Life wasn't so great in 1966 I was 11 yrs old and have perfect recall.
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Workers, in contrast, rely heavily on the human capital they bring to the workplace – human capital they draw from weak systems of K–12 education and workforce training. Lacking global mobility, workers and small businesses cannot escape the negative impacts of America’s political system, tax code, healthcare system, costly regulation, and crumbling infrastructure. In short, large companies benefit from America’s greatest strengths, while workers and small businesses are captives of the nation’s major weaknesses.
The evidence on workforce skills and K–12 education is typical of what we see for many of America’s weaknesses and declining strengths. Workforce skills and K–12 education are crucial to the economic prospects of working and middle-class Americans, and nothing is more important to wages and job security than valuable and scarce skills. The best evidence is that American human capital has improved over time, but not at the pace set by global competition.
Today, a defining feature of America’s situation is the lack of shared prosperity: working and middle-class citizens are struggling, while those with advanced skills are thriving. We highlighted this issue in prior reports, and raised concerns that this divergence was unsustainable and would create deep divisions in our society, leading Americans to turn against each other rather than implement the compromise solutions we need. These fears have now become a reality. We are experiencing the most divisive and polarized presidential election campaign in a century.
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HBR -- HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL SURVEY ON U.S. COMPETITIVENESS
Where you are on the ''food chain'' and your educational level and skill level has a lot to do with your trajectory ...
$100 in 1977 is worth $400 today
$100 in 1990 is worth $185 today
$100 in 2000 is worth $140 today
Are you behind the curve -- and why?
If you are trying to compete with 1 billion people globally with no edge -- you are fucked.
Growth rates are in a very narrow segment of occupations and wages are much higher in larger and traded businesses.
U.S. Competitiveness - Harvard Business School Read more