outlaw fracking? It might not even get to be a great mid-sized city before imploding.

    I think I'd take my chances elsewhere.

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