The current labor crisis started before the pandemic and has much to teach us

Food for thought!

"... Yet the roots of the crisis run far deeper, and any “return to normalcy” won’t hinge on swift, simplistic hand gestures by the state. Thus, even as we resist the political games of the day, we’d be wise to also consider the labor challenges that preceded the pandemic in their arc and emphasis.

For decades, Americans have tended to over-elevate certain jobs and careers above others, prompting a general resistance to “the trades” or “work with the hands” and a glorification of desk jobs, startups, and the various comforts of “creative spaces.” Reinforced by constant cultural calls to “follow your passion” and pursue four-year college degrees, students and workers have long been prodded to focus on a narrowing set of job prospects in sectors like technology, finance, marketing, and activism. Well before the pandemic, these pressures were already leading to an ever-widening skills gap in the trades and service sectors. And at a deeper level, they have served to dim our cultural imaginations when it comes to how we think about the value and dignity of work itself.

... the trend in light of the more recent COVID ripple effects, wondering if the stigmas we’ve imposed on certain forms of work are making the post-pandemic recovery all the more difficult. ...

the promotion of four-year college degrees has done the most to make alternative career paths unattractive to rising generations.

“The push for one form of education … really was the beginning of a long list of stigmas, stereotypes, myths, and misperceptions that to this day dissuade millions of kids from pursuing a legitimate opportunity to make six figures in the trades,” ..."

The current labor crisis started before the pandemic and has much to teach us – Acton Institute PowerBlog Young people are constantly presented with vocational blueprints and cookie-cutter college tracks that ignore the complexity of the human person and the diversity of human needs.