Contrary to expectations about the information age and all the advancements in computers and telecommunications and technology, the result has been to lower the standard of living and quality of life for most Americans. A gradual deterioration of their wages and non-wage employment benefits, national support programs has made life much more difficult for the great majority of americans. While they were able to hide this by having the women go into the workforce big time, borrow heavily against rising assets prices like homes and equity, or just plain borrowing, the truth is now being revealed in the economy and no one knows what to do. See articles in NY Times today.
Allowing wholesale exportation of jobs and work overseas has allowed employers to keep wages down, cut benefits and leave americans struggling to survive, let alone prosper. This is what politicians don’t want you to know and is not talked about in the media either. What americans are going to have to do is adjust to competing with countries that have completely different cultures. The idea that we can live alone in a big house miles away from work and hundreds of miles away from other family members has to change. Families are going to have to stay together to save on housing costs. They are going to have to live closer to work. I would say that this means fewer old people living alone but living with their children to save money. Suburban sprawl might slow done. Telecommuting might start to be forced on companies that refuse to accept the need for this to help employees save money.
And while I am on this subject, I want to remind people that they have allowed three companies to have enormous control over their lives and futures without so much as a whimper with the support of their elected officials in Washington. I am talking about the three Credit rating companies. Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. These companies have secret formulas for creating a NUMBER that determines if you get a job, insurance, car, home or anything else you might need in life. WAKE UP AND WRITE/CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON AND TELL THEM TO GET CONTROL OVER THESE COMPANIES TO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS AND LIVES. THEY SHOULD HAVE TO DISCLOSE HOW THEY CALCULATE YOUR CREDIT SCORE, SEND YOU SPECIFIC GUIDELINES ON HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORES, WHAT MAKES IN BETTER OR WORSE. PROVIDE FREE REPORTING ON DEMAND OF YOUR SCORE AND REPORT WITHOUT COST. RESTRICT ACCESS TO YOUR REPORTS AND SCORES FOR THINGS THAT DON’T INVOLVE BORROWING MONEY.